NZXT H510 Flow Airflow PC Chassis Review

NZXT is well-known for its PC instances and equipment, and I doubt there’s one other case available on the market that’s extra recognizable than their compact mid-tower H510 collection. A favourite of DIYers, most of the time you may discover the minimalist look of the H510 a stark distinction to the RGB lighting, all-in-one coolers, and probably even customized water loops that lovers have crammed into the smallish case.

No matter whether or not you trick out the innards of your case with all that further bling or stick with a extra inventory configuration, the smooth look of the H-Sequence has all the time come at a value: airflow. With the H510 Movement, NZXT goals to repair that. Utilizing the H510 Elite as a place to begin, NZXT has eliminated the small facet vents and changed the TG entrance panel of the H510 Elite with an open-air panel. Just a few levels by some means can decide whether or not a PC case thermals are good or unhealthy, so let’s dig in and see which facet of the fence the NZXT H510 Movement falls on.

Specs

• Worth: $109.99 (NZXT)
• Dimensions: 460 x 428 x 210 mm (18.11 x 16.85 x 8.26 in.)
• Motherboard Help: Mini-ITX, MicroATX, ATX
• Case Materials: SGCC Metal, Tempered Glass
• Entrance I/O Ports: USB 3.2 Gen1 Sort-A x1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C x1, Headset Audio Jack x1
• Enlargement Slots: 7
• Drive Bays: 2.5” 2+1, 3.5” 2+1
• Followers Help
  • Entrance: 2 x 120mm/140mm
  • Prime: 1 x 120mm/140mm
  • Rear: 1 x 120mm
• Included Followers: 2 x Aer F 120mm (1 Entrance, 1 Rear)
• Radiator Help: Entrance as much as 208mm, Rear as much as 120mm
• Compatibility & Clearances
  • Max CPU Cooler Clearance: 165mm
  • Max GPU Clearance: 360mm
  • Entrance Fan & Radiator Clearance: 60mm
• Cable Administration: 19-23mm

New Options, Traditional Design

Inside and outside, every thing concerning the H510 Movement says it is the identical H-Sequence case you have seen one million instances. We’ve already reviewed the H510 Elite, and the Movement shares a lot of the DNA of the H-Sequence flagship. That is not a nasty factor, per se. The outdated adage, if it ain’t broke, do not repair it involves thoughts. As an alternative of going by means of and rehashing what has already been mentioned (Damien’s review of the H510 Elite mirrors my ideas concerning the H510 Movement virtually to a fault), at present we’ll be wanting solely on the modifications NZXT has made to extend the airflow for the H510 Movement.

Earlier than we get into the big-ticket merchandise on show right here – the brand new perforated entrance panel – let’s cowl the remainder of the modifications between the H510 Elite and the Movement. Most notably, a few of the extras that contributed to the H510 Elite’s authentic $169 price ticket (presently $149.99 on Amazon) have been eliminated to get right down to the Movement’s $109.99 MSRP. The 140mm RGB followers have been swapped out for extra modest non-RGB Aer F 120mm followers. One other large loss is the elimination of the Sensible Gadget 2 and LED strips. RGB isn’t for everybody, so many individuals received’t thoughts this downgrade.

So what about that new entrance panel? At first look, you may not even discover the distinction. NZXT has all the time saved the H-Sequence boxy and minimalist, and the H510 Movement stays true to type. Apart from the entrance panel itself, the one beauty change is the elimination of the now pointless facet vents. Not like different instances that open up airflow by including tons of (hundreds?) of small holes to the entrance plate, NZXT has gone with larger holes just like what you’d see for rear panel followers. These small holes all the time act like mud magnets, so the larger holes on the NZXT panel ought to be a lot simpler to scrub. And though the holes are larger than different panels, there’s nonetheless a high-quality mesh display screen to assist catch small particles.

I would not precisely name it an aggressive look, however the bigger grid does give the impression that you may be getting the utmost quantity of airflow whereas nonetheless defending the entrance of your case from massive objects. The bigger holes additionally will let you see any RGB followers you put in into the entrance of the case, providing you with an identical look to that of the tempered glass on the H510 Elite.

For elimination, the brand new panel sticks to the toolless design of the H-Sequence. There’s a small grove within the case to carry the underside of the panel, and a ball and socket design safe the highest of the panel in place. One of many balls did not seat tightly into its socket on this case, permitting for a small quantity of wiggle. The panel was nonetheless safe sufficient that it would not fall out, however with none foam or rubber gaskets between the 2 steel components, I used to be initially involved about the opportunity of any vibrations creating further noise. Fortuitously, even with two entrance followers put in and working at 100% pace, I didn’t hear any vibration.

Thermals And Noise Testing

Corporations typically set near-perfect circumstances for his or her checks, with a few of the beefiest followers and coolers cash should buy. NZXT revealed some take a look at outcomes in opposition to an H510 Elite utilizing an Intel Core i7 11900k with a Kraken Z63 – 280mm AIO and a Zotac RTX 3080 Amp Holo. Their take a look at confirmed a 4.7C lower in max temps, and an 8C lower for common temps for the CPU, with a negligible 1C change for the GPU. That’s a fairly first rate enchancment, particularly in the event you can recreate it exterior of the lab.

I wish to preface this subsequent part by saying that I’m not an expert PC tester. My work space shouldn’t be a superbly managed setting, and unaccounted-for variables will most definitely creep into my outcomes on account of my testing practices, the standard of instruments used, and imperfections within the human doing the testing. For those who require essentially the most correct checks doable, I recommend you try Avid gamers Nexus. That is how they make their dwelling and their outcomes shall be much more correct than mine.

