The NZXT H7 is in quite the predicament. The H7 Flow is by far the better PC case. It has better thermals, is the same price, has all the same features and has a completely clean side panel thanks to the large intake vent upfront. If you want something a little fancier, the NZXT H7 Elite has more tempered glass than you'll know what to do with. Even with additional, larger, fans, the H7 Elite could not best the H7 Flow’s thermal performance, and that fact alone makes us want to see an NZXT H7 Elite Flow model. If the H7 Flow bests the H7 Elite with fewer fans, just imagine what would happen if the H7 Flow was upgraded with the H7 Elite’s upgrades. The NZXT H710i measured in at an average of 73 C for gaming on the aforementioned CPU. Stress testing through benchmarks saw temperatures approach 90 C at bursts before settling in the mid-80s. The NZXT H7 saw a reduction in the temperature of about 5% across the board. Gaming saw an average of 71 C, which is better than the outgoing case, but still short of the N7 Flow. While we understand NZXT’s position with regards to aesthetics, it cannot be denied that the airflow patterns of the H7 and H7 Elite are compromised. If NZXT wants that font panel aesthetic, they need to enable more airflow. Perhaps their fans need to be turned on their sides and use the right side panel as a direct air intake? All we know is that their current solution is sub-optimal, and that makes the H7 Flow shine a lot brighter than the standard H7. NZXT can fix the H7 with some tweaks that fall far short of an overhaul but right now they still have work to do.

H7 Elite (2022) | Premium Gaming PC Case | Gaming PCs | NZXT H7 Elite (2022) | Premium Gaming PC Case | Gaming PCs | NZXT

The H7 Flow is a case that performs well, is easy to build in, and looks great. You couldn’t want much more than that. We love the H7 Flow, and the sad thing for NZXT is that the H7 Flow also clearly highlights where the standard H7 and H7 Elite fall short of greatness.The NZXT H7 has some tough competition, namely the Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB, which is slightly larger (and heavier) but has more space inside for water cooling and larger motherboards. The Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic range is popular for good reason, thanks to its stylish design and solid thermal performance. NZXT has made further improvements to the H710 PC case, providing choices for those who want maximum airflow with the H7 Flow, a streamlined design with the H7, or an additional window and RGB lighting with the H7 Elite. This is the H7 to go for if you prefer creating quite the light show. Cooling-wise, NZXT’s H7 Flow is the clear highlight of the H7 lineup, offering cooling performance levels that are amongst some of the best PC cases that we have tested at low fan RPMs. Even with its four 140mm fans, the H7 Elite cannot best NZXT’s H7 Flow with its two 120mm fans. That said, the H7 Elite can barely best the standard H7 despite is upgraded fan setup. There’s a reason why NZXT created the H7 Flow, and that reason is airflow. The front panels of the H7 and H7 Elite restrict airflow, and that’s the price that you have to pay for that design aesthetic. While there aren't any RGB LED strips, the included three RGB fans upfront create enough light to shine on internal components. There are also a further three fan mounts on the top panel where an additional three blowers with integrated RGB LEDs can be installed.

NZXT H7 Elite RGB All Black Mid Tower PC Case - Scan

Obviously, the H7 Flow has a perforated front panel, allowing the case’s front fan (or fans) to intake air directly from the front. This maximises the H7 Flow’s air intake, making it the best performing H7 chassis in terms of cooling performance. Aesthetically, some users may prefer the H7 or H7 Elite, but for those who want the best cooling, the Flow will be the way to go. While the H7 Flow is the clear performer within the H7 lineup, that’s not the say that the H7 and H7 Elite are terrible case designs. They are sub-optimally designed from an airflow perspective, but they aren’t the worst cases that we have tested. Even so, the fact that the H7 Flow exists shows that they H7 and H7 Elite have a compromised design, and you’d have to love the aesthetic of the H7 or H7 Elite to overcome that. As good as the H7 looks and as easy as it is to use, there is no getting around the fact that the H7 Flow exists and that it delivered much better thermals. Even if we added two more intake fans to the H7, its performance wouldn’t improve that much. How do we know this? Just look at our H7 Elite results. Even with more fans (that are also larger), the difference in thermal performance between the H7 and H7 Elite is minimal, and the H7 Flow outperforms both with ease.

