Performance Results

We compared the performance of this new case with the results obtained from the previously tested enclosures, the Nexus was configured with its two 120mm fans running at 12v, they remain quite silent at this speed, providing enough airflow.

We configured the system in its default configuration, the first stress test immediately exposed a heating problem inside the case, since the rear exhaust is situated at the bottom, all hot air which is at the top is trapped, now place a high end VGA card at this location and you run into overheating issues. With the 8800 GTX running at 100% fanspeed the system was definitely not silent; thus we tried two different alternations to the default configuration to see if they can have a positive impact on the performance.

We removed all the PCI brackets at the rear, this way hot air can escape near the top.

We turned the case upside down, by doing this the configuration inside is standard ATX layout, PSU at the top, VGA at the bottom.



When the system was running idle, we measured 42dBA at ~50cm from the front panel, by using a passive CPU cooler (Scythe Ninja, Thermalright HR-01, …) and 3rd party VGA cooling we’re sure the noise level can be lower still.

Here are the performance results:



The results are ranked by maximum CPU temperature obtained, going by this variable the Caterpillar does quiet good, able to keep the CPU cooler than most larger cases, even those which have faster fans and make more noise. HDD temperatures are very good too, since the HDD bay sits right in front of a 120mm in-take we weren’t expecting anything less.

The only real downside as you’ve no doubt noticed is the VGA GPU temperature, in the default config it reached a new high of 95°C, that’s 16°C higher than the 2nd hottest case tested yet. We would not recommend running any high VGA inside this case without adding extra cooling or doing some modifications (a top blowhole would work wonders).

Checking the results of the alternative configurations we can see that by simply removing the rear PCI brackets the GPU temperature drops to 90°C, still too high (and noisy). Lastly by turning the case upside down the temperature drops another 1.5°C, but it’s clear that the lack of the direct airflow to the VGA compartment inside the case is causing these above average temperatures.

Conclusive Thoughts

Nexus is selling this case in US for ~$120 which is a tad on the high side compared to similar sized cases. In Europe prices noticeably lower, listed at ~€70 at the time of writing, which is a very interesting offer.

Installation is straight forward as Nexus provides a few useful tool less features, do note that choosing/having compatible hardware is a must for this case; PSU size is important (smaller=better), SATA HDD drives are preferred to keep cable mess to a minimum. We don’t recommend running any high end VGA card inside this case unless you provide 3rd party cooling or modify the case. CPU cooling is excellent though and overall component cooling is above average inside the Caterpillar.

Nexus told us they’ll have a new case coming out which is build to house high end components, the Caterpillar as it currently stands does an admirable job to keep vibration and high pitched noises to a minimum, just don’t use for your next high end gaming system.

As you saw above, pricing can differ a lot, and this can make or break the success of this case, at €70 this case is definitely competitively priced and with the added noise reduction features and high quality case fans a good deal. However in the USA you’ll pay up to $120, which is simply too much if you take into account that larger and cooler (literally and figuratively) enclosures can be had for less.



We like to thank Dennis from Nexus Netherlands for letting us test their latest enclosure, we hope to review their upcoming high end enclosure with good outcome in the near future.