NZXT Vulcan Enthusiast M-ATX Case with Handle VULCAN M-ATX (Black)
- Durable Non-slip finished top handle for portability
- Fits at least 350mm video cards like the ATI 5970
- Wire routing holes and extruded side panel provides extra space for cable management
- Dual 5.25-inch slots and four 3.5-inch slots (internal and external)
- MODEL: Vulcan Series; CASE TYPE: mATX Chassis; LED: Orange; FRONT PANEL MATERIAL: Plastic / Steel mesh
Introducing NZXT’s new VULCAN Micro ATX gaming case, the ideal bring-your-own-computer option for professional gaming LAN parties. The Vulcan maximizes power in a compact 16-inch x 7-inch x 16.6-inch body, which is approximately 40% smaller than th
Rating: 
(out of 2 reviews)
List Price: $ 69.99
Price: $ 56.99
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Review by Nick for NZXT Vulcan Enthusiast M-ATX Case with Handle VULCAN M-ATX (Black)
Rating:
I like the original idea behind this case. Make a case which can hold excellent hardware, but which is also fairly portable and affordable. When I bought this, I was switching from an Antec P183 case (much better imo) which costs about twice as much and is much larger, so it is probably an unfair comparison.
First off, the good. The case has fairly good airflow (my temps were only about 5-10 degrees (F) hotter than with the Antec P183, which is not bad considering the case is much smaller and cheaper. Cables can be hid behind the top 3.5 bays and behind the motherboard, allowing the case to be clutter free (also impressive due to its size). The fan controller is a nice touch. With the open design of the case, you are going to want a fan controller, as it can get unbearably loud if the fans are running too fast. The case cable connectors are labeled, which makes building in this case much easier for the average builder. The fan controller allows additional fans to be added as well, which can be assigned to either one of the two fan controllers. The led lights and the hdd light on front is a nice touch. You can turn them on and off too, which is good for those of us who would rather not have extraneous lights in our room.
The bad: my main complaint is how loud the case can be. Again, I am comparing it to the Antec P183, which I realize is unfair, especially since this case seems to be designed more for open airflow rather than silence. The fan on top will make a rattling sound every once and a while which is incredibly annoying. If I press down on it, it stops, but will start up again eventually. I do not know what causes this, but I am sure it is something they could have fixed. There really should be a dust filter on the side panel. Adding a fan hear will quickly lead to mountains of dust inside of your case. Also, while it says it supports 200 mm fans, it really only technically supports the nzxt 200 mm fan. According to nzxt, this is due to 200mm fans not having standardized mounting methods (no idea if this is true or not, but if so, it does not bode well for the aftermarket fan suppliers). Adding to the noise, is the method for mounting the harddrives. The bottom 3.5 rack is mounted through slide-in trays, convenient yes, noisy yes. Screws with rubber grommets would have been preferable, albiet difficult to install in such a small case. The top 3.5 rack is so noisy it’s almost unusable for hard drives (although I am sure they assumed most people wouldn’t try to cram more than two hdds in this case).
More bad: The overall shape of this case could use some modifications. The mesh side panel sticks out, allowing you to install their proprietary 200mm fan. The question I have is, why not just have the whole side of the case stick out? The case is still going to take up the same amount of space under your desk and you won’t have to worry about taller heatsinks not fitting because they hit the side of the case. Not too mention, it would help make this case a bit less ugly. I suppose they were trying to make it match the motherboard panel, which sticks out as well. I will admit, it does make the case “seem” smaller. The other issues is the bulges at the top of the case (on the front panel and the two fan slots underneath the handle. These both make the case functionally larger while adding no space inside the case. I do like the easy accessibility of the control panel however. The front panel mesh covers can easily be pushed in, which is annoying to have to fix.
Overall, I am somewhat satisfied with this purchase. I wanted a smaller case for travelling and that’s what I wanted. I wish they would make a version of this case with higher quality parts and design, priced a bit higher, but clearly they were catering more towards the lan party gamer type. Basically, if the feature set this case has is what you want, get it. There is nothing else out there which really matches the portability while allowing the hardware that this does. You can pretty much fit whatever size graphics card you want. Pretty incredible. Also, a 200mm fan on a case this size is unheard off. NZXT did a great job designing this. I just hope they come out with a similar model for those of us who like upgradability and smaller sizes, but want something quieter, prettier, with high-end parts. The price tag on this case is about as low as it should be though, so I can’t blame NZXT for not adding those niceties that some of us like.
Review by R. R. Fabello for NZXT Vulcan Enthusiast M-ATX Case with Handle VULCAN M-ATX (Black)
Rating:
I had this thing up and running as a Windows Home Server case with m-ATX board. Nice good looking case, its compatible with mini-ITX board too. You can look it up on youtube for video review. Overall its easy to put together a system with this case. One thing that its missing is that it doesnt seem to have a speaker but its all good, dont know about todays motherboard if it comes with those tiny speaker for mobo alert but the old mobo (2 years old, maybe) that I have mounted on this one doesnt have one, it was on the case speaker. It doesnt really bother me ‘cuz this case is tuck away, away from me so if I send a command to reboot, I dont really miss the beeping sound.