Results

Strength

In terms of strength, this case was not the best as the top comprises of a series of plastic strips, so as to allow airflow, however this makes the top incredibly weak as the plastic bends if you simply push it with your fingers – probably not the best candidate for the being thrown around at a LAN.

Cooling and Noise

Cooling for this case is definitely not an issue, as with four system fans (two of which are 200mm) huge system airflow is produced ensuring everything is kept extremely cool. And, if you’re wanting more cooling there is even room for another fan to be fitted on the chassis floor. In terms noise, the case too, despite what you might think about having four fans, is exceptionally quiet – the fans marketed as silent actually are truly silent. Even so if you wish to tone down the cooling, the fans have switches allowing the user to choose form three settings so as to reach their optimum noise to cooling ratio.

Drive Bays

For the NOX Coolbay, all the drive bays are very simplistic. There are no special quick release notches or plastic mounts. Instead, for both the 3.25” and 5.25” drives, they slot into place and are secured by screws. Now this may not seem very modern, but in actual fact in my opinion is the best way to install drives as it is not only incredibly easy to do but in fact only takes a few seconds as well and you don’t have to bother attaching any rails beforehand. Certainly thumbs up for going back to basics here.

Cable Management

Cable management is also dealt with pretty well in this enclosure, as there are plenty of zip ties included and the cables can all be slotted behind the motherboard to ensure they don’t prove to be a nuisance.

Cost

The Nox Coolbay is going to be on sale for around £90 which for a case of this calibur, I think is a pretty nice deal.