NZXT H710 Case Review: Brute Force Airflow Kind of Works
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Date: 2020-05-06
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Comments and reviews: 10
stevae
Every single item I have ever bought from NZXT, has had multiple problems with it. From case fans, to the Kraken X62, the USB hub and also my Hue devices. I will NEVER invest in NZXT again. As for cases, I will challenge you to show me an updated or older case, which can compete with the Cooler Master Maker 5T. It is almost completely modular, almost entirely with thumb screws, has a psu shroud where the gpu is at least 5 above it, can handle a 280 or 360 AIO and all covers are magnetic instead of screwed down. Space is excellent, as it can handle an atx or eatx mobo, and air flow is superb. All of the pcie rear cover plates are slotted for ventilation, and the top has two areas for ventilation where you can add or remove covers. There is plenty of room and tie-downs for cable management on the rear, and access ports from rear to front. My only complaints about this case are the red color of the inside, and the ridiculous apathy Cooler Master has to providing an updated Face-Plate with USB 3. 1 type A & C ports. It would be so easy to do. Outside of that, this is the best case I have EVER used. I look every year to see if there is something better, but every case, INCLUDING the updated cases from Cooler Master, fall well short, and are found wanting.
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Every single item I have ever bought from NZXT, has had multiple problems with it. From case fans, to the Kraken X62, the USB hub and also my Hue devices. I will NEVER invest in NZXT again. As for cases, I will challenge you to show me an updated or older case, which can compete with the Cooler Master Maker 5T. It is almost completely modular, almost entirely with thumb screws, has a psu shroud where the gpu is at least 5 above it, can handle a 280 or 360 AIO and all covers are magnetic instead of screwed down. Space is excellent, as it can handle an atx or eatx mobo, and air flow is superb. All of the pcie rear cover plates are slotted for ventilation, and the top has two areas for ventilation where you can add or remove covers. There is plenty of room and tie-downs for cable management on the rear, and access ports from rear to front. My only complaints about this case are the red color of the inside, and the ridiculous apathy Cooler Master has to providing an updated Face-Plate with USB 3. 1 type A & C ports. It would be so easy to do. Outside of that, this is the best case I have EVER used. I look every year to see if there is something better, but every case, INCLUDING the updated cases from Cooler Master, fall well short, and are found wanting.
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TuplaTTT
Personally I find the smart device (CAM or whatever its called) to be performing excellently on my H500i. The smart -functionalities that measure noise levels and all that hubbub is pretty much completely useless feature as it's not able to measure GPU noise levels under stress. But as a pure fan-controller the CAM works extremely well as it is actually able to make fan curves based on the GPU temperatures instead of CPU temps. Normally GPU based fan curves require you to at the very least use SpeedFan (free but very outdated/broken) or Argus Monitor (not free but is being updated periodically. The H500 is known to be pure negative-pressure case so the GPU based fan curves are pure gold for that case. Not to mention that most motherboards have very awkward fan port placements, it can be pure PITA to route the cables to those ports while also keeping them hidden. You could also replace the GPU fans with some better ones (Asus 1070 Dual had horrible fans and heatsink) and control the fans with CAM. And with CAM you can turn the fans semi-passive (fans are off at low temperatures. And as the fan on my new Accelero Mono is incompatible with Nvidia cards, you can guess what I'm going to do (HINT: AC P12 fan fits on the Accelero.
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Personally I find the smart device (CAM or whatever its called) to be performing excellently on my H500i. The smart -functionalities that measure noise levels and all that hubbub is pretty much completely useless feature as it's not able to measure GPU noise levels under stress. But as a pure fan-controller the CAM works extremely well as it is actually able to make fan curves based on the GPU temperatures instead of CPU temps. Normally GPU based fan curves require you to at the very least use SpeedFan (free but very outdated/broken) or Argus Monitor (not free but is being updated periodically. The H500 is known to be pure negative-pressure case so the GPU based fan curves are pure gold for that case. Not to mention that most motherboards have very awkward fan port placements, it can be pure PITA to route the cables to those ports while also keeping them hidden. You could also replace the GPU fans with some better ones (Asus 1070 Dual had horrible fans and heatsink) and control the fans with CAM. And with CAM you can turn the fans semi-passive (fans are off at low temperatures. And as the fan on my new Accelero Mono is incompatible with Nvidia cards, you can guess what I'm going to do (HINT: AC P12 fan fits on the Accelero.
