Review: NZXT Switch 810 Hybrid Full Tower

This article was originally written for The Best Case Senario. Read it here!

Every case manufacturer has a variety of cases. In addition to standard cases each one has their flagship case. It's their pride and joy. It's the one that has the most features and supports the most hardware. Today we'll be looking at NZXT's new flagship - the Switch 810. Read more...

Introduction

The Switch 810 Hybrid full tower case is NZXT's new top-of-the-line offering. This case is a monster and is jam-packed with awesome features including some I've never seen before. Let's get started.

Specifications

The Switch 810 has some very impressive specifications. Check them out below.
 

Packaging

The Switch 810 comes in a (very) large full-color cardboard box. The front of the box has a picture of the case and the name.

The rear of the box shows a detailed inside view of the case and highlights several notable features.

One end panel has basic information in a plethora of different languages.

The other end has detailed specifications of this beast. At 235mm wide, 595mm high and 585mm long this thing is HUUUGE.

Once out of the box you'll find that this case is packaged like most others these days. It's wrapped in plastic wrap and encased in a pair of molded styrofoam end caps that keep it free of damage during shipping.

Once you take the plastic bag off you'll notice some self-adhesive clear plastic sheets all over the case which are further secured with green tape. These sheets help to protect the rubatone black and mirror white finishes of the case. There is also plastic on both sides of the large window for added protection.

After you fully unwrap it you finally see how beautiful this case really is. The lines are smooth and attention to detail is impeccable to say the least.

Accessories

Included with the Switch 810 is a rather large user's manual and the typical white box full of goodies. Let's see what's inside.

Inside the box you'll find several labeled bags containing black hardware, black zip ties and even a single-sleeved (in black, of course) 8-pin CPU power extender.

The manual unfolds several times to what you see here. There are very detailed instructions in several languages as well as clear illustrations to help you learn all the amazing features in this case.

But wait there's more! Yes, it opens even further! It's only fitting that a case this big comes with a manual that's equally as big doesn't it?

A Closer Look

Looking at the front panel the first thing you notice are the 4 5.25" drive bays followed by the square panel at the very top.

The top of the case features the power button, HDD (left) and power (right) LED's. I'm happy to report that these are both white and not the typical and well over-used blue you usually find. Nice touch NZXT.

The top panel on the front opens to reveal 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports (with now-standard internal connector), an SD card reader, microphone and headphone jacks, reset button and finally a button labeled "LED". We'll see what that's all about later on. The entire front panel setup is powered by a SATA connector rather than the typical 4-pin Molex connector.

With the 4 5.25" bay covers removed you'll notice you you have room for 3 5.25" devices and the bottom is a SATA hot-swap bay. The hot-swap tray is held in with some screws that are accessible from the sides of the drive cage. The cover for the hot-swap bay is a very nice addition. Typically you see hot-swap bays that leave an open hole if you remove the drive. This allows you to remove the drive and keep the case looking clean. Another nice touch.

This case uses a lot of push-and-click type mechanisms to secure various components including the front air intake and fan filter. Simply push on the two spots at the top of the panel and it comes off. Here you'll find a 140mm fan installed with room for a second 140mm or a 120mm intake fan. On the backside of the door is a fine mesh filter that should work reasonably well at keeping dust out.

Under the front you'll find another push-and-click mechanism that holds in a fan filter. This filter takes care of the 2 available slots on the bottom of the case - more on those in a bit.

At the top 5.25" bay you'll find yet another feature that I've never seen before. They've included a white face plate to stealth in your optical drive. To make it easier they've set the mounting points back in the case to allow the drive to sit where it needs to be. This cleans up the case a lot.

Taking a look inside the case the first thing you see is the HUGE motherboard tray cutout. This should adequately clear most CPU cooler mounting systems. Next up you'll notice the 9 (yes, 9) expansion slots. Yea, this thing means business. On the lower left you'll notice large rubber-clad standoffs for the PSU to sit on. This will ensure adequate airflow to cool your hot PSU. On the lower right you'll see a pair of black squares for the removable HDD trays. More on that in a minute.

To the top right you'll see the tried-and-true NZXT securing mechanism for the 5.25" bays that we first saw on the Phantom, with the top one set back for the ODD.

Engraved into the motherboard tray you'll find a legend for all the markings for the standoff holes. This makes installing your motherboard a breeze. Yes, you see that right. This thing holds SSI-spec server motherboards with ease.

