WYP
News Guru
Yesterday NZXT started a new blog series which will detail the products that, although mostly developed, never made it into production.
Today we look at the first of these products, the Switch 920
With the release of the Switch 810 in 2012, NZXT put to market a case with an aggressive price, an outstanding feature set and an excellent aesthetic, easily obtaining OC3D's prestigious gold award.
But as with many cases today the Switch 810 was wrapped in plastic, NZXT were swamped with requests for a full Aluminium paneled Switch 810, with many saying that plastic is not suitable for "higher Tier enthusiasts".
Here was where the Switch 920 came into the picture, born from consumer feedback and based on a case that was "so damn close to being perfect its unreal", as TTL put it. A computer model of the case is shown below.
The case was a simple concept, it was to cost around $230, have an exterior made from Aluminium Paneling, contain 5 140mm fans at stock and also contain electrical features such as; 2x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0, a 4x 15w fan controller, an SDXC card reader, a glowing activity bar and last but not least battery powered interior lighting.
Easily the most innovative feature was the battery powered internal lighting, which would allow users to light up the internals of their PC even when turned off, this would allow many of us to have a much better view of our systems when building or repairing them, definitely a great idea for us enthusiasts.
Many of these features can be seen in NZXT's Phantom 820 today, like the fan controller and the internal LEDs, sadly the battery pack concept was removed from the internal LED system, likely due to cost or size issues.
Ultimately the case failed to make it for two main reason, looks and expense.
Costs were much higher than initially thought with the initial MSRP of $230 turning into $300, this was mostly due to the high costs of purchasing and working Aluminium over plastic.
This combined with what NZXT agreed was a "lackluster and not all that sexy" design forced this be pushed back in favor of other designs.
This eventually forcing the project to be cancelled as the project was too risky to continue working on.
This is what Rob Teller, NZXT designer, ended on;
It is always sad to see something like this happen, a project which will never be finished and a case which will never hold hardware.
Ultimately NZXT made the right decision in not producing this case, but the many people who wanted an Aluminium 810 like case will never get their wish granted.
I look forward to seeing more of these unreleased products from NZXT, I hope their sacrifices are not in vain and that NZXT will release "something greater" in their places.
Source - NZXT
Today we look at the first of these products, the Switch 920
With the release of the Switch 810 in 2012, NZXT put to market a case with an aggressive price, an outstanding feature set and an excellent aesthetic, easily obtaining OC3D's prestigious gold award.
But as with many cases today the Switch 810 was wrapped in plastic, NZXT were swamped with requests for a full Aluminium paneled Switch 810, with many saying that plastic is not suitable for "higher Tier enthusiasts".
Here was where the Switch 920 came into the picture, born from consumer feedback and based on a case that was "so damn close to being perfect its unreal", as TTL put it. A computer model of the case is shown below.
The case was a simple concept, it was to cost around $230, have an exterior made from Aluminium Paneling, contain 5 140mm fans at stock and also contain electrical features such as; 2x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0, a 4x 15w fan controller, an SDXC card reader, a glowing activity bar and last but not least battery powered interior lighting.
Easily the most innovative feature was the battery powered internal lighting, which would allow users to light up the internals of their PC even when turned off, this would allow many of us to have a much better view of our systems when building or repairing them, definitely a great idea for us enthusiasts.
Many of these features can be seen in NZXT's Phantom 820 today, like the fan controller and the internal LEDs, sadly the battery pack concept was removed from the internal LED system, likely due to cost or size issues.
Ultimately the case failed to make it for two main reason, looks and expense.
Costs were much higher than initially thought with the initial MSRP of $230 turning into $300, this was mostly due to the high costs of purchasing and working Aluminium over plastic.
This combined with what NZXT agreed was a "lackluster and not all that sexy" design forced this be pushed back in favor of other designs.
This eventually forcing the project to be cancelled as the project was too risky to continue working on.
This is what Rob Teller, NZXT designer, ended on;
It is always sad to see something like this happen, a project which will never be finished and a case which will never hold hardware.
Ultimately NZXT made the right decision in not producing this case, but the many people who wanted an Aluminium 810 like case will never get their wish granted.
I look forward to seeing more of these unreleased products from NZXT, I hope their sacrifices are not in vain and that NZXT will release "something greater" in their places.
Source - NZXT
