A Closer Look - Outside

The front of the case does do it justice upon first look. "Guardian" is certainly a well chosen name, as the shape and design of the case can be interpreted as a head (LCD Display) and shield (front door of the chassis). The LCD display is hidden behind a black tinted portion of the case. It has been raised above the upper edge of the chassis a bit, which does look quite nice and gives way to more drive bays in return. The door opens from left to right. This is perfect, as the window is located on the left side of the Guardian. This means that you will most likely place the chassis to the right of your working area, to expose this windowed panel.


The rear of the chassis looks nothing out of the ordinary and is a good indication of what you may expect on the inside. As is the case with most mainstream NZXT enclosures, which focus on external design, the interior should look quite traditional. The windowed side panel features a nice design and also holds a 120 mm fan in the center. This cooling unit is equipped with blue LEDs as well. The other side panel is completely clean and does not even feature any air vents.


Taking a closer look at the rear, starting at the bottom, there are the seven standard expansion slots for the mainboard. They are covered by seperate metal pieces which can be reused. Two holes allow for water cooling to be routed through the chassis rear. Moving up, the center area is taken by the mainboard backplate and the 120 mm rear exaust fan. You will have to install the power supply up top. The only option is with the fan facing downward.