The front panel of the Duet hides all of the drives and ports behind an aluminum-faced plastic bezel. The USB/audio ports are on the left side below the power button. By pressing on the front top of the access door the spring catch releases and the flap folds down. The drive bay cover uses the entire right side piece as a door which is held shut by magnets built into the bezel. There is a slight depression in the top center to get ahold of the edge and pull forward to release. Hidden hinges in the bottom corners and a gear reduction drive allow the door to fold slowly down without assistance. With the way the hinges are designed, in a desktop orientation either the case must be raised slightly up, or the front must overhang the surface it is resting on in order for the door to open fully. Hidden by the door are two 5¼" drive bays and one 3½" as well as a small reset button in the corner.



The left side of the Duet (or bottom, depending on which way you position it) has a grill opening in the front corner. Immediately behind the vent is a fan bracket sized for a standard 80mm fan which is not included. Although not apparent yet, (we'll take a look inside next) this is the exhaust port for the power supply and you will definitely want a fan to put in this location. Also if you lay the case down flat the vent is blocked so the case will need to be raised up off the surface. The rear of the case holds two 80mm fans which are included, directly above the I/O motherboard plate. I was surprised NZXT was able to squeeze them in there, most desktop cases I've seen use at most a 60mm fan in this position. One riser slot has a removable plate cover, the rest are snap-out pieces. The last riser on the far right holds a standard power cord receptacle which may seem a bit strange until you realize there's no opening for a power supply here.