Review – NZXT Lexa S Mid Tower Chassis
To round out our trio of NZXT cases, I present the Lexa S Mid Tower Chassis. This is the higher-end of NZXT’s case offerings. As such, it bears a premium price over the other two that we’ve reviewed in the last week. Do the extra features justify the extra cost? Read on to find out.
Features
You’re going to see most of the features that were on the Beta EVO and M59 cases here. Bottom-mounted PSU, pre-cut holes for cable management and holes for a liquid cooling system are all present. The SSD bracket and smoke colored window from the M59 are also found here. Not everything is the same, as you’ll find an extra pair of fans, as well as individual controls for the intake and exhaust fans. They also included rubber inserts for the cable management holes. These help keep the cables exactly where you want them, and are certainly appreciated.
First Look
The fist thing you’ll notice with the Lexa S is the large “shield” covering most of the front. It is rather minimalistic from the front. You’ll find a grill on the bottom for the front ventilation, a single chrome accent and a trio of LED bars. If you swing open the front, you’ll find something not on the other two cases. A pair of knobs is present, which gives you control of two sets of fans (up to two fans per knob can be controlled). This allows you to adjust the noise:temperature ratio as you please.
Inside you’ll see a familiar sight, as it looks virtually identical to the M59, complete with an all-black interior and SSD bracket. The only things that you’ll notice are the extra fans and the rubber inserts for the cable management.
Installation
There’s really not much to add here that wasn’t covered in the M59 review. Since the two are almost identical on the inside, I’d hate to bore you with all of the details again. I will mention that the rubber inserts do clean up the look of the finished product a bit. I’m a big stickler for proper cable management, so that means big points in my book. You’ve also got a few extra wires to deal with, thanks to the fan controls on the front. In a case without dedicated cable management features, this sort of thing would be annoying. However, once everything was in place I barely noticed the wires, as they were hidden behind the other side panel.
Verdict
The Lexa S rounds out our trio of NZXT reviews, taking its place as the highest priced of the three. The $69 price puts it $10 above the M59 and $20 over the Beta EVO. For the extra price you’re getting dedicated fan controls, extra fans and rubber inserts for the cable management holes. In my opinion it’s more than worth it. That said, this is my favorite cases to date.
[ NZXT ]
