A Closer Look - Outside

The Ximatek Nebula employs a mixture of aluminum, steel, and plastic to create its look. Its exterior essentially looks like the two plastic parts on top and the bottom are sandwiching together an aluminum box. Right out of the box, there is a protective layer on the Nebula's top as it is completely smooth, which makes it prone to fingerprints and scratches.


The front of the chassis is completely solid, and you will notice the missing external drive bay immediately. Many ITX cases do not come with the feature or resort to offering a slimline slot. I think a slimline slot would have been nice to have, but with services like Netflix, there is no real need either, which is why I will not dock this case any points for its lack of an external drive bay. Look at the rear and it becomes apparent that the Nebula's frame is out of steel and that you can employ a fully sized PSU to power its innards, once installed.


Both side panels are also completely solid and out of aluminum. You will find the I/O on one of these. The I/O consists of a pair of USB 3.0 and the usual audio in- and outputs.


Xigmatek decided to put the power LED into the front-left corner of the chassis. It is shaped to look as though a piece of the chassis was cut off to reveal some hot magma glowing through from the inside. Xigmatek's Logo has also been placed on the front panel.


Turning the chassis around, there are two expansion slots for your Mini-ITX system, which makes installing a dual-slot graphics card possible. This gives you the ability to build a nice little gaming rig for your TV, for example. Above that is the PSU slot and a vent that gives the 120 mm exhaust fan a way to push hot air out the back of the chassis.


A large square power button on the top of the chassis allows you to easily turn your system on and off. Even though an orange ring surrounds, there is no underlining LED, making this a simple visual feature.