NZXT M59 Mid-Tower

The often used but equally misunderstood statement “you get what you pay for” has not only been applied to the M59, it has been proven a fact. As mentioned earlier, this chassis comes in at $60US and can be found for less on sale. I have tested units costing double this that did not offer the same features and quality. This is by far one of the best budget offerings to cross my desk to date.

Another re-occurring theme throughout my review is the quality of the design and in the build itself. The paint feels of a higher standard and the lack of sharp edges along with the double rolling of all the seams is just not seen in this price-range. Add in the use of good quiet and effective cooling fans and you get a winner of a case. NZXT really did their job well here and they should rightfully take a bow.

As with any product, there are some downfalls. The one big downfall that is hard to overlook is the fact I could not fit my 120mm heat sink inside. In fact, I tried the Cooler Master V8 as well with no success. Luckily, overall performance was not reduced too much with a smaller heat sink, but I do warn anyone who puts this case on their short list to make sure their heat sink will fit.

The next downfall that is somewhat of a puzzle is the fact that when you install a ODD drive in the top slot you effectively block one of the top panel fan mounting locations from being used. Closer inspection should have been used here and this problem could have been avoided with another inch in overall chassis length. Again, this is hardly a deal breaker since there is no real need to install dual fans internally, it is just another smudge on an otherwise clean build.

I feel this chassis warrants a rating of 8 out of10 on our rating scale. The pros far outweigh the cons. I find it hard to fault this chassis when I put the price and competition into perspective. Nothing I have personally tested comes close to overall performance in its class and it even competes very well with offerings costing more than double. Adding an inch of width and an inch of length would have made this good case great. Keep up the good work NZXT, and keep feeding us these awesome values!

Give this chassis a hard look if money is tight, or even if not, because I feel that there is nothing else out there right now that can compete with it from the value proposition.

Pros
• Excellent quality.
• Great cooling ability.
• High-quality quiet fans.
• Low price (~$59.99).

Cons
• Top ODD drive blocks fan port.
• Tough to fit large heat sinks inside.

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