We
received the all black version of the Adamas however
the Adamas can also be purchased in silver. It
is a simple yet elegant case, yes there is far
more to the Adamas than first meets the eye. The
chassis feels so sturdy that it could probably
survive a fall from the second floor of a building
and the panels feel so thick that could probably
withstand a gunshot.
Inside
the case we find a very basic bundle. Just some
proper lengthened screws for the optical and hard
disk drives which are necessary because of the
thickness of the chassis, motherboard standoffs
and a few metallic drive locks are all we are
going to get. NZXT also included a small but well
written manual.
No
part of the Adamas is painted. The entire case
is brushed anodized aluminum. The anodized aluminum
won’t reflect the light and so it won’t
create mirroring effects, on the contrary it seems
to absorb it, making accurate focusing from our
cameras very hard. The surface is cold and very
smooth to the touch and this smoothness is only
interrupted by the protruding fins the Adamas
has on every side, but specifically at the top.
These fins function as a huge heatsink, giving
it a distinct advantage over cases with just a
good airflow design.
The front panel may be
very simple but it is far from unsightly as the
edges around the drive bays and the buttons are
smooth and chromed, creating a delicate color
contrast. The buttons themselves are brushed aluminum
and not plastic as we originally thought. In fact
it would seem that the only plastic parts on the
Adamas are the cooling fans! NZXT did a marvelous
job on hiding the front USB, Firewire and audio
ports as well. The second 3.5” cover actually
is a masterfully hidden door which opens by simply
pushing on it and reveals two USB 2.0 ports, a
Firewire port and the headset audio ports.
On
a side note, the color and the chromed edges of
the NZXT Adamas appear to be strikingly similar
to that of the Enermax Aurora keyboard. We feel
that these two in pair would help create a very
stylish desktop system, especially when also paired
with a black/chrome TFT monitor such as the LG
1980Q.
Interestingly
enough, the rear of the case is also made out
of black anodized aluminum. This is a rare sight
indeed, as most cases are built with a raw aluminum
or steel chassis and only the panels of the case
are anodized or painted. It seems that NZXT thought
this wouldn’t be a good solution for this
hardcore chassis, so the entire unit is made out
of black anodized aluminum as well. A sole 120mm
exhaust fan is present at the back.
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The
most peculiar parts of the Adamas are the side
panels. Each feature two latches which release
the side panel once they are both pressed, allowing
it to be removed sideward, not by pushing it towards
the back of the case. They do not need (and you
cannot use) screws in order to be secured. When
the side panels are installed there is no chance
of them falling off by themselves, but this case
should not be used in public or in insecure areas.
Two 120mm fans are pre-installed on the right
side panel, unfortunately, while the fans themselves
are moderately silent, the design of the side
panel air vents creates turbulence which in turn
creates some minor noise when the fans are spinning.
Switching to other fans will not help at all;
actually it is most likely that you will get things
worse. We would like to see a better designed
side panel air vents in future revisions of this
case, which will aid airflow and minimize noise.
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Taking
a look at the bottom section revealed to us even
more surface fins and yes even this area is entirely
black. There are four wide plastic feet, which
are screwed in. The wide feet keep the case very
steady and highly unlikely to be knocked over,
even if forcefully hit.
Yet
another surprising feature is the front panel.
The entire front panel can be removed, however
the procedure for doing so is somewhat unique
… there is a handle at the bottom of the
faceplate which once pulled will release the front
panel completely, allowing you to install your
optical drives or other devices (and to occasionally
clean the front 120mm intake fan air filter).
You can reinstall the front panel by simply pushing
it back into place.
The
interior is clean but also rather spartan as there
is no expansion card locking mechanism and the
3.5” slots do not feature drive rails. The
5.25” slots can be installed with small
metallic drive rails, but holes for screws exist
as well. When installing or upgrading a system
inside the Adamas, you will have to do it the
old fashion way with a screwdriver at hand. The
only silver parts are the drive cages and the
motherboard tray. A simple 120mm black silent
fan can be found at the rear, while another is
present right in front of the 3.5” drive
cage. This is the first time we ever tested a
chassis with both 5.25” and 3.5” drive
cages having small fins expanding all across their
length, acting as heatsinks for the installed
drives. A rather nice touch we feel.
The
cables inside are the basic cables you will find
in any PC case nowadays. Besides the basic front
panel key and LED cables, there are three cables
for the front USB, Firewire and Audio ports. It
is worthwhile to mention that while the USB, Firewire
and Audio cables come with the standard connectors
(both AC97 and HD for the audio ports) they also
expand to individual cables, for those motherboards
which do not follow the standard pin design for
any reason.
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Installing
a system is not going to take long at all, even
without the tool-less locks and rails. The Adamas
may not be very large but provides enough spaces
to route and hide cables. There is a good clearance
between the motherboard and the power supply unit,
but a large graphics card might obstruct one of
the 3.5” drive slots. While the interior
is not small at all for a normal system, we feel
that enthusiasts may be slightly disappointed.
There is no room for large water-cooling solutions
or other similar equipment, although simple water-cooling
systems with a single fan radiator should fit
inside.
