NZXT H700i Case Review

Final Thoughts
As I said at the beginning of this review it has been a while since NZXT has released a new high-end case. The H-Series brings many new features we haven’t seen in NZXT cases and builds upon the functions of their CAM application. Let’s first talk about the case itself, which is pretty amazing.

The case has that extremely sleek look with completely plain front and top panels. NZXT is able to accomplish this by having ventilation holes on each side of the case towards the top and front of the case. I think we are going to see many cases designed like this if they want to keep that sleek look on the front of their case. While the cooling on this case is nothing to write home about, it is far better than many cases we’ve seen where intake fans have literally nowhere to get air from. Adding to the look of the case is the metal piece inside which is made to hide cables, but it also adds contrast to the inside of the case. And you can see it very clearly through the full tempered glass side panel, its 2018 you knew this case was going to have a tempered glass side panel.

NZXT H700i

NZXT always makes cases for builders, meaning they are easy to build inside, and the H700i is no exception. The large main compartment has more than enough room for the largest components out there. All of the hard drive trays are removable so you can install your drives outside of the case and the top fan / radiator mount is removable too. Both the top and front panels easily pop-off the case so you can install fans or radiators as well. I do like the all of the cable paths that are installed on the backside of the case, but organizing your cables will take more time, but using the included velcro ties you can really clean up the backside of your case. The locking and release button on the back side panel is pretty awesome too.

This case does come with four included fans as well as two RGB LED strips. One RGB strip is pre-installed inside the case and the second you install yourself. All four of the fans and RGB strip are already wired to the “Smart Device”. The “Smart Device” acts much like the NZXT’s Hue+ and Grid+ controllers, so you have full control of the fans and RGB strips being able to change speeds, colors, and effects through NZXT’s CAM app. The newly added feature is Adaptive Noise Reduction, which is said to “optimizes your build’s acoustics through machine learning and ideal fan settings”. Running through the calibration is supposed to take an hour, but after several hours it still was not working for us. Nothing is worst than wasting hours trying to get something working you when you could be gaming. On top of that I think most people could configure their fan curves themselves either by using CAM or connecting the fans directly to their motherboard. Also one thing to note once you connect the Smart Device and the two front USB ports you will likely be out of USB 2.0 headers on your motherboard as most only have two. If you want to connect something else like say an AiO you’ll need to get something like NZXT’s Internal USB Extension Hub.

NZXT has a pretty amazing case in the H700i, as expected it is a joy to build in and looks great. Having a central hub for both the fans and RGB strips is awesome and being able to control them with a single app is great. The “smart” Adaptive Noise Reduction feature is just buggy and takes forever to setup and as I mentioned most users will want to configure their fans themselves not let “machine learning” do it.

Right now this case is selling at our favorite online retailer for $199.99, which makes it one of the more expensive cases out there. I know some of the cost comes from the two RGB strips and smart hub, I mean the Hue+ and Grid+ are $59.99 and $49.99 by themselves respectively. It would be nice if NZXT released a “H700” without the smart hub and RGB strips at a lower cost for those who do not need them.

Overall ThinkComputers gives the NZXT H700i a 9 out of 10 score.

rating9 10

Pros:
– Sleek design
– Four included fans
– Easy to build inside
– Fans and RGB strip already connected to hub
– Decent cooling for no front or top vents
– Can fit larger motherboards up to E-ATX

Cons:
– Adaptive noise reduction feature requires a NZXT account
– Adaptive noise reduction feature really hard to calibrate
– Price (Wish there was a version without the smart device and RGB strips)

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