NZXT H510 Elite Mid-Tower Case Review

Today we take a closer look at the NZXT H510 Elite, a compact mid-tower case that spells elegance and premium.

It’s great to see NZXT having plenty of offers for every market segment there is, and at varying price points at that. We’ve recently reviewed the H210, a mini ITX case that while looking premium and durable, is still very affordable for anyone looking to step into cases with smaller footprints. Not exactly storming into SFF territory but still quite the compact one. Anyway, I digress. So let’s get back on track here and take a closer look at the NZXT H510 Elite, a compact mid-tower case that spells elegance and premium.

Technical Specifications:

Motherboard Support	Mini-ITX, MicroATX, ATX
Enclosure Type, Case Material	Compact Mid-Tower, SGCC Steel, Tempered Glass
Dimensions	Height: 460mm / 18.11 inches Width: 210mm / 8.27 inches Depth: 428mm / 16.85 inches
Weight	7.5 kg / 16.53 lb
Compatibility & Clearance	Max CPU Cooler Clearance: 165mm Max GPU Clearance: 338 - 368mm Front Fan & Radiator Clearance: 60mm Vertical GPU Clearance: 50.8mm Cable Management: 19 - 23mm
Front I/O Ports	(1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (1) USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (1) Headset Audio Jack
Smart Device	Fan Channels 3 (10W max per channel) NZXT RGB Connector 2 (Support up to 40 LEDs)
Expansion Slots	(2) Vertical (7) Standard
Price	$174.99 (Php8,499)

 

PACKAGING AND INCLUSIONS

The NZXT H510 is packed in the traditional NZXT purple and  white garb. Open up the box and you’ll get the H510 in the flesh, sandwiched by Styrofoam, inside a plastic bag. The inclusions, aside from the case itself, are already pre-installed or in a box.

To break it down, two AER RGB 140mm fans are pre-installed on the front panel, while there’s a 140mm AER F 140mm (case version) at the top and Aer F120mm (case version) at the rear. The Smart Device V2 is also pre-installed at the back above the cable management routing. There’s also an integrated LED strip inside the case at the top of the tempered glass panel that’s also already connected to the Smart Device. For what’s inside the box, there’s the manual, audio jack splitter, breakout cable for the front panel should it not match your motherboard’s headers, cables, and screws. 

DESIGN

If there’s one word to describe the H510 Elite, it’s elegant. It’s not necessarily a form-over-function thing, but you can see what options it’s offering with its design. Now I can’t really say this is more of a compromise, given that there’s now a variant that prioritizes airflow, so yeah it’s more of preference than performance with the options given. The H510 Elite basically exudes confidence with its design features. Think of the standard H510 or even the H210, but this time with a front tempered glass panel and flashy RGB fans and an LED strip on top. That’s basically the H510 Elite – a souped up, much flashier and modern version of the base H510 with all the bells and whistles of RGB and tempered glass. 

The tempered glass panel implementation on the side is a very straightforward affair. Slot it in and there’s a thumb screw at the top side end to secure it. 

There’s a room for a vertical GPU setup, which you can pop up as well for the GPU installation (two expansion slots for vertical and seven for standard). The opposite side panel is also easily removable, and just to note here, there are vents here for the intake. 

Moving forward, there’s room for 2.5-inch drives at the rear of the motherboard tray and more drive bays further below for 3.5-inch drives. 

To note, fans are also pre-installed and connected to the Smart Device V2 so it’s just a matter of plugging it in to a SATA cable.

If there's one thing to gripe about, it's the limitation on the USB ports at the top. Sitting beside the power button are ports for  USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C. Easily mitigated by a USB hub, but that's not really making things neat. In addition, not all motherboards have the header for USB 3.2 Type C, so that adds up to the expenses if you're planning to get an adapter just to use it. 

PERFORMANCE

Our test setup has a GIGABYTE AORUS X570 Elite Motherboard with Ryzen 5 3600X and a COLORFUL iGame GeForce GTX 1080 Vulcan X OC, with both of which on stock. We left all the fan setup here on their default configuration. The CPU cooler is a Noctua NH-D15, limited to a single-fan setup in the middle due to clearance issues with the second fan on the RAM side. Ambient room temp is 30C.

Test System Setup

Motherboard	AORUS X570 ELITE
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
GPU	COLORFUL iGame GeForce GTX 1080 Vulcan X OC
RAM	ZADAK 16GB DDR4 @3600MHz
Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 (Single-fan setup)
Motherboard	GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Elite
PSU	CORSAIR RM750 80 Plus Gold
Case	NZXT H510 Elite
OS	Windows 10 Pro
Monitor	Philips 272M8 27" IPS 144Hz

CONCLUSION

As we’ve mentioned before, there will be reasons why you’ll be going for the NZXT H510 Elite over the three other models in the H510 lineup despite the airflow offering for better thermals even if you consider the huge price difference here. 

When it comes to performance, our results aren’t as conclusive given the small data we have on the board, but it does work well enough to withstand our Realbench stress test as well as gaming. So yeah in this regard it’s pretty much alright, but we’ll get back to you with more thermals as we continue reviewing more cases in our tests.

Building is also a breeze here – the cable management bar and routing definitely make for a clean build. There’s plenty of space for everything from drives to GPU and CPU cooler clearance, although some limitations on our setup making us limited to a single fan setup on our Noctua NH-D15 because of RAM clearance. Still, there’s room for a 280mm AIO Liquid Cooler so your options could be better here.

Value wise, there’s again, the H510 Elite commands a $75 premium on top of the standard offering that it’s more of a question if you really want that Smart Device V2 and the front tempered glass panel plus the bells and whistles of RGB. Not necessarily functionable, but personally, we’re also hoping there’s an alternative packaging where NZXT throws in a riser cable here to make use of that vertical PCIe slot or add that as an option on checkout for local.

Now, it all boils down to your preference and if money is no object. The NZT H510 Elite exudes confidence with its modernistic approach, and while it does come with certain obvious compromises, there’s a reason why you’re getting this above all the other options available in the lineup.