NZXT H5 Flow Case Review

NZXT H5 Flow Case Review

Conclusion – A solid redesign from NZXT

If there is one trend that can be seen clearly within the modern PC market, it’s that both CPUs and GPUs are becoming more power-hungry. It wasn’t long ago that GPUs that consumed over 300 watts of power were considered crazy. Today we have the RTX 4090, a GPU that has a TGP of 450W in its base form.

Case manufacturers have had to respond to the rising power draw of components. higher power draw means more heat production, and rising heat production means that you need stronger cooling performance to move that heat outside of your system. This is why we are seeing a larger focus on airflow with new case designs, and why NZXT has designed their new H5 Flow chassis the way they have. 

In a sense, NZXT’s H5 Flow is an H510 Flow Remake. Both cases offer users a similar aesthetic, both cases fill the same niche within the PC market, but the H5 Flow has been rebuilt with several design improvements that are intended to cater to the realities of today’s PC market.

To explain things at a basic level, the largest improvements that the H5 Flow offers are its redesigned top panel, and the case’s inclusion of an additional intake fan at the bottom of the chassis. NZXT’s new top panel now supports two 120mm fans and 240mm liquid cooling radiators. This means that users of the H5 Flow can now mount an AIO liquid cooler for their CPU on top of their case, allowing it to be used as an exhaust and not as an intake. Intaking air though a liquid cooling radiator pre-heats the air the enters your PC, so allowing users to move that radiator and make it a top-mounted exhaust will help lower your system’s thermals.

At the bottom of the H5 Flow, NZXT has also removed the 3.5-inch drive bays that their H510 models included and replaced it with a fan duct that intakes air from the bottom of the H5 and pushes it towards your graphics card and other PCIe add-on cards. This gives the H5 Flow three intake fans where the H510 Flow had two. This extra airflow can help users to keep their systems cooler under load, especially if users utilise this case’s top radiator mounts.   

NZXT H5 Flow Case Review

With their new H5 Flow model, NZXT has also redesigned their enclosure to support larger graphics cards. NZXT has stated that this case can support GPUs that are up to 365mm long, which is more than enough for an RTX 4090 Founders Edition.

While we like the H5 Flow, there are some aspects of the case that we do not like. For starters, the fans that the case ships with are on the weak side, and we would have liked to have seen the case’s front fan mounts occupied by some fans. The main selling point of the H5 Flow is the fact that it has a perforated front panel, so not including and fans that intake air though this panel is a missed opportunity. £94.99 is a lot of money, and having one additional fan here would have dramatically increased this case’s value factor. As it stands, we recommend that all users of this case immediately purchase or re-purpose two fans to use as front intakes. 

In most modern case, we see a lack of front-mounted fans as declaration of intent on behalf of a case manufacturer. If fans are not mounted there, manufacturers usually expect you to mount a liquid cooling radiator or all-in-one liquid cooler there. They don’t ship fans in those spots because they expect their users to have fans from their AIO liquid cooler. In the case of the H5 Flow, NXT clearly expects their users to mount a 240mm radiator at the top of their chassis, which in our eyes means that they probably should have shipped this case with one or two front-mounted intake fans. Failing to do so makes this case feel incomplete.

With the above in mind, we see the H5 Flow as a case that you will need to invest in. It’s stock fan configuration does not allow us to see this case at its full potential, which means that most buyers will need to invest in additional fans to see the H5 Flow at its best. 

If you were considering NZXT’s H510 Flow chassis, your thoughts should now immediately move to NZXT’s new H5 Flow. Unless you plan on using multiple 3.5-inch drives, the H5 Flow is simply the better case. However, NZXT’s asking price is on the high side, especially after considering the fact that users of this case will want two front-mounted fans for additional airflow. There is a lot of competition within this area of the PC market, and a lot of PC cases that are worth considering. However, if you want to buy from NZXT, the H5 Flow is a solid case, albeit one that requires some additional investment.  

You can join the discussion on our NZXT H5 Flow case review on the OC3D Forums. 

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