A Review of the NZXT H1 Case: A Mixed Bag of Experience and Lessons Learned

As I sat down to review the NZXT H1 case, I was excited to see how it would perform. The first thing that struck me was the design of the case itself. It is very similar to other NZXT cases, with a minimalist aesthetic that looks beautiful on my desk. The textured paint job and sealed panels all contribute to a pleasant unboxing experience. However, as I began to build my system inside the case, I quickly realized that one of its biggest drawbacks was the limited number of ports at the front.

The lack of USB and Ethernet ports was not an issue for me, as I had already planned out my cable management strategy ahead of time. Adding a USB hub would easily solve this problem, making it more of a minor quibble than a major complaint. But despite this, I did find that accessing certain components like the graphics card ports could be a real pain in the butt. I think it would have been nice if NZXT had included a few more ports at the front, but it's an easy solution to implement with just a little bit of creativity.

In terms of build quality and overall fit and finish, I was very impressed. The case is well-built and looks like it will withstand years of use without showing any signs of wear or tear. However, one thing that did surprise me was the ease with which I was able to break the AIO liquid cooling block. It's a long story, but essentially I managed to damage the block by not installing it properly, resulting in a leaky situation. To my credit, NZXT was very responsive and sent me out a replacement unit, which works perfectly and doesn't have the same issues as the original.

One of the things that I think makes the H1 case so successful is its hardware support for the form factor. The AAM4 socket supports up to 16-core CPUs with 32 threads, making it an excellent choice for building a workstation-class PC. Similarly, the graphics cards are well-supported, and I was able to fit a massive GPU into this ITX case without any issues. The thermals for these components were also acceptable, considering the size of the case.

My only real complaint about the H1 case is the lack of choice between an AIO variant and an On-AI0 variant. NZXT went with the AIO option because it provides excellent thermals for whatever CPU you're running in there, but it does introduce another point of failure that could be a problem down the line. If you don't want this feature, you don't really have the option, which is a shame.

I do think that NZXT made an interesting choice by going with the AIO option instead of On-AI0. However, as I mentioned earlier, it was a mistake on my part when installing the block, and I almost damaged the entire thing. Luckily, nothing was plugged in, so no damage was done, but it's still a good reminder to double-check your cables and connections before turning them back on.