Refreshed design for slightly better thermals.

In use, the H5 Elite performed remarkably similar to the H7 Elite case that I tested here. Under gaming and stress loads, the differences were within one degree of each other. Considering the difference in size (and price), I think the H5 Elite has performed fantastically well when compared to its bigger brother. That 120 mm fan situated in the bottom of the case must be doing more than I had initially assumed! Our starting point for this review of the H7 family starts in 2019 with the H510 and H710, which were interesting cases that leant heavily on looks and styling, and rather less on performance. Following the refresh of its H710 lineup that resulted in the new H7 series, NZXT has now taken aim at its H510 range of cases. Introducing the H5 series, which features both the airflow-focused H5 Flow and stylish H5 Elite. This review focuses on the latter, which made for an interesting build experience and, ultimately, proved to be a solid performer that looks great, too. Get building At the bottom of NZXT’s H7 lineup is the standard H7, a model that features a plain front panel design that will be familiar to most NZXT users. When compared to the higher-end H7 Elite model, the only major differences are the H7 Elite’s tempered glass front panel, the Elite’s inclusion of additional fans, and its inclusion of a fan/RGB controller. The top also allows for plenty of room to hook in a range of AIO liquid cooler designs of sizes up to 360mm. For the build we used NZXT’s own Kraken X cooler, but it should work for most options on the market. The air vents give enough room for most radiators, and the large internal space makes it trivial to have the needed cables, fans, and accessories without having the internals of the PC looking messy. The vents in the top also make it great for dispersing the heat when your PC is running under heavy load and included handy dust filters to keep the inside of your system looking clean behind the clear glass panels.

NZXT H7 Elite - CM-H71EW-02 - ATX Mid Tower PC Gaming Case

I've gone into some detail about the NZXT H7 series refresh in my NZXT H7 Flow review, but the goal NZXT's designers had in mind was to keep the same look but refine the cooling performance. This was carried out by adding a new side vent for the front fans to gain access to more cool air, as well as a redesigned top panel. I completed my test build with the new NZXT T120 RGB cooler. As expected with anything NZXT, this air cooler does an excellent job of matching the H5 Elite’s aesthetic. With more NZXT components making their way into PC builds, it’s becoming easier to make everything match for that perfectly clean and minimal aesthetic. For testing, I turned to my trusty 3700X, 3070, and 32 GB RAM build combo, with two NVMe drives installed into the motherboard. Though I didn’t use any myself, the H5 Elite does provide enough room for up to two 2.5″ drives or, for those still using one, a 3.5″ drive. I think that should be enough room for most users, though if you’re still holding onto multiple 3.5″ drives, you may need to look elsewhere. Simply put, the extra fans on the H7 Elite do not do much to boost the case’s thermal performance. Simply put, the case’s airflow is too restricted to allow the H7 Elite’s fans to breathe. With fewer fans, the H7 Flow delivers better thermal performance, leaving us to lament at the fact that NZXT has not launched an H7 Elite Flow variant of their H7 chassis.It was clear from the first moment the three models of H7 have been improved, starting with the addition of a Flow model that has a front panel that clearly has the potential to work well. In addition we were delighted to find the panels are tool-free as that makes life considerably easier. The flaws of NZXT’s standard H7 are the same as the flaws of the H7 Elite, though these fans are more pronounced with the H7 Elite. The extra money that NZXT has spent on fans has done little to improve the case’s thermals, making the H7 Elite a case that we cannot recommend. The question that you need to ask is whether or not the H7 Elite’s aesthetic is worth its compromised performance. To us, it isn’t, and that’s why we want to see the H7 Elite with the H7 Flow’s front panel.