Phanteks NV5 – a Revolutionary Step Change
The new king of mid-tower cases
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There’s something incredibly humbling about building a PC. It’s one of those hobbies that, for those involved, holds a special place in their hearts. It’s very similar to classic car restoration, carpentry, or even painting. You need knowledge, and hours upon hours researching the hardware, the kit you need for your budget build. You need a particular passion, and patience to piece it all together. It may sound pretentious, but at its core, it’s a refined art form.
For a lucky few, we have the privilege of turning that passion into a career, and for others the ability to transform a system into something truly spectacular, something unique, something completely bespoke, modded to the high heavens. You don’t need to venture far to find some incredible builds out there.
Phanteks NV5
Case type
Mid-tower
Material
Tempered Glass
Fan size
120 Millimetres
Item weight
11.34 Kilograms
Item dimensions L x W x H
47.8 x 23.9 x 52.8 centimetres
- Ample room for components
- Fish tank-like glass design
- RGB strip
- RGB extension sold at additional cost
But the thing is, in reality, every system is special. It’s special to the person who built it, to the person who bought it, to the person who uses it. Because it’s theirs, it’s their passion, their choices, their decision, that has led to this, thing, being there with them, being useful to them. And that’s important, we often judge a custom PC by how it looks, and what modifications it has, but they’re all special.
Over the last few years, and as PC gaming hardware has become more mainstream and advanced, companies have continued to push the envelope for what’s possible when it comes to the hardware that they can provide. Features that were once modded show-pieces, become mainstream elements of new case design. More efficient lighting and cable management solutions make their way into products, and intuitive design elements help simplify what was once a complicated and daunting process.
At The Cutting Edge
Phanteks, has without a doubt, been at the forefront of that effort since its inception. Going from strength to strength and continuing to revolutionize its product stack, whether that’s through its Evolv case line, to Power Supplies, RGB fans, liquid-cooling, and more, it’s never a company that has once rested on its laurels when it comes to intrinsically creating ever more impressive products.
Its latest foray into that breach is its NV series of cases particularly the NV5. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to get hands-on thanks to the guys and gals over at Overclockers UK. This beautiful tower of pristine seamless glass and steel can pick in an incredible amount of hardware, particularly given its form factor. There’s full support for motherboards up to E-ATX, graphics cards up to 440mm in length and 170mm wide, and no less than mounting locations for upwards of 8 120mm fans overall throughout, with suitable radiator support along with it.
Cooling Majesty
So the top-line specs are impressive enough, but it’s the impeccably smart cooling design of the chassis itself that is the real showstopper. Full glass cases have, inherently, always had issues with cooling. Namely, supplying a decent amount of intake air to the GPU, with glass acting as a naturally insulative material. With the NV5, Phanteks has included a bottom-mounted 120mm fan mount, specifically to draw cool air in for the GPU directly from underneath the case, and straight up into the GPU. Giving it its own dedicated intake. Not only will that help keep GPU temps low, and performance high, but it’ll also naturally encourage the chassis to act more akin to a chimney, than a traditional chassis would.
An up-close view of the revolutionary Phanteks NV5 computer case in black.
The Phanteks NV5, a black computer case, sitting on a table.
A black Phanteks NV5 computer case sitting on top of a desk.
The Phanteks NV5 – a revolutionary computer case with a lot of wires and cables.
A sleek Phanteks NV5 computer case, the revolutionary step change in design and functionality, elegantly perched atop a modern desk.
A sleek Phanteks NV5 computer case sitting on a table in a modern room.
A black Phanteks NV5 computer case sitting on top of a desk.
That’s a good thing by the way, the problem with most modern cases is that they to draw cool air in, and force it into the chassis. Physics then dictates that the air will heat up and escape out of the top of the case rapidly. This is why, more often than not, cases have a rear 120mm fan to help pull air through and cool all areas of the case.
With a chimney design, and that bottom fan pushing air directly upwards, it works with convection, to encourage hot air to move up and out of the chassis far faster, whilst covering more of the case, with those three side intakes drawing air in. Mount your 360mm AIO in the roof, to encourage that process even further, and you’ll immediately be on to an impressively cool case, despite the glass paneling all around.
If custom loops are more your thing, you could instead mount two 360mm radiators in here, one in the roof, and one on the side, along with a final 120mm in the rear of the chassis as well.
Design Features
Phanteks has also thought about the system builder when it comes to cable management and overall internal design, with intelligently sized cable management grommets and channels throughout, along with better spacing for those larger 12VHPWR cables we’re seeing with the latest generation of NVIDIA graphics cards too. Combine that with rear cable management tidy doors, plenty of Velcro straps, and smart 2.5-inch drive mounting locations, and it’s only one of the easier cases to build in.
And if you really want to make it pop, you can also pick up an extended dRGB lighting kit for the entire case surrounds as well, that’ll match the integrated lighting found on the PSU cover too. Simply plug it into the included dRGB controller that comes with the case, and you’ll be good to go.
The Perfect Chassis?
The Phanteks NV5 is, without a doubt, one of the classiest cases out there right now to build in. Combine all of the above, with a phenomenally affordable £85 price point, and colorways available in both black and white, and honestly, this thing is an absolute beast. Phanteks has built something absolutely special here, and for only £85 it’s an absolute must-have, for any would-be PC builder looking to find a home for their next gaming PC. You can pick one up right now from Overclockers UK.