If you're in the market for a mini ITX case, I would highly recommend the H1. It's an excellent option with great hardware support, a beautiful design, and plenty of room for customization. However, if you do end up choosing this case, make sure to carefully follow the instructions when installing your components, or you might find yourself like me - broke and sending it off to NZXT for repairs!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the NZXT h1 and I'm very excited about this little case it's small it's sexy and it's easy which that's definitely the trifecta so let's talk about it and how I may have broken mine for anybody that's watched any optimum tech video you'll know that small sexy cases aren't really anything new but there are a couple of things which the NZXT h1 does differently to the Dan cases and the loads of this world the first one is the fact that it comes with a power supply and an a i/o included in the price and that power supply is pre-installed and pre-k Balma Najd which you know cable managing a full ATX case is already enough of a pain in the butt so yeah this makes your life a lot easier and the inclusion of 140 millimeter AIO means that you don't have to do a bunch of research trying to figure out what will fit and what won't and that's also pre-installed now I did run into a bit of a problem with mine but we'll get into that a bit later now I keep saying that the NZXT h1 is really easy to build in so let me just quickly run you through the process all you have to do is you pop these two side panels off and then lift this outer sleeve off then you undo two screws to lift up the little a i/o caddy and then you slide in your motherboard screw it down with the RAM and the CPU installed you plug all of the little front IO and stuff in you mount the actual a i/o block to the CPU you fold it back down screw it closed plug your graphics card in and then pop all of the panels back on it's a surprisingly easy process but now let's move on to more of a review section of this case because I do really like it I think it's a very smart design because of how they packaged it it's got a very small footprint which means it basically takes up no space on your desk and you can still fit a huge graphics card in here I've got a fairly small RTX 20 60 in here but as many other creators have showed you can easily fit a 20 atti in here the thermals aren't spectacular with the bigger graphics cards but it can handle them and because it's got that 140 millimeter AIO in them cpu thermals are very good I used arisin 720 700 clocked to about 3.8 gigahertz and during gaming tests it barely broke 40 degrees on the CPU which is I mean I kind of thought the temperature sensor was broken or something it is it is very cool and very quiet CPU wise the graphics card gets a bit toasty it sits at about 77 degrees while gaming and it does get a bit loud and then on a completely unrelated note the power button on this case is just unbelievably satisfying just have a listen now all we're up here the front IO on this case is very similar to all modern NZXT cases it's got a USB 3 type-a port a 3.1 type C port and a headphone microphone jack which does come with a little dongle adapter so you can use both at the same time now the front IO is fine but I do have a couple of issues with it one of them is the fact that each of these USB ports has its own fairly bulky connector that you need to maneuver inside the case when you're building it and my motherboard which is an x4 70 board doesn't have a type C front panel connector which means I only have one USB port available and because of how the rear i/o situation works on this case that's a little bit of a shortcoming so let me talk you through that process because of how the motherboards oriented it means that all of the i/o is facing down now NZXT designed it very well because there's plenty of space for the cables to kind of bend up through the bottom of the base of the case and it means that cables are routed very nicely and it looks very good but it means that it's a real pain in the butt to access USB and Ethernet and your graphics card ports and stuff like that so I think it would have been nice if we had a couple of more ports up at the front although this is very easily solved with just adding a USB hub so it's it's not really that big an issue when it comes to the overall fit and finish of the case it is very nicely made it's very similar to other NZXT cases so it looks minimalist and beautiful it's got this really nice textured paint on it and all of the panels have this nice kind of seal to it so when you put the panels on they're very satisfying ly kind of suck into the case it's a it's a really pleasant case to interact with physically now a lot of you are probably listening to this process and thinking how the hell did Ovid manage to screw this up and it's a bit of a weird story action because I was trying to mount the AIO block to the actual AMD CPU than I had when I realized that I had the mounting gear on the wrong way around so I lifted the actual cooler back off to change it around and the right hose of the AIO just kind of popped out and it just kind of leaked over everything nothing was plugged in so I didn't damage anything except for the a IO now I don't have this on camera to show you that I wasn't being particularly forceful but I feel like I wasn't putting unusual strain on it as you can see here the left hose is very sturdy but the right hose just Connor came out bear in mind that this hasn't happened to anyone else I am the only person who broke their AIO so I have actually sent it off to NZXT and they're gonna run some Diagnostics on it and hopefully tell me what happened there I'll pin a comment on this video and let you know what they say they were actually very nice about the whole thing they quickly sent me out a replacement unit which works very well and very conveniently doesn't have hoses popping out with that let me quickly summarize my thoughts on the little NZXT h1 after building in it and breaking it I really like the case I think it's awesome I think it's got amazing hardware support for the form factor the fact that the a m4 socket supports a 16 cord 32 thread CPU means you can turn one of these into a real workstation beast and it's got very good support for graphics cards as well so you can fit a pretty massive GPU in here just as long as it's only double slot and not one of those Fatboy cards and the thermals for the graphics cards are acceptable considering that it's an ITX case I don't even really have a problem with the fact that it costs three hundred and fifty dollars that sounds like a lot for a case but bear in mind that it does come with a 650 watt 80 plus gold rated power supply that's been pre cable managed for you and it comes with a hundred and forty millimeter a i/o built-in so yeah I think three hundred and fifty dollars is a fair price for what you're getting here my biggest issue with the case is just the fact that you don't get to choose between an a i/o variant and an on a i/o variant I get why NZXT went with the a i/o in this case because it gives you very good thermals for whatever CPU you have running in here but it does introduce another point of failure like I quite effectively illustrated in this video so if you don't want that in your case you don't really have the option so let me know if you want me to do a video where I remove the a i/o and use a low profile air cooler in here and see how much of a difference in temperatures that makes I think that could be pretty interesting but yeah I think if you're in the market for a mini ITX case this is a very good option so let me know in the comment section below what you think of the h1 like and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already I posted