Like the NZXT Hush did for mid-tower owners, the Whisper looks to do for those who want a bit more room in their case. With seven external 5¼" bays available and a whopping nine internal 3½" drive trays, the Whisper would make for an excellent server case or a high-end workstation with a need for lots of storage capacity. And all the features like solid panels backed with acoustical foam, rubber isolators for the power supply and hard drives and quiet running fans included, you would expect to make this a nearly noise-free enclosure.

Unfortunately the biggest complaint I have with the Whisper and the one that is likely to deter many enthusiasts, is NZXT's inclusion of a solid metal divider separating the top and lower sections of the case. While this has the benefit of offering four additional hard drive mounting locations, the divider effectively negates almost all cooling airflow for the top partition of the chassis. With the power supply located in the bottom, there is only the single 120mm exhaust fan to draw hot air out of the top of the case, and although the front door is slotted for airflow, all the bay panels are solid, so that the only place air can move into the top is through two small openings in the divider. If you're using liquid cooling with the heat exchanger mounted outside the case there probably won't be an issue, however if you're relying on air cooling to get the job done, there just isn't enough airflow for a high-heat producing processor and video card, much less two or more.

I also ran into a problem with the power supply cables being too short to reach the uppermost regions of the case, particularly the ATX and +12v connectors. One power supply simply would not reach at all, the other just barely. If you want to be able to do any kind of cable management you will need a power supply with some extra long cables or extensions. NZXT could have alleviated some of the problem by skipping the dual 80mm fans in the bottom section, or at the very least placing them below the power supply. This would free up a few inches of length.

The Whisper didn't live up to its name when it comes to quiet operation either. Although the foam-backed panels do a good job of reducing noise coming from the top or sides of the case, the LED fan they've opted to use in the lower intake position is not what I'd call whisper quiet. In fact it's probably a mid-level fan and is definitely noticeable when run at full speed. If you're going for dead quiet you will need a fan controller to reduce the speed of this fan. You would think the hard drive trays with their rubber grommets would reduce any noise coming from that area either, however when the metal trays are slid into the cage they are not held 100% firmly in place. There is some small amount of movement the tray can make and due to the metal on metal this generates a slight buzz or rattle when the drives get into heavy actuation, totally negating any benefit the rubber mount may have.

I found the Whisper available online in the $140-$150 range, and although that price isn't out of question for a well-featured steel full tower case, that places it among some very stiff competition. One that comes immediately to mind is the Cooler Master HAF I reviewed just two weeks ago. I like the looks of the Whisper and NZXT has incorporated some nice features into it, however there are some failings with the Whisper that I feel need addressed to really put this case on par with its peers.

Thanks to NZXT for providing the Whisper case for review.