Date: May 7th, 2009
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: NZXT
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PRODUCT INSTALLATION AND TESTING
NZXT hasn't given us an enormous amount of room inside the 921, but you can get most hardware installed with some forethought and planning. For example, there's just a shade over 11 inches (28cm) available in the graphics card area, and lacking the convenience of a removable mobo tray, it's much easier to make front panel, SATA and USB connections before the board goes into the chassis. The latest, greatest video cards will fit, just barely, and…
…motherboards with out-facing SATA connectors are a bit of a problem to attach cables once the board is in the Guardian and, once installed, require the cables (see red arrow) to be bent at a relatively severe angle. While I had no performance issues with this arrangement, prospective users should take heed. They should also be aware that the audio cable (blue arrow) was just barely long enough to reach the audio header with the HD connector.
A sharp tug on the bottom of the front panel and it comes right off. We'll need to break out one metal bay cover to install our optical drive. These metal plates are also replaceable and can be secured with screws. A plastic bay cover needs to be removed and then the front panel/door assembly can be reattached to the case. The ODD can then slide into the bay from the front and secured with the latches.
The included drive rails snap onto the HDD and slide into the cage until a satisfying “click” is heard. With all the hardware installed and the connections made…
…we have a completed install. The Guardian 921 is not the roomiest mid-tower I've seen, and the lack of cable management features can make routing a bit of a chore, but a relatively neat and tidy installation can be accomplished with a bit of planning (and a few choice words!)
The drive locking features worked very well and the expansion card solution seems to hold the rather heavy 8800 graphics card very securely. I'm not optimistic about the longevity of these features if very many drive/graphics card swaps are in their future, but they do work as advertised.
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