NZXT has no shortage of PC cases, and among the latest to get a refresh is the NZXT H7 Flow RGB. It’s essentially the same as the NZXT H5 Flow RGB I only just reviewed, but comes without the GPU-focused fan and more internal space. At the heart of the chassis is the usual NZXT H series affair with a stunning aesthetic, excellent cable management behind the motherboard tray, solid support for the latest graphics cards, AIO liquid coolers, and plenty of options for storage.
By default, the NZXT H7 Flow RGB comes equipped with three pre-installed F140 RGB Core 140mm fans on the front and a single F120Q 120mm blower on the rear panel. Add up to a 360mm radiator-touting AIO for the top panel, and you have one capable PC build with more than adequate cooling. We found it to perform admirably in testing, which was expected with the large mesh front-facing panel and included fan array. It’s a joy to build a PC inside and will look the part in almost any setting with the available colors and variants.
Source: NZXT
NZXT H7 Flow RGB
Updating one of the best mid-tower cases.
The NZXT H7 Flow RGB is a special version of this mid-tower chassis with RGB-enabled fans and a front-facing mesh panel for providing maximum airflow in style.
- Brand
- NZXT
- Material
- Steel
- Motherboard Size (Max.)
- ATX
- Graphics Card Size (Max.)
- 400 mm
- 3.5″ Drive Slots
- 2
- 2.5″ Drive Slots
- 4+2
- Power Supply Size (Max.)
- 200 mm
- Exterior Dimensions
- 505 x 480 x 230 mm
Pros
- Impressive thermal performance
- RGB version includes four fans
- Cable management
- Looks great
Pricing and availability
NZXT priced the H7 Flow RGB with all the bells and whistles at $160. The base and Flow versions of the H7 cost $120 and the H7 Elite comes in at a whopping $200 with all that tempered glass. The price for this high-airflow version of the mid-tower chassis is a good one to pay considering the included features, four pre-installed fans that aren’t terrible, and what is generally a very well-built PC case.
If you want the most bang for your buck and get up and running in no time, we’d choose the H7 Flow RGB as the best PC case of the bunch over the H7 and H7 Flow unless you truly despise RGB lighting.
Design and features
Gone is the H700 series, and now we’re looking at a more focused line-up that almost matches the SKU families of AMD and Intel processors. There’s the NZXT H5, NZXT H7, and NZXT H9 — it’s only the H210i that has yet to be updated to this new format. What we have here with the NZXT H7 Flow RGB is the chassis that promises among the best airflow with a huge front-facing mesh panel, unobstructed access to just about anywhere inside the PC case itself, and some lights to add color to the build.
Reviewing a PC case in 2023 isn’t the most exciting process since just about every manufacturer follows the same tried and tested method of building a chassis to hold some components. When something really clicks with the market, the rest of the brands follow. Just look at the Lian Li O11 Dynamic that has been replicated countless times, even by NZXT with the excellent H9 Flow. Thankfully, NZXT tends to add its own spin on things, and the standard ATX case that is the NZXT H7 is no exception.
Looking at the unboxed PC case, it’s almost impossible to mistake it for anything other than an NZXT chassis. That’s by design (pun intended), so the entire ecosystem is cohesive. You’ll be able to add microphones, AIO coolers, motherboards, and other accessories from NZXT with the same aesthetic, creating a premium-looking work and play environment. Like other H series cases we’ve looked at thus far, the NZXT H7 Flow RGB is available in matte black or white.
The star of the show is the front panel, which not only plays host to the massive mesh grill, but also three of the four included fans. These three blowers are the company’s newer F140 RGB Core fans. They are available for $20 a piece, which makes this quite the value offering from NZXT. The best part about these three RGB fans is they daisy-chain with one another and can be connected directly to the motherboard. Gone are the days of NZXT bundling a fan and RGB controller hub, though the company will happily sell you one.
All panels can be extracted without a screwdriver, which makes getting inside the NZT H7 Flow RGB a painless process. There are dust filters on every intake area, including one on the top panel, even though it’s recommended to use this as an exhaust. There’s no GPU fan located below the PSU shroud, which does mean NZXT was able to include a 3.5-inch HDD tray. This can be removed to provide additional space for the PSU, routing cables, and installing a radiator with fans up front.
The cable routing is excellent, as is the case on just about every NZXT case available today. There’s impressive clearance for even the largest best graphics card you can afford. The front I/O is pretty good too, comprising an audio jack and three USB ports. This is something we found lacking with the smaller NZXT H5 Flow RGB. Overall, the NZXT H7 Flow RGB looks different from the older H710i, but it’s simply a more refined version with all the necessary improvements to make it a better case to build a PC with.
Building a PC and thermals
The NZXT H7 Flow RGB is a large mid-tower chassis, and as such, it’s possible to fit inside two 360mm radiators. It would be a tight squeeze to install a custom open-loop liquid solution for the GPU and/or CPU, but it’s possible with the right hardware. This allows for some serious thermal capacity, but a single 360mm radiator AIO package is more than enough. Here’s the test bench we used for this NZXT H7 Flow RGB review:
- Intel Core i9-13900K
- AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero
- 32GB of DDR5-6400
PC cases have come a long way over recent decades. They usually came with one or two small fans in the early 2000s with very little in terms of ventilation. Manufacturers had to adapt to the advances made by GPU and CPU companies to keep tabs on the additional heat waste that was being generated with newer hardware. The H710i wasn’t amazing at dispersing heat, nor did it pull in enough cool air for enthusiast-grade hardware.
Thankfully, that’s a thing of the past as the NZXT H7 Flow RGB (and its non-RGB Flow variant) makes quick work of even an AMD Ryzen 9 7590X and Intel Core i9-13900K. Our testing showed the processor comfortably sitting at 64 degrees Celsius under a heavy load running Cinebench. That’s an impressive figure and one NZXT should be proud of. It’s in line with expectations from our NZXT H5 Flow RGB review.
The GPU was also able to keep cool at around 76 degrees Celsius in synthetic benchmarks. It’s worth noting that neither component will likely sit at these levels during normal operation, even when running more demanding software and games. The NZXT H7 Flow RGB is a brilliant case for budget and expensive PC builds.
Should you buy the NZXT H7 Flow RGB?
You should buy the NZXT H7 Flow RGB if:
- You want an excellent spacious mid-tower PC case with great thermals.
- You want some RGB lighting but without a dedicated controller.
- You have an AIO with up to a 360mm radiator to install.
You shouldn’t buy the NZXT H7 Flow RGB if:
- You want to build your own open-loop water cooling solutions.
- You have an AIO with a radiator larger than 360mm.
- You don’t want RGB lighting.
The NZXT H7 Flow RGB took everything that made the H710i great and improved on almost everything else. It’s vastly superior for cooling more power-hungry components, namely the best CPUs on the market. It’s more in line with other NZXT PC cases in that the H7 Flow RGB is easier than ever to build a PC inside and there’s more space thanks to the removal of some clutter.
NZXT’s design language is sleek, no matter the product. The company cemented itself as one of the more stylish PC case makers, alongside the likes of Lian Li and Fractal Design. There’s plenty to appreciate with the NZXT H7 Flow RGB. Being a traditional ATX chassis, you can cram an awful lot of technology inside its dimensions, but it never feels overwhelming, even when you’re using a beefy Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.
Source: NZXT
NZXT H7 Flow RGB
The NZXT H7 Flow RGB is a special version of this mid-tower chassis with RGB-enabled fans and a front-facing mesh panel for providing maximum airflow in style.