NZXT H7 Flow (2024 Edition) Mid-Tower Chassis Review

TweakTown's Rating: 93%

The Bottom Line

NZXT's 2024 model of the H7 Flow is a great value for money, but its cooling performance is what really gets us excited.

Pros

• Includes three 120mm PWM fans and superb water cooling support
• Clear cable management paths
• Excellent price point and clever 2.5" HDD mounting locations
• Impressive amount of packaging
• It feels large while still being compact for a mid-tower case

Cons

• No rubber grommets
• No BTF/Project Zero support

Should you buy it?

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Check Amazon for prices

Buy at Newegg for $132.99 USD

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

NZXT has been in the case industry for several years and has returned to TweakTown. Today, we will examine one of their mid-tower ATX cases, the H7 Flow. This version, which is the 2024 model, offers three 120mm PWM fans, great water cooling support, and more for only a measly $130. Color options are white and black; an RGB fan version of each color is available for $150.

Why don't we do the usual and see what makes the H7 Flow tick?

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Packaging

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The outside of the packaging for the NZXT H7 Flow is typical, with the name on one side.

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This packaging shows the specifications, compatibility, and clearances for the CPU cooler, GPU, radiator, and cable management.

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The other side shows a picture of the H7 Flow in color and the H7 Flow illustrated.

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Removing the H7 Flow from the cardboard packaging shows fairly plain shipping foam; however, instead of the standard top and bottom pieces, NZXT stepped it up to include the sides, leaving only a small portion exposed.

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If you thought the foam was enough, NZXT also placed this piece of cardboard between the H7 Flow and the foam. A plastic bag also keeps debris off the H7 Flow while in transit.

Outside the NZXT H7 Flow Case

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Once the H7 Flow is free from all the packing materials, it shows its clean lines. The tempered glass side panel is almost held in place by nothing.

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Tactful branding, which is always appreciated, blends right in with the rest of the design.

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Again, the tempered glass side panel has a slight tint, spans edge to edge, and is held with three POGO-style pins.

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The rear of the H7 Flow is cohesive, except for the vertical PSU mount. The vertical PSU mount helps create a chamber for the PSU without sacrificing too much space. The rear fan location supports either 120mm or 140mm fans.

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The rear side pane is usually boring and shows off a bit. Some mesh spans about a third of the right side, which allows the PSU to breathe in fresh air and, if installed, show off two of those relic 3.5" HDDs.

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The front of the H7 Flow has a mesh panel, which NZXT states is optimized for airflow and can effectively filter dust. POGO-style pins hold this panel in place.

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The top roof panel houses the front I/O and more airflow-optimized mesh to allow the top to exhaust air. It is also held in place with POGO-style pins.

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The bottom of the NZXT H7 has two large rubberized feet. What is interesting is the recessed mesh section; more on that later.

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The top front I/O is located on the top right, and it includes a circular power button, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and a combo 3.5mm headset audio jack.

Inside the NZXT H7 Flow Case

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Moving inside the H7 Flow, we are welcomed with all three of the included 120mm 3-pin PWM fans. The model is the F120Q Airflow fan (case version) with a speed of plus or minus 1350 RPM, allowing for 60.2 CFM while quiet at 24.1 dBA. These fans only have a static H20 rating of 1.05mm, so it is recommended not to use these as radiator fans. The front location, which is removable, can also accept three 140mm fans or a 420mm radiator, making the H7 Flow have a plethora of cooling potential.

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The bottom, which is not typical, and instead of most ATX case designs these days have a side fan intake, has a spot to either mount three 120mm fans or a 360mm radiator.

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An NZXT staple, the cable bar, aids in hiding the 24-Pin.

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Taking the rear side panel off exposes all the cable management that NZXT has engineered. The accessories box has various screws and standoffs, as well as a handful of zip ties, but nothing special.

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Now, let's move on to cable management, where NZXT shines. Fitted with two channels and three Velcro tie-downs each, it ensures that every cable is neat.

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This bracket can support either two 3.5" or two 2.5" HDDs or SSDs. It's a shame NZXT couldn't fit three 2.5" drives on it; I just wish it was about another ½ inches longer.

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Neatly tucked away in the front is a two 2.5" SSD/HDD bay, which is held into place with a single thumbscrew. With the decline of 3.5" drives being used, I can see this becoming the norm.

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With most of the fan controllers being magnetic, NZXT has thought this would be a good place. Why don't we put a system in and see how the temps are in the H7 Flow?

Test System, Installation, and Finished Product

• Motherboard: Z690 AORUS Pro (Intel Z690) - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 12600K - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Corsair H150i LCD ELITE - Buy from Amazon
• Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5-7200 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 3090 Founders Edition - Buy from Amazon
• Storage: Corsair MP600 PRO XT Gen4 PCIe x4 NVMe M.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon
• Case: NZXT H7 Flow - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: NZXT C1500 1500w ATX 3.1 PSU - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit Build 22631 - Buy from Amazon
• Software: AIDA64 Engineer v7.20.6800, CPU-z 2.09.0 x64. GPU-Z 2.57.0, and HWiNFO64 v7.63-5205

Final Thoughts

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Building in the H7 Flow from NZXT was a smooth experience with no issues with hardware fitment. The whole presentation of the H7 Flow is set up very well with its three front pre-installed 120mm PWM fans, while the show star is certainly the cable management that NZXT has implemented into the H7 Flow. Two dedicated cable channels allow the builder to manage great cable regardless of skill level. The H7 Flow is also set up for an excellent number of water cooling radiators with support for up to a 420mm radiator in the front and an additional 360mm radiator in the roof.

One could fit an extra 360mm radiator in the floor of the H7 Flow if the fans were installed in the recessed section on the bottom of the case. However, that could impede the ability to use a 420mm radiator. After doing some test fittings, one could fit three 360mm radiators, albeit I tested fitted with two Swiftech MCR320 radiators and a Corsair H150i LCD ELITE AIO, so your results may vary.

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Testing the NZXT H7 Flow ATX Mid-Tower case, I used an Intel Core i5 12600K on the Z690 AORUS Pro motherboard. For the memory, two DDR5 sticks of Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB ran at DDR5-7200M/T. The test GPU is the NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE, which was run at stock power limits and clocks via MSI's Afterburner GPU Overclocking and Monitoring utility. The included three 120mm fans, pre-installed in the NZXT H7 Flow ATX Mid-Tower case, set it at a massive positive air intake advantage in the front, while the three Corsair RGB 120mm fans mounted on the CPU H150i LCD ELITE in the roof helped even the odds.

The CPU, Intel Core i5 12600K, the 10 core 16, threaded CPU's temps only rose to an average temperature of 57C while maintaining average boost clocks of 4.5GHz with 1.2 vcore. In contrast, the NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE GPU averaged only 65.4C while retaining an average frequency of over 2 GHz boost clocks.

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v7.20.6802 for over 4 hours; the ambient temperature was 17C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v8.02-5440, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.59.0, and CPU-Z 2.09.0.x64.

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So, in closing, this year's H7 Flow from NZXT is simply outstanding. With tons of airflow via its three front-mounted 120mm PWM fans, ensuring every component inside gets cool air from the outside, one can only wonder why NZXT didn't use 140mm fans. The best part of the H7 Flow is the price of $130, which is spot on. With superb water cooling support and excellent cable management, the H7 Flow from NZXT makes for a solid recommendation.