a video on Saturday that has a giveaway in it so you can go check that out if you're interested check out my gaming channel and all of my social media that I'll have linked in the description below and until the next videothis is the NZXT h1 and I'm very excited about this little case it's small it's sexy and it's easy which that's definitely the trifecta so let's talk about it and how I may have broken mine for anybody that's watched any optimum tech video you'll know that small sexy cases aren't really anything new but there are a couple of things which the NZXT h1 does differently to the Dan cases and the loads of this world the first one is the fact that it comes with a power supply and an a i/o included in the price and that power supply is pre-installed and pre-k Balma Najd which you know cable managing a full ATX case is already enough of a pain in the butt so yeah this makes your life a lot easier and the inclusion of 140 millimeter AIO means that you don't have to do a bunch of research trying to figure out what will fit and what won't and that's also pre-installed now I did run into a bit of a problem with mine but we'll get into that a bit later now I keep saying that the NZXT h1 is really easy to build in so let me just quickly run you through the process all you have to do is you pop these two side panels off and then lift this outer sleeve off then you undo two screws to lift up the little a i/o caddy and then you slide in your motherboard screw it down with the RAM and the CPU installed you plug all of the little front IO and stuff in you mount the actual a i/o block to the CPU you fold it back down screw it closed plug your graphics card in and then pop all of the panels back on it's a surprisingly easy process but now let's move on to more of a review section of this case because I do really like it I think it's a very smart design because of how they packaged it it's got a very small footprint which means it basically takes up no space on your desk and you can still fit a huge graphics card in here I've got a fairly small RTX 20 60 in here but as many other creators have showed you can easily fit a 20 atti in here the thermals aren't spectacular with the bigger graphics cards but it can handle them and because it's got that 140 millimeter AIO in them cpu thermals are very good I used arisin 720 700 clocked to about 3.8 gigahertz and during gaming tests it barely broke 40 degrees on the CPU which is I mean I kind of thought the temperature sensor was broken or something it is it is very cool and very quiet CPU wise the graphics card gets a bit toasty it sits at about 77 degrees while gaming and it does get a bit loud and then on a completely unrelated note the power button on this case is just unbelievably satisfying just have a listen now all we're up here the front IO on this case is very similar to all modern NZXT cases it's got a USB 3 type-a port a 3.1 type C port and a headphone microphone jack which does come with a little dongle adapter so you can use both at the same time now the front IO is fine but I do have a couple of issues with it one of them is the fact that each of these USB ports has its own fairly bulky connector that you need to maneuver inside the case when you're building it and my motherboard which is an x4 70 board doesn't have a type C front panel connector which means I only have one USB port available and because of how the rear i/o situation works on this case that's a little bit of a shortcoming so let me talk you through that process because of how the motherboards oriented it means that all of the i/o is facing down now NZXT designed it very well because there's plenty of space for the cables to kind of bend up through the bottom of the base of the case and it means that cables are routed very nicely and it looks very good but it means that it's a real pain in the butt to access USB and Ethernet and your graphics card ports and stuff like that so I think it would have been nice if we had a couple of more ports up at the front although this is very easily solved with just adding a USB hub so it's it's not really that big an issue when it comes to the overall fit and finish of the case it is very nicely made it's very similar to other NZXT cases so it looks minimalist and beautiful it's got this really nice textured paint on it and all of the panels have this nice kind of seal to it so when you put the panels on they're very satisfying ly kind of suck into the case it's a it's a really pleasant case to interact with physically now a lot of you are probably listening to this process and thinking how the hell did Ovid manage to screw this up and it's a bit of a weird story action because I was trying to mount the AIO block to the actual AMD CPU than I had when I realized that I had the mounting gear on the wrong way around so I lifted the actual cooler back off to change it around and the right hose of the AIO just kind of popped out and it just kind of leaked over everything nothing was plugged in so I didn't damage anything except for the a IO now I don't have this on camera to show you that I wasn't being particularly forceful but I feel like I wasn't putting unusual strain on it as you can see here the left hose is very sturdy but the right hose just Connor came out bear in mind that this hasn't happened to anyone else I am the only person who broke their AIO so I have actually sent it off to NZXT and they're gonna run some Diagnostics on it and hopefully tell me what happened there I'll pin a comment on this video and let you know what they say they were actually very nice about the whole thing they quickly sent me out a replacement unit which works very well and very conveniently doesn't have hoses popping out with that let me quickly summarize my thoughts on the little NZXT h1 after building in it and breaking it I really like the case I think it's awesome I think it's got amazing hardware support for the form factor the fact that the a m4 socket supports a 16 cord 32 thread CPU means you can turn one of these into a real workstation beast and it's got very good support for graphics cards as well so you can fit a pretty massive GPU in here just as long as it's only double slot and not one of those Fatboy cards and the thermals for the graphics cards are acceptable considering that it's an ITX case I don't even really have a problem with the fact that it costs three hundred and fifty dollars that sounds like a lot for a case but bear in mind that it does come with a 650 watt 80 plus gold rated power supply that's been pre cable managed for you and it comes with a hundred and forty millimeter a i/o built-in so yeah I think three hundred and fifty dollars is a fair price for what you're getting here my biggest issue with the case is just the fact that you don't get to choose between an a i/o variant and an on a i/o variant I get why NZXT went with the a i/o in this case because it gives you very good thermals for whatever CPU you have running in here but it does introduce another point of failure like I quite effectively illustrated in this video so if you don't want that in your case you don't really have the option so let me know if you want me to do a video where I remove the a i/o and use a low profile air cooler in here and see how much of a difference in temperatures that makes I think that could be pretty interesting but yeah I think if you're in the market for a mini ITX case this is a very good option so let me know in the comment section below what you think of the h1 like and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already I posted a video on Saturday that has a giveaway in it so you can go check that out if you're interested check out my gaming channel and all of my social media that I'll have linked in the description below and until the next video