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NZXT Lexa Blackline – Externals

The overall design and aesthetics of the NZXT Lexa Blackline is not a new concept. In fact, it has already been tried and tested in the original Lexa case. However, there are a few variations that differ in this new enclosure. Firstly, the Blackline is constructed of steel rather than aluminium. As you may expect this does lead to quite a dramatic increase in weight effectively doubling it from 5.6kg to a much more substantial 11.5kg. The other material difference is the front panel which is plastic as opposed to aluminium in the Lexa.

The Lexa Blackline has a very distinctive look accentuated by the curved front panel which is described as being touched with a piano black finish – effectively shiny black. In the middle of the panel is a light bar with another small light at the bottom which looks much like an exclamation mark. Right at the top is where the silver power button is located.

To access the reset button though, the front acts as a door and swings open to reveal the drive bays. Overall there are four 5.25” drives and two floppy disk drive bays and in between the two floppy bays is another shiny silver button – the reset button.

At the very top of the enclosure is a small display (this can’t be seen when the power is off as it is just tinted black plastic) which shows the three values of the temperature probes inside the case.
The I/O ports for this case are situated in a rather odd position – at the bottom on the side of the front curve. This seems strange as if they need to used regularly they are difficult to access and so could soon get very annoying. Surely, the top or bottom of the actual front panel would have been a better choice? Anyway, the ports are:

• Twin USB ports
• FireWire Socket
• Microphone Jack
• Headphone Jack

The side panel of the Lexa Blackline is a large acrylic square with rounded edges allowing the user to see the whole of the interior. Also, this allows the distinctive red light that is produced by the two 120mm red LED fans to be emitted as a glow.

One of these fans is attached to the side panel itself and is simply screwed into the plastic with a vent allowing cool air to enter the case and be spread by the fan.

The whole side looks like a very disproportionate ‘H’ with a huge body and little legs. These legs help add to the design as well as keeping the case off the floor to allow ventilation.

Finally, the handle is a shiny silver ‘u’ shape with the NZXT logo in silver letters in the middle. Moreover, there is a little lock on it to allow the user to secure their case using the keys provided.

The other side panel is extremely bored and has absolutely no features what-so-ever.

On the top of the enclosure is a small vent to allow the system fan to dissipate the hot air through. This is the only feature on the top as the rest is simply black metal.

The back of the enclosure is the standard layout for a mid-tower case: top-mounted PSU, the motherboard hole next to the 120mm fan vent and 7 PCI slots below it. As with most cases, the pre-drilled water cooling holes are included with two grommet-filled holes next to the PCI slots.

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