The removable HDD trays are a breeze to install and remove. Simply remove the required thumbscrews, grab the handles and pull it out.

The top one comes out the same way with the addition of needing to unplug the fan connector.

Speaking of the HDD cage fan, it's positionable! It comes with a 140mm unit mounted to the top cage and both cages have provisions for either 140mm or 120mm (25mm wide) fans to be installed. To tilt simply loosen the thumbscrew, tilt, and re-secure the thumb screw. Simple!

The drive trays remove by squeezing the tabs and pulling them out. It doesn't get much easier than that. There's 6 trays total (3 in each section) and each tray is compatible with both 3.5" and 2.5" drives. The 3.5" ones mount via rubberized mounts for vibration absorption and the 2.5" drives mount via 4 screw holes in the bottom of the tray.

With both drive cages removed you've got room for even the longest graphics cards out there. The bottom slider is removable with 4 screws and allows you to fit a pair of 120mm or 140mm fans OR a 120/140mm or even a 240/280mm radiator. In addition to a bottom-mounted radiator you can mount up to a 280mm radiator behind the front fans! Nice.

You'll find spacious accommodations behind the motherboard tray as well. NZXT gives you a spacious 7/8" room between the tray and side panel, a plethora of cable routing grommets and a nice large opening for the +12V CPU power connector.

Situated right in the center you'll see a black PCB with a 4-pin female Molex connector and 7 3-pin fan headers. This helps clean up fan cable routing to a central location to reduce cable clutter behind the motherboard tray. The only downside to this is that it's strictly 12V so all your fans will run on high all the time.

If you want to remove the PCB, say if you're using a fan controller, it's just held on with Velcro. Simply disconnect the wires and pull it off.

The rear of the case packs some new never-before-seen features as well. For instance the rear exhaust fan mounts will accept a 140mm or 120mm fan, but they're also slotted to allow precise control over fan location. This can be helpful for lining up with a CPU cooler exhaust fan for maximum performance. You can also mount a 120mm radiator on the inside or a 120mm or 140mm radiator on the outside and use any of the 4 water cooling grommets provided.

Looking closer at the rear of the case you'll notice 2 LED's mounted in the chassis. Remember that LED button in the front panel? These are what that is for. Push the button and these 2 bright white LED's light up to assist in plugging in cords when it's dark. Yet another nice feature on this already impressive case.

The rear also features the same push-to-lock fan filter that we saw on the front of the case, further simplifying filter cleaning.

There is plenty of room under the case for more than adequate airflow to both the PSU and any front fans or radiator you may have installed.

Looking at the top of the case you'll find a unique top panel design. This is where the "Hybrid" in the description comes from. You can leave these vents closed for silence (air will still exhaust through the mesh running down either side of the panel) or open them for maximum airflow.

The rear of the panel has, you guess it, 2 more push-and-click mechanisms to hold the top panel down. Under the top panel you'll find an ENORMOUS space. There's room up here to fit 3 140mm 0r 120mm fans or up to a 360mm radiator on top, or mount up to a 420mm radiator underneath! WOW!

System Installation

System Specs:

• MSI X48C Platinum
• Intel C2Q Q6600
• 4GB DDR2-800
• Thermaltake Big Typhoon Pro 14
• Ultra X3 800W Modular PSU
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4870
• WD 160GB Caviar Blue
• MSI DVD-RW

Installing a system into this case was easier than any case I've ever put a system into. The room is amazing and the features make installing a system quick, painless and most of all, CLEAN.

Here you can see the nice glow of the power LED. It's bright enough to be seen in bright light but not so bright that it's overpowering in the dark. The HDD LED is identical (albeit smaller). Again the white is a welcome change from the typical blue.

And finally here is a shot of the rear LED's turned on. Again, they're bright enough to do their job but not so bright that they're annoying.

Conclusion

This thing is massive. It's packed with amazingly useful features. It's beautiful. Did I mention it's massive? If you're looking for a large yet good-looking full tower case that's packed to the gills with features that are actually useful, this is it. Period. NZXT has managed to combine form and an abundance of function into the Switch 810. And yet they manage to include all of this for only $169.95. You can pick up a Switch 810 at both the NZXT online store and NewEgg right now. Simply put....WOW.

If our rating scale went to 15, this case would get that with ease. But unfortunately it doesn't. So a perfect 10 and an Editor's Choice rating will have to do. This is one case to definitely keep in mind for you next system.

This product was provided free of charge by the manufacturer for purpose of review.