NZXT H3 Flow Review – A sophisticated compact PC case at a great price

NZXT may be best known for its ATX cases and large liquid coolers, but with some success, it also dabbled in smaller form factor options. NZXT H3 Flow This is the latest MATX initiative. This new PC case is compact compared to the ATX case and has an ultra-clean look, but is small and costs just $60 and can accommodate two AIO liquid coolers, and has ample clearance for the taller air cooler along with a very large graphics card.

Perhaps the best PC case option for your MATX system is not that big of a motherboard. In that sense, the NZXT H3 flow is not the most outstanding option as it is only 2 inches or 2 inches smaller than the typical ATX. However, while technically compact, it does not compromise on cooling and components that fit inside.

Such a compelling combination means that we were very keen to put this case into testing and see what that $60 price means in terms of cost savings and compromise. Is it worth considering compared to the average competition, such as the Lian Li A3 Matx and the Phanteks XT M3? Please read to find out.

specification

Features

The key is here name, and the H3 flow features perforated mesh sections in five of the six panels for overall airflow. The biggest of these are the front panels with meshes at the edges from the nearby edges, sitting in front of two fan mounts that can accommodate either a pair of 120mm or 140mm fans and a 240mm and 28mm AIO liquid coolers. These also indicate a limit on the length of the graphics card. This measurement is 377mm and does not have a front fan. Falls to 317mm with a 352mm or 30mm thick radiator and fan with the front fan installed. For CPU coolers, options up to 170mm are supported.

The panel, which is decorative and acts as a dust filter in this section, is removable by simply pulling it apart. This is easy and allows access to the fan mount at the back. There are no front fans included as standard. In fact, only one rear 120mm fan is included to minimize costs. The roof panel has a pair of 120mm or 140mm fans, but depending on the motherboard’s heat sink, it may be limited here to a 240mm radiator.

The roof panel is fixed and includes a removable magnetic dust filter, which gives clear access to the fan mount when removed. The PSU cover has two additional 120mm fan mounts, with screws included in the box to use these, but these may not be usable depending on the location of the GPU slot on the motherboard and the thickness of the graphics card.

Included fans are NZXT F120Q (CV). This suggests that there is a strong peak speed of 1,750 rpm in Google search, but here it contains peaks at just 1,350 rpm, which is pretty average. When combined with multiple mesh panels, negative pressure is the dominant feature. If you want to improve cooling, the extra fan logical spot is on the front where it is pointed at the CPU cooler, but you’ll soon see the benefits.

Both side panels are tool-free, with the main glass panels located in the top three-thirds of the case above the large mesh section on the sides, held by push pins.

The front panel connectors are the minimum, with only single type A and type C USB ports, but the latter supports USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 at speeds of up to 20Gbps. If you are planning to plug in with an external SSD that provides the same speed, the Type-C header on your motherboard should also support this. One of the omissions here is the audio jack. If you want to connect your headset or microphone to the front panel of the case, you’re not in luck. Instead, you should use the motherboard’s own port or USB-based audio device. Whether this is a USB headphone amplifier or a wireless gaming headset with a USB dongle.

If you have a 2.5-inch SSD or 3.5-inch hard disk you want to use, you can find up to three or the latter space here for the former. There is one dedicated 2.5-inch SSD mount on the back of the motherboard tray, and a shared mount under the PSU cover that supports either two 2.5-inch devices or a 3.5-inch hard disk.

design

This is a good looking case, and while white samples look particularly clean and clever, if you prefer a black case, you have a choice too. It felt well made and despite using push pin panels, none of these looked rattle. Its 5kg weight comes mainly from glass panels and steel construction, the latter of which is what you would expect at this price, not more expensive aluminum.

Here another omission that we expect to see in more premium cases is the rubber grommets in the cable routing holes. This means that the PCs built into this system are particularly beneficial in ensuring that the cables are secured and preventing rubbing these unprotected openings.

Cables can cause problems for owners of rear connector motherboards such as MSI Project Zero and Asus BTF. These systems are the clearance behind the motherboard tray for very tight routing cables. Again, here we need to spend a little extra time with cases with more generous cable routing areas. You should also remove the possibility that this side panel will be pushed out by the cable using the thumb screws rather than the push pins.

