NZXT H2 Classic Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Final ThoughtsThere has been a lot of controversy over this case, with some review sites slating it whilst others loved the simplicity. We fall somewhere in between with the H2 as it’s the first case we’ve looked at from NZXT and will be the first of many. It offers a simplistic approach and gives you exactly what you need and nothing more and that’s a definite win in our books.

The style is certainly impressive as we’ve always been a fan of white products, as it gives that clean cut and fresh vibe about it. It also includes some unique features that you’d expect on a lot more expensive case like the quick remove fans, with no fear of getting tangled up as you disconnect them. With the H2 you simply remove the fan and that’s it. It really is that simple.I feel in regards to the styling a window may have been a nice addition so that you can bask in the glory of your neat, cable-tidied chassis, especially if your components are black as it really stands out.

There are a few little gripes and I have made NZXT fully aware of these. The first is the tool-less design of which the majority of the case includes thumbscrews, but sadly unless you are superman you will have some trouble loosening them by hand and will end up reverting to the screwdriver to assist you, though this may only be specific to our particular one. There is also a slightly cheap feel about the fan cover that sits on the top of the case fixated by magnets. It just seems like a cheap afterthought to us, but clearly NZXT believe that it has a purpose. The only minor problem is the optical drive locking mechanism which seems stupidly stiff to lock and unlock and then has a slightly flimsy feel to it, but this could once again be a problem with our particular case, who knows?

The final problem and i consider this major as it annoys me beyond belief is the rubber grommets used for cable tidying. It seems as soon as a cable is passed through, it falls out of its position. Now we’re not asking for much, but a bit of superglue would have gone a long way, but we can’t blame NZXT for this, as we had exactly the same experience with Cooler Master, so we will either blame no one or blame both of the manufacturers.

The H2 is certainly going to appeal to a mainstream market with style in mind and ease of use. The locking mechanism and advanced features of the case may need some explaining for the novice user but the instructions detail it clearly. At around £83 we feel that it’s about a bit oveerpriced for a mid tower case, but certainly is beautiful looking and has some fantastic features, so now if only they could fix the niggly little faults we think they’d be on to a winner.

Pros:

Cons:

• Some parts feel flimsy
• Fan cover seems an afterthought
• Thumbscrews are too tight
• Rubber grommets need fixing into place