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Lebowski
I think you're missing the point about silence focused cases like those from BeQuiet and Fractal. Whilst I agree that fan noise on high airflow cases can be lower for equivalent temperatures, you're ignoring the noise from other components. My main PC has 5 mechanical hard drives which emit a significant amount of noise even when the PC is at idle. It's this mechanical hard drive noise, pump noise and coil whine which the sound deadening in the BeQuiet / Fractal cases significantly reduces. I use Noctua fans which are pretty quiet even at max rpm and I don't mind hearing some fan noise when my PC is working hard. I'm particularly sensitive to high pitched noise and it's the idle noise in an otherwise quiet environment which especially bothers me, which is why my next case will likely be a BeQuiet 801 - it has plenty of space for all the hard drives I need and sound dampening foam everywhere to reduce the high pitched noise. I also like that the front panel can be easily removed when the PC will be working hard, for instance in gaming sessions when I'll likely be wearing headphones anyway.
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I think you're missing the point about silence focused cases like those from BeQuiet and Fractal. Whilst I agree that fan noise on high airflow cases can be lower for equivalent temperatures, you're ignoring the noise from other components. My main PC has 5 mechanical hard drives which emit a significant amount of noise even when the PC is at idle. It's this mechanical hard drive noise, pump noise and coil whine which the sound deadening in the BeQuiet / Fractal cases significantly reduces. I use Noctua fans which are pretty quiet even at max rpm and I don't mind hearing some fan noise when my PC is working hard. I'm particularly sensitive to high pitched noise and it's the idle noise in an otherwise quiet environment which especially bothers me, which is why my next case will likely be a BeQuiet 801 - it has plenty of space for all the hard drives I need and sound dampening foam everywhere to reduce the high pitched noise. I also like that the front panel can be easily removed when the PC will be working hard, for instance in gaming sessions when I'll likely be wearing headphones anyway.
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Dave
The standardized fan tests should be updated to include noise levels. As someone who is interested in building a quiet focused system and is likely to buy Noctua case fans, this information is necessary. In a quiet focused system, the goal is average cooling capability with better than average noise levels. This case achieves average cooling capability with the standardized fans. Beyond that, you have to guess how loud it is. The conclusion states that there are better cases for noise control. However, someone controlling noise is going to pick up Noctua case fans. My personal guess is that this case would do quite well having a solid front panel to block some noise while achieving average temperatures. However, that is just a guess as the appropriate data is missing. Thank you for doing standardized fan tests in the first place. Regardless of it being difficult on some cases, it evens the playing field to make cases comparable for a user who is willing to buy their own fans.
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The standardized fan tests should be updated to include noise levels. As someone who is interested in building a quiet focused system and is likely to buy Noctua case fans, this information is necessary. In a quiet focused system, the goal is average cooling capability with better than average noise levels. This case achieves average cooling capability with the standardized fans. Beyond that, you have to guess how loud it is. The conclusion states that there are better cases for noise control. However, someone controlling noise is going to pick up Noctua case fans. My personal guess is that this case would do quite well having a solid front panel to block some noise while achieving average temperatures. However, that is just a guess as the appropriate data is missing. Thank you for doing standardized fan tests in the first place. Regardless of it being difficult on some cases, it evens the playing field to make cases comparable for a user who is willing to buy their own fans.
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Demorthus
You guys should do a review for the Cooler Master Masterbox MB511! It's a 60 case (at the time of commenting) & it's what I got for my new upgrade, the old case being the hell-forsaken NZXT H440. Anyways- It's got a really good approach to airflow & aesthetics for only 60 bucks which is why I reckon you guys should give it a chance. My complaints against it are probably nit-picky though, for instance in my circumtance I can't see the motherboard q-code LED unless I get up-close to look BUT that's because I'm using two waterblocks in a full custom loop so that's more of a self-inflicted issue than it is one that's inherent of the case I suppose? I would've liked glass or plexi but for 60 & it's no-frills approach, I can't be happier (the 3900x inside would likely agree too.
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You guys should do a review for the Cooler Master Masterbox MB511! It's a 60 case (at the time of commenting) & it's what I got for my new upgrade, the old case being the hell-forsaken NZXT H440. Anyways- It's got a really good approach to airflow & aesthetics for only 60 bucks which is why I reckon you guys should give it a chance. My complaints against it are probably nit-picky though, for instance in my circumtance I can't see the motherboard q-code LED unless I get up-close to look BUT that's because I'm using two waterblocks in a full custom loop so that's more of a self-inflicted issue than it is one that's inherent of the case I suppose? I would've liked glass or plexi but for 60 & it's no-frills approach, I can't be happier (the 3900x inside would likely agree too.
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XenoDeki
You can make a minimalist case while having proper airflow without sacrificing one or the other especially front IO(bad move on case manufacturers for doing this. This case feels a bit poorly made despite being a product of NZXT that's not on the cheap side of PC cases from a functionality and ease of use point of view. If you're concerned about these things especially those hard to remove metal panels on the long run (which the clips might brake later on if brute forcing it for every removal, then it's better to avoid this case and get an other older/cheaper variant or look for another brand altogether. Closed front panel fad should just die already especially if there's no compromise (side vents for fans, better ventilation, etc. They're not doing anyone any favors.