Thankfully, this case is easy to operate, whether you’re building air or a liquefied PC. Also, there is plenty of space under the PSU cover in the Stowe cable, and maintenance is easy thanks to the easily removable panels and dust filters. The only obstacle that hits in building a PC is that it doesn’t mention the orientation of the PSU in the manual or product webpage. There is no vent underneath and the PSU is very close to the base of the case, so it tends to point the fan up.

Another factor to consider is that the dimensions of this case means it is not the most compact MATX case. At 15.75 inches (40cm) height, it’s only 2 inches or 2 inches shorter than the smaller ATX. The 15.31 inch (39cm) depth is a little more compact, but to maintain good CPU cooler compatibility, the NZXT is now nearly 9 inches (23cm) wide.

performance

To test the NZXT H3 flow, a standard test system was installed in the case and then tested for cooling capacity and noise levels. Our standard system consists of an AMD Ryzen 7 9800x3D CPU, 32GB DDR5 6000 RAM, ASUS B850M Plus WiFi motherboard, 1TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, MSI RTX 5070 Ti 16G Ventus 3x 3x 3x graphics card, and a Cooler Master Master 212 Black Cpu Cooler.

Fix the speed of the case, CPU, and GPU fans to maintain consistency between cases. For CPUs, it usually maintains full speed as the cooler fan can achieve maximum speed under load. Do the same thing as a case fan.

For the RTX 5070 Ti, it usually peaks at 60-70% speeds when left to its own device, so the fan locks at 60% to avoid distorting the results in low performance cases. To test the GPU, I used Metro Exodus:Enhanced Edition with multiple consecutive benchmark loops. For CPU, load at 100% using Prime95.

The CPU temperature of the Ryzen 7 9800x3D reached 81°C. In fact, adding one point to the CPU cooler will drop the temperature by another 2°C, so the overall airflow is clearly not missing here. The GPU temperature of 71°C was also decent considering how quiet the fan is at 60% speed.

It was very clear that if the fans allowed them to do their thing, the fan would go to a 40 DBA noise level during the CPU stress test, and a significant amount of noise would escape. This is expected given the amount of mesh. Pushing the noise level down to the more affordable 35 DBA with the sound meter raised the CPU load test to a very toast 93°C, but gaming testing added an additional 12°C to the GPU temperature. It is clear that having a quiet system in such a porous case requires a large heat sink or liquid cooler.

price

The NZXT H3 Flow costs $60 and I feel that NZXT has hit a nail in the head here. It’s a somewhat basic case with few frills and only one 120mm fan, but it looks good, has zero build quality issues, has excellent cooling potential, whether you prefer air or liquids or not, and is also very easy to build and maintain. The fact that there are black and white options means it offers enough versatility to suit most build styles as well.

There are similarly priced alternatives like the Lian Li A3-MATX and Phanteks XT M3, which do not include fans as standard, but other options often include RGB lighting and cost. I’d like to see the audio jack on the front panel, ideally there’s a 360mm AIO liquid cooler support, but the 280mm liquid cooler offers roughly the same cooling, making it a sensible option for building this scale.

verdict

The H3 Flow offers plenty of space to provide rooms for large graphics cards and multiple mounts for liquid coolers and additional fans, and the H3 Flow is a good-looking, sturdy and well-thought-out case, with excellent CPU cooler clearance, so NZXT doesn’t make many mistakes here. This is an affordable, compact case that can easily accommodate a high-end gaming PC.

Even though the Type-C port offers impressive USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20 Gbps support, it still has some drawbacks, such as the lack of audio ports on the front panel. I also liked seeing the rubber grommets on the internal cable routing holes. I also liked the slightly more clearance for the rear connector motherboard around the back. For the MATX, it’s not particularly compact, but it still remains smaller than the typical ATX case.

Overall, this is a great all-rounder for anyone looking for a compact PC case but less restrictive than the mini-ITX option. Of course, the MATX form factor has its own limitations, such as a weak selection of high-end motherboard options, but it’s a pretty good compromise for anyone considering purchasing a $60 PC case. The reason for considering an alternative case is that it can accommodate a 360mm liquid cooler, especially if you need glass panels or RGB lighting in the box immediately. Otherwise, H3 flow checks most boxes and is a great value.

If you decide this is true, check out the best gaming motherboards and the best CPU cooler guide to complete your system.