NZXT H1 V2 Review: The beautiful and (finally) reliable mini ITX case

NZXT H1 V2 shows up with one super minimal style, a classic of NZXT branded cases, highly appreciated by a large community of PC users. The shape is a parallelepiped with a square base with a panel in tempered glass on the front e three perforated grids on the sides, with larger holes than the first generation – a novelty that improves airflow – and integrated filters to reduce the entry of dust. The upper bulkhead is solid metal and includes power buttontwo USB-A 3.0 (one more than H1 2020), one USB-C And audio jack. The lower base integrates the motherboard and GPU panel, with all connectivity and the input for the power cable.

The internal structure and the shell are in steel, they are very solid. The size has grown compared to the first generation of H1, going from 13 to 15.6 liters. This will not appeal to lovers of extreme compactness, but it allows you to build builds with even more powerful components: in the GPU compartment you can easily insert a custom RTX 3090, there is practically everything.

Inside are already pre-installed new 92mm rear fan (which wasn’t on H1 2020), a AIO liquid cooling system (with pump integrated on the radiator and 140 mm fan), plus the new riser redesigned to be more reliable: it serves to connect the GPU and supports the standard PCIe 4.0 x16. The power supply is also already mounted and is a model 750W 80+ Gold NZXT in SFX format, more powerful than the 650W of the first generation.

Mount a build inside NZXT H1 V2 it’s easier than it sounds. The space is limited, but more than that made available by many other mini ITX cases. For our test we chose one build mid-range with the following components:

THE cables power supply, fans, riser, and top I / O panel are already there pre-routed, which greatly simplifies operations on the motherboard. In the upper compartment, the one next to the power supply, there are some slots for mounting the SSD in 2.5 “format. Furthermore, the small panel that closes this compartment is a fan controllera very clever addition that doesn’t steal space elsewhere in the case.

If you are already a little familiar with the mini ITX, assembly inside the NZXT H1 V2 will be quite fast. The cable management it is almost impossible in such a compact case, but we still recommend that you always take a look at the cables and place them in the few spaces that remain free, in order to allow the flow of air to pass as much as possible.

There customization with RGB LEDs or other aesthetic elements is strongly discouraged, as it is difficult to find space to mount them. Contrary to what happens for other mini ITX cases, in this H1 V2 it is not possible to remove internal components or bulkheads, at the limit you can give up the filters for the side grilles, but you will not gain much space.

The official software of the company, which is called NZXT CAM. While not one of the most reliable utilities on the market – but the same could be said for many similar software – it is nonetheless very complete and fairly intuitive.

Through CAM it is possible to control the general state system (keeping an eye on CPU, GPU, RAM, network and internal memory load), specifications, gaming integration, and other parameters. From the tab “Cooling down“You can specifically adjust the two fans inserted in H1 V2, both the one on the radiator and the rear one. By clicking on the button above you can choose between various general profiles (default, silent, performance, fixed) in order to manage the silence and the power of the fans at will. If you like, there are also buttons for individual customization of each fan.

The management ofairflow inside the NZXT H1 V2 is quite good, taking the format into account. The enlargement of the holes in the side grilles and the addition of the rear fan – which helps a lot in the dissipation of the power supply and GPU – they brought a good improved air flow compared to the first generation of H1.

The temperatures of the main components are good, considering that the space for air circulation is very little, especially in the part of the motherboard. Under stress (Prime95 + FurMark), the Intel Core i5 10400F processor comes in at approx 60 ° peakwhile the NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti does not exceed 75 °. Even the motherboard and the memories always remain at normal thermal values. As mentioned, we used mid-range components for our test, but we can say without great doubt that even more extreme builds (even Intel Core i9 12900K + NVIDIA RTX 3090) can achieve top-notch performance in this second-generation H1. Certainly there are mini ITX cases with a more optimized airflowtherefore we do not recommend choosing an H1 if you want to bet everything on this parameter.

At the level of noise, you have to pay close attention to the profile set on the CAM software. By choosing to always have the fans at high RPM, the noise can be well audible even without putting too much strain on the hardware. If you opt for a profile like the Silent, which only increases the speed by more than 25% when the CPU reaches 50 ° or more, then the noise can be attenuated much better during normal use. For real situations CPU and GPU stress (gaming, rendering, benchmark) the two fans go to maximum and the noise is loud, as is normal for a mini case of this kind, but too annoying levels are never reached. Basically, the silence is good but not excellent.

NZXT H1 V2 is available from February 21, 2022 on official company storewith a list price equal to € 399 for Italy. You can choose between two colors for the external metal body, White or blackbut the tempered glass panel always remains dark in color.

The cost is quite high for a desktop PC case, although it’s not uncommon for mini ITX models to be expensive. If we then consider the quality of the materials and the components already included (power supply, cooling system, fan and pre-routed cables), the price list becomes much more reasonable.