Rosewill has named several cases after military aircraft; the company’s B2 Spirit and Nighthawk 117 are the latest PC chassis to get this treatment. In the case of the Nighthawk 117 especially, it is easy to see that the case shares more than just a name with the F117—the all-black case has an angular, dramatic shape that looks as though it might just be able to slip through a radar field undetected.
The Nighthawk 117 is a full-tower case designed to hold lots of big, powerful components and lots of storage devices. For starters, it supports motherboard form factors all the way up to Extended ATX, so there are very few boards out there that aren’t an option. It also accommodates graphics cards up to 16.5 inches long if you remove its center drive cage, and cards more than a foot long if you don’t. Its power supply bay is roomy enough for even the biggest 1,600-watt monsters on the market (the bay also has a thin foam insulation gasket that runs all around the inside of the rear panel), and it has a full dozen drive bays if you count the 5.25-inch bays at the top, each of which can alternatively hold a 3.5-inch drive. The eight lower drive bays hold either 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives.
There is more to this case than just big open spaces and lots of drive trays, though; it also has some nice design touches that make it very builderfriendly. Its spacious motherboard try includes nine rubber-grommeted cable management slots, and there’s nearly a full inch of space between the rear of the tray and the right-side panel. The tray’s back side also includes three anchor points for cable tie-down, so keeping the 117’s interior neat and free of cable snarls is fairly easy. The case’s drive bays are designed for tool-less installation of 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch drives, and all of the thumbscrews (both internal and on the back of the side panels) are knurled thumbscrews, so you can tinker without going to the garage for your toolbox.
Rosewill pre-installs five 140mm fans in the Nighthawk 117, including two LED intake fans up front, two exhaust fans up top, and a fifth set for exhaust inside the rear panel. Radiator support is limited to a single rad at the rear or a double/single rad up top (up to 280mm), but on the bright side, if you put your radiator beneath the top panel, you can open a set of vents along the top panel with a single slider switch to allow for increased airflow. Also up top are two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, two three-position fan speed control switches, and a SATA hard drive dock.
Rosewill’s MSRP for the Nighthawk 117 is $129.99, but you’ll find it on Newegg for $119.99. If you are looking for a full-tower case that looks great and leaves room in your budget for a faster graphics card, a bigger SSD, or more memory, don’t let this one fly under your radar.
Specs
Dimensions: 23.2 x 9.1 x 22.2 inches (HxWxD); Materials: Steel, plastic; Motherboard support: Mini-ITX, mATX, ATX, E-ATX; Drive bays: 3 x 5.25-inch external (plus one 5.25-inch internal), 8 x 3.5-/2.5-inch internal; Fans (included): 2 x 140mm LED front, 2 x 140mm top, 1 x 140mm rear; Fans (optional): 2 x 120mm front, 2 x 120mm top, 1 x 120/140mm bottom, 1 x 120mm rear; Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, audio I/O