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This mid-tower is perfect for a minimalist build while keeping the process simple and intuitive, utilizing widened channels, hooks, straps, and toolless entry. The H7 flow offered the best CPU temperature thanks to its open front end, but was only a degree ahead of the H7 Elite, which had three front fans to aid cooling despite its front section being closed. With the fans peaking at a speed of 1,200rpm, they’re not particularly powerful, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the H7 Flow return middling results with the CPU and GPU delta temperatures. However, the flip side is that it’s extremely quiet, even with the fans at full speed. The CPU delta T of 48°C was on par with the Antec NX700 and Corsair 5000D Airflow, while the Antec DF700 Flux, Fractal Design Meshify 2 and Cooler Master MasterBox 500 were a little cooler. However, the NZXT was a couple of degrees cooler than the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact. With the top filter installed, the H7 Flow’s CPU temperatures are a close match to those of Corsair’s iCUE 5000T, beating both the Cooler Master HAF 500 and Lian Li O11D EVO. In Win’s N515 leads in CPU temperatures due to its different radiator placement, but the H7 Flow almost caught it when we removed the exhaust filter from our configuration.
With the front panel being perforated, the H7 Flow’s right side panel can be completely closed off. Unlike the H7 and H7 Elite, the H7 Flow does not require a perforated right side panel for airflow, allowing NZXT to ship this model with a plain right side panel. It was clear from the first moment the three models of H7 have been improved, starting with the addition of a Flow model that has a front panel that clearly has the potential to work well. In addition we were delighted to find the panels are tool-free as that makes life considerably easier.
FYI, their H700s were their 'fix' to this via a brute force method of 'just add more fans', while maintaining the stylish and air flow choking design of the previous cases. It worked, though it could've been better if they'd just done the H7 Flow right then and there. As expected, NZXT’s H7 Flow delivers much lower CPU and GPU thermals than the standard H7, so much so that the case is one of the best performing cases that we have tested with 600 RPM fan speeds. While the case does not offer cooling that is on par with Fractal’s Torrent chassis, it gets remarkably close for a case that only ships with two fans out of the box. If we added a few more fans to this chassis, maybe we could expect CPU/GPU thermals to lower even further.
NZXT’s H series has been tinkered with many times over the years. And with the performance of the new H7 Flow, it’s clear the company’s iconic design can evolve and continue to impress with the changing market and growing thermal demands of today’s high-end hardware. There really aren’t many bad things to say about the NZXT H7 Flow. It’s relatively affordable, impressed during testing, and importantly in my eyes, it takes a different approach to airflow with a perforated metal front and top, rather than boring (and potentially restricting) fine mesh. What stopped them from launching meshed versions alongside the older cases? For a comparison, Fractal has their Define and Meshify(recent Pop Air too) series.
Even with an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor, you'll see a good 5% reduction for average temperature in games. It's still not quite as good as some other PC cases, namely the be quiet! Silent Base 802 or NZXT H7 Flow, but it's good to see lower temperatures all in keeping the same overall look of the existing H710.
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