Article: Meet the S5 RGB and S5 RGB Deluxe: Real Steel, Real Glass, Lit Out of the Box

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Sep 22, 2026Cases

Meet the S5 RGB and S5 RGB Deluxe: Real Steel, Real Glass, Lit Out of the Box

NZXT S5 RGB black, hero angle with the 360 mm single-frame RGB reverse fan showing clean blades through the panoramic glass

The S series is back, and it arrives cooled and lit.

The S5 RGB is a steel ATX mid-tower built around a panoramic dual-glass view, with a 360 mm single-frame RGB reverse fan already mounted, wired and pointed at the glass. Take it out of the box, put your parts in, press the power button. It looks finished because it is.

It comes two ways. The S5 RGB ships with that 360 mm side intake in place and the rest of the mounts open for you to fill. The S5 RGB Deluxe ships with the fan layout already built — three units, five fans, lighting on three planes instead of one. Same steel, same glass, same clearances, same day.

NZXT S5 RGB white, left side view with the 360 mm single-frame RGB reverse fan turned toward the glass — **S5 RGB** — the 360 mm side intake in place, the other mounts open.

NZXT S5 RGB Deluxe white, left side view through the tempered glass with the side and bottom reverse fans lit — **S5 RGB Deluxe** — side, bottom and rear filled and wired.

Here is what went into it.

Steel you can feel

The chassis is steel, and the front and left panels are real tempered glass rather than acrylic. That is what gives the S5 RGB its weight in the hand and its rigidity under a full build — the kind of thing you notice the moment you pick the case up, and again every time you move it. It is backed by a 2-year warranty.

Both are choices normally found further up the range, and both models are the same case here. Nothing about the materials changes between them.

NZXT S5 RGB black, exploded view showing the steel chassis, glass panels and removable PVC mesh filters — Steel chassis, tempered glass front and left, steel mesh at the side intake, removable filters top and bottom.

A panoramic view, and a fan that faces it

Tempered glass wraps the front and the left side, so the build reads as one continuous view instead of a window cut into a box. Set a rig on the desk and it has presence from two angles, not one.

A reverse fan sits at the right-side intake with its blades turned toward the glass, so what you see through the left panel is a clean face — lit from the moment you power on.

Glass across the front as well as the side, so the view carries around the corner.

Cooling that arrives assembled

The included 360 mm intake is a single-frame unit: three 120 mm fans sharing one frame and one cable. It arrives mounted, wired and lit, rather than as three fans to install and route separately. Air draws in through steel mesh, and removable dust filters sit top and bottom.

There is room for a lot more. Three fan mounts sit in the floor, one of them angled so a fan there points up and across the graphics card instead of straight past it. Up top there is space for a full 360 mm radiator, and ten fan mounts in total.

NZXT S5 RGB white, overhead view of the top radiator mount and removable dust filter — Room up top for a full 360 mm radiator, under a removable filter.

Or let the Deluxe fill those mounts for you

The S5 RGB Deluxe is that same case with the fan layout already built. Three units instead of one, five fans in total, all mounted and wired before the box is opened:

The 360 mm single-frame RGB reverse fan at the right-side intake, same as the S5 RGB.
A 120 mm RGB reverse fan in the angled bottom mount, aimed up and across the graphics card.
A 120 mm RGB fan at the rear.

The side and bottom units are reverse-blade fans, so what reads through the glass is clean blades. The rear unit is a standard forward-blade fan. Lighting lands on three planes instead of one, and there is nothing to route or sync afterwards.

Everything else matches: dimensions, volume, panel materials, front I/O, GPU and cooler clearance, the ten fan mounts and the 2-year warranty. The only thing that moves is weight, up to 6.44 kg (14.20 lb) with the extra fans in place.

NZXT S5 RGB Deluxe white, overhead view showing the filled side, bottom and rear fan mounts — Side, bottom and rear, filled from the factory.

NZXT S5 RGB Deluxe black, three-quarter hero view with all five pre-installed RGB fans lit at the side, bottom and rear — Three planes lit on power-up, in all-black.

Built fast, and upgraded faster

The panels come away without tools, so getting inside takes seconds — during the build and every time after. The front I/O carries USB-C, two USB-A ports and a headset jack.

Behind the motherboard tray there is routing space, with cable ties included. Storage mounts take both a 2.5-inch and a 3.5-inch drive, so the boot SSD and a larger archive both have a home without an adapter.

NZXT S5 RGB white with the right panel removed, showing cable routing space behind the motherboard — Routing space behind the tray, with cable ties in the box.

Room to grow

Full ATX support, 415 mm of graphics card clearance, and a 42.8 L footprint that still takes a tall air cooler. Whatever goes in it now, there is headroom for what goes in next — in either model.

Pair it with NZXT fans, coolers and power supplies built to work together.

NZXT S5 RGB white, hero angle of the bare steel chassis and dual tempered glass — Same chassis, same clearances, whichever one you start from.

Which one

Bringing your own fans, or putting a 360 mm radiator up top and wanting the mounts free for it? Start with the S5 RGB. Want the lighting settled on day one — bottom and rear filled, blades facing the glass, nothing left to wire? Take the S5 RGB Deluxe.