Findings of the NZXT H440 “RAZER Edition”
It is possible to mod any case in the world. I have seen almost every brand be modded in some way but most people get sponsored or they built it for a person that has a lot of money to pay a professional modder to build them one just the way the modder thinks that person wants. Or the builder can spend up to a month working on a theme, and getting the parts and spending 3 to 4 thousand dollars of man hours, parts and paint to finish it. This is the CASE with NZXT H440 “Razer Edition”. This case includes its own Theme “Razer” the color combination is perfect, and building in it could not be easier and it is sound insulated. Many companies have tried this formula and NZXT is not the first company to do a factory mod but they are the first of a very few that have done it successfully.
The Theme
The idea behind the three headed snake of “Razer” resembles some kind of mythological creature, or some have speculated that there is something diabolical about it, but the real idea behind it is so simple and funny that it is really worth telling.
Snakes have a primary diet of eating small mammals and frogs but they love mice, and “Razer” wanted to make a gaming mouse could eat all the other mice around it. Basically they wanted their products to be a predator to all the other competition around it in the business, primarily mice or gaming mice. “Razer” wanted to be the eater of the other mice that were their rivals. So snakes looking Omni-directionally are basically saying they devour the competition that is surrounding them.
So what about the name Razer? That has another meaning entirely than snakes eating mice. You may now have a inclining to ask, so what inspired the name, Razer? Actually the name came about quite as a joke and clearly by mistake. According to the owner that name came to be official because the day that “Razer” became a fully fledged legal company the person responsible for filling out the paperwork had to give it a name. That morning the owner had cut himself shaving and the name Razor stuck with him. So there is the name “Razer”. But then while filling out legal and binding papers, he misspelled the word “Razor” and filled out the paperwork with the word “Razer” and a legend was born.
Please don’t think for a moment that “Razer” sent out some mass mailing to every case company out there hoping for an idea to collaborate with a case company for a “Razer Edition”. In fact I can only think of a few other companies in the world that could attract “Razer’s” attention enough for a collaborative effort worthy of the NZXT H440 “Razer Edition” and truly that would be a really short list and I will not even think of telling you who I think these other companies are. Enthusiasts that build computers know who I am speaking of, but I still will not divulge those names here. It’s not my place to say.
In All The NZXT H440 is an amazing case on its own and has wonderful untarnished record of being a silent and cool running case but the added look of the Razer Essence is there and makes it better.
In some other articles about the NZXT H440 “Razer Edition” case the writer speculated that it would be better to not spend the extra for this model because the regular case is just as good and this one was no different. Well that is clearly not true in my opinion. It is the kind of case that “Razer” would make if they made gaming cases. The lighting is fitted perfectly under the case was not done on the cheap. There is a perfectly mounted diffuser that just is simply not on any of the other cases. The Lighted I/O ports and PCI ports are not common and its professionally set into the case as if they were meant to be there and not just an add on. The Switch to turn it off and the PC Board by “Razer” is added to the case as well. The logo in the front is perfectly mounted as if it were made that way from the beginning and the Razer lighted power supply portion is done so perfectly that I can’t say I would want to have any other type. Basically you are paying 50.00 for a full theme and lighting mod with a smoked window. Not a bad bargain.
I know this case will not appeal to everyone and it’s not meant to, but if you decide to buy this case you are not wasting your money on the extras. It may be atheistic that you are paying for but the case could hardly be improved upon as is. The Printed circuit boards that are part of the case are not found on lower cost cases and are primarily found on cases costing hundreds more. What I am trying to note is the price of this case is justified and even a bargain for what the buyer gets in the cases build quality, silence and air flow. It truly is on the same level with cases costing lots more and for good reason. The NZXT team reinvented the computer case with these newer almost scratch mod cases. They watched how the enthusiast and the Modder’s built and modified their cases and they truly did their level best to repeat it in a manufacturing environment and some of us are very glad they listened to us.
We begged case companies to use our advice and not many ever tried or even acted as if they listened. There is too much “Bureaucracy in the Beast” now for most companies to follow anything without having twelve meeting and a few semi engineers to stick their tongues at it, but that is where the NZXT team is different and Razer too. NZXT and Razer both watched and they learned, they were fans of what the Modder’s were doing and saw the innovations that we were coming up with and they used some of our ideas and did it really well. I am proud and glad that they did too.
Thank you NZXT for following our lead and listening to us and watching us build scratch and theme mods and seeing how to make a case for the NZXT generation. Of course Thank you “Razer” for making an already nice case even better. Your edition is a winner and is no doubt sure to eat the competition around it. This case will be a collector’s item one day I am almost sure of that.
Overall ThinkComputers gives the NZXT H440 Razer Edition Case a 9 out of 10 score and our Editor’s Choice Award!
Pros:
– Stealth like color, Tinting and sound proofing
– Theme was done right, not over done like others, but looks professional.
– 360 Radiator ready at the top of the case
– Steel construction for strength.
– Quazi-Tool-less design
– Printed circuit boards though-out the case
Cons:
– Not 100% steel since there are lots of materials that make up this case. Inner case is 100 % Steel.
– The side vinyl window is very easy to scratch.
