NZXT H5 Flow Case Review

An improved NZXT design

Externally, the H5 Flow looks a lot like the H510 Flow that is replaces, but looks can be deceiving. Internally, the H5 Flow is a very different case, and some of the changes that NZXT has made are major ones.    

At the front of the H5 Flow is space for two 120mm or 140mm fans that can act as intakes though the case’s perforated front panel. Sadly, NZXT has not shipped this case with pre-installed fans on either of these slots, which means that you will need to fill this space with your own fans.

As mentioned on page 2, this case does have a single intake fan that takes air from the bottom of the case and pushes it towards your PCIe add-on card/GPU mounting area. Honestly, when the main reason to buy this H5 Flow over the H5 Elite is its perforated front panel, it is strange to see NZXT shipping this case without any fans that take advantage of this setup out of the box.

At the top of NZXT’s H5 Flow chassis is an offset set of 120mm fan mounts that are spaced to support a single 240mm radiator. This offset mount allows H5 Flow users to mount a 240mm all-in-one CPU liquid cooler at the top of this chassis, allowing the hot air from this cooler to be exhausted out the top of the case. The top of NZXT’s H5 Flow case can be covered by a dust filter, much like most modern PC cases.    

When compared to the H510 Flow, the H5 Flow has a similar overall design behind the case’s motherboard tray. We can see mounting locations for several 2.5 SSDs, though it is clear that NZXT has redesigned their 2.5-inch mounting plate to also support a larger 3.5-inch mechanical drive if requires. 

The only negative change to NZXT’s H5 Flow design here is the fact that the case has less space for cable hiding, as the case’s new bottom mounted fan intake takes up a lot of space. More traditional case designs have a 3.5-inch drive cage in this location, an often used table tuck-away location for those who do not use 3.5-inch HDDs in their systems. 

At the bottom of the H5 Flow are two dust filters, one for your power supply and one for the case’s bottom intake fan. This fan directs air towards your graphics card, a welcome addition given the size and power consumption of many modern GPUs.  

 

Overall, the H5 Flow has a very clean design that lends itself well to tidy PC builds. With some careful cable management this case can be the home of many handsome gaming systems, and thanks to NZXT’s design changes, these systems should also run cooler than an equivalent system inside a H510 Flow.