A Detailed Look at the Outside
After removing the shipping enclosure, I got my first look at the Vulcan itself. I have to say that this is a stunning case and surprisingly small for the amount of hardware it can hold. I love the beveled mesh side panel and top panel. The front panel also stands about really well. The overall design is very edgy and should appeal to LAN gamers and other enthusiasts looking to show of their micro ATX systems to the public.
The front panel is quite different than typical PC cases I’ve tested this year. The Vulcan can carry two 5.25″ optical devices and two 3.5″ devices and also has a unique two-channel 8W fan controller. This fan controller can manage up to four fans at one time. The subdued NZXT logo is also a nice touch and doesn’t clash with the overall look of the case.
The front of the top panel includes the power and reset buttons, two USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port, and audio/mic jacks.
The back of the top panel is raised up a bit to mount two 120mm fans. NZXT includes one of these fans and allows users to install a second fan if they choose to do so. I was also wondering if you could fit a dual radiator for a custom watercooling setup, but I haven’t confirmed that yet with NZXT.
The back panel is pretty basic, but NZXT had to make a few sacrifices because of this case’s form factor. They had to shrink the fan size to 92mm, which also has mounting holes for the more common 80mm fan. They also added watercooling support and a nifty button to manage the fan lights independently from the fan controller. Very fancy.
The left side panel is mostly made of a beveled mesh that really gives the case a lot of depth. The added depth also gives users the opportunity to install an additional 200mm intake fan that can be purchased separately from NZXT.
The right side panel is also beveled, but is solid, which kinda detracts from the overall scheme of the Vulcan a bit. I would have liked more mesh for better cooling for the hard drives and other hardware components.