That mentioned, what you’re going to get right here is a few real-world testing. I didn’t have one other H510 variant readily available to match to the Movement, however my current case is a Fractal Design Meshify C. It’s not a chart-topper by any means, however it might probably maintain its personal within the sub-$100 value vary. Earlier than tearing my system down to put into the H510 Movement, I ran the Meshify C by means of its paces to see if this case could be an improve.

The take a look at system is a hodgepodge of components able to producing sufficient warmth to fry an egg:

• Video Card: EVGA RTX 3080 XC3 Extremely
• CPU: AMD Ryzen R7 3700X, all cores set to 4.1GHz
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S
• Reminiscence: 2x16GB GSkill Ripjaw V @ 3200MHz
• SSD: Gigabyte Aorus NVMe Gen4 1TB
• PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W

Testing was executed in a typical gaming setting: on a desk within the nook of a room. The setup space isn’t fully open with the case sitting about 8 inches away from the partitions, however it does present sufficient area for the exhaust air to freely escape from the case. To check GPU temperatures, the 3DMark Time Spy Stress Check was used. Temperatures had been recorded on the final loop of the take a look at, with the common temperature used because the end result. 

On the CPU facet, we used Cinebench R23. This time the CPU temperature was monitored throughout the ultimate loop of the benchmark, with the common temperature used as the ultimate end result.

A number of fan setups had been examined for each methods. To start out, every case was examined with its out-of-the-box followers in its default configuration. Each instances include one entrance and one rear 120mm fan able to 1200RPM. The one discernable distinction is the NZXT case has the entrance fan within the decrease spot whereas the Meshify fan occupies the highest location.

Since each instances include plain outdated followers, they had been swapped out with RGB followers to create a typical Gamer Fan Setup – 2 entrance 120mm and 1 rear 120mm fan. The followers used are touchaqua Notos120 able to 1800RPM. Sure, I do know they’re low-cost however they nonetheless get the job executed.

For the ultimate setup, I crammed each fan place I might. For the H510 Movement that meant including a fourth fan to the spot positioned on the prime rear of the case. The Meshify can maintain six followers – 3 entrance, 1 rear, and a couple of top-mounted. Which will seem to be a bonus, however the checks present in any other case. The RGB glow from all of these followers does look good, however the advantages finish there. In actuality, all these further spots are meant for radiators, and the additional followers by themselves are higher at creating turbulence than they’re at bettering airflow.

Every of the three fan configurations was examined at two speeds. Only for funsies, every setup was examined with all followers set to 100% pace. It obtained fairly loud and isn’t sensible for normal use. To attain a extra sensible noise degree, the CPU fan and case followers had been set to 1200RPM for the second run. To match the amount of the opposite followers, the GPU followers had been set to 72%, which put them proper at 2000RPM. 

Idle temperatures are practically equivalent for every case, with CPU temps between the 2 instances various by lower than 1 diploma whatever the fan configuration. For the H510 Movement, the discount in idle temperature by altering from the default followers at a balanced setting to a full fan configuration at max pace was solely 2C. That’s hardly price the price of the extra followers, to not point out the added noise. 

There was a bigger distinction for the GPU, although. Within the H510 Movement, the default fan configuration pushed the GPU 4C beneath the Meshify temperature. The H510 Movement has the entrance fan within the backside slot within the default config whereas the Meshify has it up excessive, so it solely is sensible the Movement could be feeding extra air to the GPU. With extra followers added in, issues obtained a bit nearer. Within the full fan, max pace take a look at the H510 Movement was nonetheless in a position to maintain the CPU 1.9C cooler. That’s nonetheless a fairly large win for the H510 Movement, and additional testing would present this wasn’t a one-off end result.

3DMark

The H510 Movement beat the Meshify C in practically each configuration. Earlier than you ask, the H510 Movement Balanced checks are listed appropriately. Thermals shot manner up as followers had been added, and I’m unsure why. I verified fan speeds and re-ran the take a look at pondering that perhaps I had set one thing up unsuitable, however the outcomes had been the identical. I attempted swapping out followers and even moved them to totally different headers on the motherboard. After working a number of checks, together with working the max pace checks once more to confirm these had been correct, I’ve exhausted all hardware-related points I might consider. 

Cinebench R23

As soon as once more the H510 Movement had a hiccup when extra followers had been added and set to a average pace. Even so, it was nonetheless in a position to beat the Meshify C in all configurations besides the total fan at max pace, the place the sheer variety of followers within the Meshify reigned supreme. 

Closing Ideas

Total, the H510 Movement carried out fairly nicely. It was in a position to beat the Meshify C arms down in the entire noise and thermal checks. Visually, tt would possibly simply be that I’ve grown bored with the wonky entrance panel on the Meshify C, however the H510 Movement’s massive holes are a pleasant change of tempo. Lastly, constructing a PC inside the H510 Movement was a dream. I’ve constructed PCs utilizing a number of instances through the years, however none of them have been this straightforward to work with. And irrespective of how laborious I’ve tried previously, my cabling has by no means been as clear because it was this time. 

NZXT is all the time making an attempt to tweak the H510 and the remainder of the instances that got here earlier than it. Whereas the H510i and Elite centered on including RGB and making slight modifications to the within of the case, the H510 Movement is a particular improve for NZXT followers that wished extra airflow. The one weak level to this refresh is that the $109.99 value level is a bit laborious to swallow contemplating the entire competitors and the sub 100 value vary. However in the event you’ve obtained the money and you want the enduring look of the H-Sequence instances, you’ll be able to’t go unsuitable with the 510 Movement.