NZXT Source 210 Elite review

The NZXT Source 210 Elite isn’t a bad-looking case, but its build quality is decidedly budget.

Its front panel is fairly minimal, with just one USB3 and one USB2 port and separate headphone and microphone jacks nestled above the case’s three 5.25in external drive bays. It was a struggle to get our optical drive into the 5.25in bays, as it was such a tight fit we had to knock the drive in with the heel of our hand. The tool-less drive retaining clips feel very flimsy and cheap.

The case has eight internal 3.5in drive bays, but there’s not enough room for graphics cards longer than 280mm. The drive bays’ tool-less mounts held our hard disk firmly in place, and there’s room in front of the drive cages for another couple of cooling fans. The case comes with two fans preinstalled, one large 140mm fan on the top and a smaller 120mm fan on the rear, but there’s room for to seven fans in total if you need additional cooling.

Inside, we liked the case’s folded-over edges to cut down on sharp surprises for your hands, and its pre-cut cable holes are useful for routing cables effectively to improve airflow, but most of the case’s internals are made from thin metal and have a lot of flex in them.

The Source 210 Elite is cheap, but it feels compromised. The SilverStone RL01 is a superior case and is cheaper, while the Corsair Carbide 200R is worth the extra few pounds.