Setup

We'll declare this up front - the NZXT Guardian is a very easy case to work with. To get into the guts of the chassis, you need to remove the two thumbscrews securing each side panel of the case. You can remove all four thumbscrews (two for each side) but you really only need access to the left panel and not the right side.

Once the left side panel is off, it's a matter of installing the motherboard standoffs into the appropriate form factor holes and then screwing the motherboard down into the case. Now here's a very cool and nice touch - NZXT labels all the motherboard standoff holes for the various motherboard form factors. It seems like a small thing but it simplifies installation since you won't have to keep checking whether a hole on the case matches a screw hole on the motherboard.

Unfortunately, the Guardian does not use a removable motherboard tray so you'll need to install the motherboard right inside the chassis. Remember to install the appropriate I/O shield appropriate for your motherboard.

The next step was to install the drives into the case which consists of a Toshiba DVD-ROM drive and a 30GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive. One of the best features of the Guardian case is its tool-less chassis design. Other than the four thumbscrews at the rear of the case, there's no real reason for a screwdriver. The drives are held into place by locks located on the left side of the case.

Slide a drive into the drive bay; push the lock forward and then down to secure the drive into position.

PCI and AGP cards are secured into position by a simple snap down locking mechanism.

These card fasteners rotate into a locking position once a card is in place. Here's a picture of the AGP card held into place with a card fastener.

Once the drives and cards were positioned into place, we connected the power cables from the PSU to the motherboard and peripherals. The final pieces were to connect the front panel cables to the motherboard. NOTE - Don't go looking for a power LED cable. There is no power LED cable to attach to the motherboard since the front panel connects directly to the PSU.

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