NZXT H1 Mini ITX Case Review

The NZXT H1 is an SFF treat.

It’s fun building a PC. But what’s more fun is the idea that you can build something so small yet  more than capable enough to pack some serious firepower, and looking so classy while it’s at it. So, yeah. That’s basically the NZXT H1, a mini ITX case that’s built to be the center of attraction. And that’s what we’re going to look at today.

Let’s start things off by addressing the elephant in the room that made huge waves across the interwebs. NZXT is on the case, and the last update let me just copy-paste that for you, is here: 

2/17/21: We stepped up some resources and have begun the process of getting updated PCIe riser cable assemblies out earlier than we expected. We will start shipping them out in late February to customers who have requested them. Please make sure you have filled in the form here if you would like extra help with installation, or would like to opt-out of receiving a replacement riser assembly. We will also continue to send the nylon screw repair kit out to everyone who requested it. 

You can read the full blogpost here regarding the concern. 

So, on to the review.

PACKAGING AND INCLUSIONS

The H1 arrives in standard NZXT fashion – in a well-presented purple and white packaging that doesn’t go overboard with edgy gamer aesthetics but instead makes things much simpler. Open the box and you’ll get the H1 itself, plus several necessary inclusions such as screws, mounting and retention brackets, plus cable ties.

For the H1 itself, it also comes with the company’s SFX-L 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply, a PCIe 16x Gen3 High-Speed Riser Card, and a 140mm AIO Liquid Cooler, which NZXT doesn’t sell separately. It also looks similar to the M22 with the pump on the radiator, and a slimmer CPU block to give space for the motherboard and the rad. 

DESIGN AND FEATURES

At first glance, it looks like the H1 doesn’t have enough room for a lot of things. It is a mini ITX case, after all. On the contrary however, there’s space for up to a 2.5 slot 305mm GPU, and for our review purposed we’re using the reference AMD Radeon RX 5700XT. 

NZXT makes installation easier and convenient as the swiveling bracket for the radiator gives you access to the motherboard. There’s also a panel that you can use to cover your cables for the modular PSU the drive bays. You’re limited here to two 2.5” drives, by the way. And you don’t have room for a 3.5” drive. So it’s best to base your storage decisions around this with at least going for an M.2 drive for your primary storage and expand it with an HDD or if you’re up to it an SSD. 

As for issues that I personally see, you’re only working with a single USB Type-A port at the top. There’s the touch of USB Type-C port at the top, but chances are your motherboard will likely not have the header for this. Next issue I’m seeing is that I/O panel is going to be a pain to reach that you have to lift it up and put it down every time you’re going to plug something in and out. 

TEMPERATURE

 TEST SYSTEM SETUP

Motherboard	MSI B450 I GAMING PLUS AC
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Stock
GPU	AMD Radeon 5700 XT
RAM	ZADAK 16GB DDR4
Cooler	Included 140mm AIO
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB SSD
PSU	Included 650W Gold Modular PSU
OS	Windows 10
Display	ASUS VP249QGR 24-inch Full HD 144Hz Monitor

For the temps, we’re working on the NZXT H1 with a Ryzen 5 3600X on an MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC with 16GB of RAM and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. For our stress test, we’ll be using Realbench to simulate real-world usage on the components. Ambient room temp is 27-28C, and data is logged using HWiNFO for both CPU and GPU and the average is taken over an hour of stress test. 

 

Here's a test on thermals as well when playing Cyberpunk 2077.

CONCLUSION

At first glance, the NZXT H1’s price looks scary at $349/Php20,000.00 locally. But then again, it’s not just the case you’re buying here. Try factoring in the cost of the case itself as solidly build and premium as it is, the power supply, and a 140mm AIO, and that evens it out a bit. Further that even with RND costs and might as well even it out. I mean let’s do a quick napkin math here - $80-$90 for a 140mm AIO, $120 for a 650W modular gold PSU, leaving the case to cost around $140-$150, which isn’t bad especially if you factor in how expensive SFF cases are. But as our ill luck would have it, it’s Php20,000 here so it’s up to you how you want to take that on.

As I see it, the H1 makes for an economically reasonable option if you’re looking to start a PC build from scratch. We re-use the parts we have, after all. And in this regard, you’ll likely be ditching the case, cooler and PSU that you might already have, making the H1 seem like a luxury over a necessity you base your build on if you’re taking that upgrade path. 

Design-wise, you’re not limited to GPU length, but height clearance is of consideration if you’re going for an RTX 3090 as that commands three slots already. What’s a real shame here is the limitation on USB port. Performance-wise, the 140mm AIO does plenty good, but GPU stress testing on Realbench does provide better numbers when the tempered glass back panel and shroud are removed. Still workable with a GPU with a better cooling solution.  

What I can see for NZXT to extend its value further is to include a USB hub that’s in the same design language as the H1. Or at least sell it as an accessory. That would be lit.