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You can make a minimalist case while having proper airflow without sacrificing one or the other especially front IO(bad move on case manufacturers for doing this. This case feels a bit poorly made despite being a product of NZXT that's not on the cheap side of PC cases from a functionality and ease of use point of view. If you're concerned about these things especially those hard to remove metal panels on the long run (which the clips might brake later on if brute forcing it for every removal, then it's better to avoid this case and get an other older/cheaper variant or look for another brand altogether. Closed front panel fad should just die already especially if there's no compromise (side vents for fans, better ventilation, etc. They're not doing anyone any favors.
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Science!
I honestly still prefer the zero case fans and lower the price of the case approach to the including meh fans and upping the cost of the case. In a world were you can add PWM fans and tune them to your liking, the results shown in this video are proof of concept that even cases with poor air flow design can be tuned to run both quiet and cool. With that said, the fans themselves have again and again shown themselves to be the deciding factor in both case and cooler designs. I wish more content was allocated towards exploring this factor, it's limits, and potential use cases. Which is to say, the performance of the fans themselves and the use cases we apply them to.
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I honestly still prefer the zero case fans and lower the price of the case approach to the including meh fans and upping the cost of the case. In a world were you can add PWM fans and tune them to your liking, the results shown in this video are proof of concept that even cases with poor air flow design can be tuned to run both quiet and cool. With that said, the fans themselves have again and again shown themselves to be the deciding factor in both case and cooler designs. I wish more content was allocated towards exploring this factor, it's limits, and potential use cases. Which is to say, the performance of the fans themselves and the use cases we apply them to.
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Uno
You are incredibly insightful and very refreshing with your reviews. I think one thing that was overlooked and has been by many reviews of these NZXT cases, is how incredibly user friendly to build in they are. I say this as a first time PC builder, the H500 case was cheap and yet incredibly intuitive. The built in cable management runs, tie down points, and bar down the middle make for a smooth build with easy cable management. You nailed it in the end with stating these are not performance cases, but they aren't bad performers. I'd say they are very much the do it yourself and look sleek doing it case.
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You are incredibly insightful and very refreshing with your reviews. I think one thing that was overlooked and has been by many reviews of these NZXT cases, is how incredibly user friendly to build in they are. I say this as a first time PC builder, the H500 case was cheap and yet incredibly intuitive. The built in cable management runs, tie down points, and bar down the middle make for a smooth build with easy cable management. You nailed it in the end with stating these are not performance cases, but they aren't bad performers. I'd say they are very much the do it yourself and look sleek doing it case.
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newfieboy23
Big thank you to Gamers Nexus for the expose on the Enermax TR4 AIO issues. I had a pump that died, and because of your hard work and dedicated to the community, I was able to get a new AIO sent out to me. This is a stark contrast to several months ago when I first attempted an RMA, and they told me I had to ship the unit from Canada to California, and if they determined it was broken then I would have to pay for it to be sent back -- after being repaired. A class action lawsuit should have been taken out on these guys for the failed pumps, and failed systems because of this gross oversight.
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Big thank you to Gamers Nexus for the expose on the Enermax TR4 AIO issues. I had a pump that died, and because of your hard work and dedicated to the community, I was able to get a new AIO sent out to me. This is a stark contrast to several months ago when I first attempted an RMA, and they told me I had to ship the unit from Canada to California, and if they determined it was broken then I would have to pay for it to be sent back -- after being repaired. A class action lawsuit should have been taken out on these guys for the failed pumps, and failed systems because of this gross oversight.
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flasha29
I really like my H710i. I had to wait as I wanted the H700i. but they went EOL and got pricey and the H710I wasnt out yet. As a system builder I like the new smart device. much better than the first. Cam for rgb control is far more robust than Mystic lights. Polychrome. and Rgb fusion combined. So many apps to control RGB is becoming a problem. I find myself programming the rgb firmware for each device. such as Rgb Fusion. or Polychrome. and then uninstalling once they are programmed. Polychrome being the worst most buggy rbg control app on the market. Get it togther Asrock.
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I really like my H710i. I had to wait as I wanted the H700i. but they went EOL and got pricey and the H710I wasnt out yet. As a system builder I like the new smart device. much better than the first. Cam for rgb control is far more robust than Mystic lights. Polychrome. and Rgb fusion combined. So many apps to control RGB is becoming a problem. I find myself programming the rgb firmware for each device. such as Rgb Fusion. or Polychrome. and then uninstalling once they are programmed. Polychrome being the worst most buggy rbg control app on the market. Get it togther Asrock.
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