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Today we are going to look at the NZXT H630 case which is pitched as a high-end silent case which offers a combination of cutting-edge design, excellent acoustics and solid build quality. After the recent success of the Phantom series of cases, NZXT seems to be on a roll. We are looking forward to seeing if they can continue this success with the latest addition to their range.
We were very impressed by the NZXT Phantom 630 when we looked at it a month or so back. It's clear that NZXT are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the PC component market, especially when it comes to cases. We've also been impressed with their other product lines, including their impressive Kraken coolers and Hale power supplies.
Specification
| Size | Ultra Tower |
| Model Number | CA-H630F-W1 Glossy White CA-H630F-M1 Matte Black |
| Drive Bays | External 5.25″ x 2 (Tooless) Internal 3.5″/2.5″: 8(2 x 2.5″ behind MB) 2 x 3HDD cage, 1 x 2HDD cage (Fully Modular) |
| Cooling System | Front 2 x 200 or 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm ( 1 x 200mm included ) Top 2 x 200 or 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm Rear 1 x 140/120mm ( 1 x 140mm included ) Bottom 2 x 140/120mm HDD Pivot 2 x 140/120mm |
| Filters | Front Side(Included) Bottom Front (Included) Bottom Rear(Included) |
| Radiator Support | Front 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm Top 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm Bottom 2 x 140/120 Rear 1 x 140/120mm |
| Clearance | CPU Cooler 190mm VGA Card 354mm Cable Management 27mm |
| Dimensions | 245mm(W) x 547mm(H) x 567mm(D) |
| Material | SECC Steel, ABS Plastic |
| Motherboard Support | ATX, Micro-ATX, XL-ATX, EATX (347mm x 272mm) |
| Expansion Slots | 9 |
| External Electronics | 1 x Audio/Mic 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0 SD Card Reader With SDHC & SDXC Support I/O Panel LED On/Off |
| Product Weight | 14 kg |
| Warranty | 2 years |
The NZXT H630 is supplied in a plain cardboard box which is a little boring. We expect this could be because we have an early sample of the case and final retail versions will have a more exciting design.
The design of the H630 is quite interesting and features some interesting lines a the front of the case which make it stand out visually and help to differentiate it from competing models. Our particular sample is finished in black, however it's also available in white.
There is very little populating the front of the case, aside from two 5.25″ external drive bays. Despite there being room for up to 3x 120 mm fans (or 2x 200mm or 2x 140mm) in the front of the case, there isn't a large vent. Instead, NZXT has moved the vents around to the edges of the front panel, giving the case a more minimalist appearance.
The front panel connectors have also been moved around to the side of the case. They can be found on the right flank, and consist of two USB3.0 ports, two USB2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks and an card reader. The reset button is also located here, although the main power button is located up on top of the case.
Somewhat unusually, there isn't a large fan vent located in the roof of the case. Instead, NZXT has once again located the vents along the sides of the roof, presumably to reduce noise emissions. Again, there is room for up to three 120 mm fans here, although they can be substituted for two 200 mm or 140 mm fans.
Water-cooling support is pretty generous, with room for triple 120 mm radiators in both the roof and front of the case, as well as room for a double 120 mm radiator in the bottom of the case.
Moving round to the rear of the case, we find a 120 mm (or 140 mm) exhaust vent, alongside nine expansion slots and a bottom mounted PSU bracket.
The side panels of the H630 are lined with a sound-absorbing rubberised layer which should help to ensure that the noise emissions of the case remain low. Both side panels are secured with thumbscrews, making them fairly easy to remove.
NZXT have chosen to paint the entire interior of the case in black, however this will be white if you elect for the white model. There is a large amount of room to work with inside the case, thanks to the generous dimensions. This also means that the H630 supports E-ATX motherboards, in addition to ATX, Micro ATX and Mini-ITX.
Installing a motherboard into the case is pretty simple as the stand-offs are pre-installed. There is also a large cut out section in the motherboard tray which lets you install a CPU cooler with the motherboard in situ.
The power supply can be installed in the bottom of the case, and is secured using four screws through the back of the case. There is a plethora of cable routing holes cut into the motherboard tray which make it very easy to achieve a tidy build. There is also a generous amount of room behind the motherboard tray which further facilitates cable routing.
We find the drive bays over on the right hand side of the system, although they can only be accessed from the other side of the case. This could be a pain if you switch over drives and other components regularly as it means you may have to remove both side panels. There is also a fan mounting point attached to the side of the drive bays which is pivoted to allow you to direct airflow towards the GPU area. This may come in handy if you're planning to overclock your GPU and require extra cooling.
Behind the motherboard tray, we find a 10-pin fan hub which should provide ample plugs for most users.
Installing a graphics card in the system is fairly easy, and only requires the removal and replacement of two thumbscrews (unless you are building a multi-GPU machine). There is plenty of space for long graphics cards and there should be room for all current models.
For our tests we will be using a Noctua NH-D14 to cool the Intel Core i7-3930K CPU in the NZXT H630. Our test system also features an AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics card.
We manually overclocked the i7-3930K to 4.7 GHz by increasing the multiplier to 47x, leaving the baseclock set at 100 MHz. We set Load Line Calibration to ‘High’, and increased the CPU Current Capability to 120% with a minor voltage increase. Speed stepping was disabled for both stock and overclocked tests.
Test System:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K
- Motherboard: Asus P9X79
- Cooler: Phanteks Noctua NH-D14
- Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2.
- Memory: 16GB (4x 4GB) Mushkin Blackline 1600 MHz
- Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7950.
- Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W
- System Drive: Intel SSD 330 Series 120 GB
- Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM.
Software:
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).
- CPUID Hardware Monitor.
- Prime95 64-bit.
- Furmark V1.10.6
To test the thermal performance of the NZXT H630 we loaded our test system for 15 minutes using Prime95 and Furmark and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor. We then restarted the system and left it for 15 minutes before recording idle temperatures.
Room temperature was maintained at 18 degrees C for the duration of our tests.
These temperatures are exactly what we would expect from the H630, showcasing good cooling performance.
To conduct our noise level tests, we replaced the graphics card in our system with a AMD Radeon HD 5550 Silence which was passively cooled. We also momentarily disconnected the fans on the CPU cooler so we were only taking into account the noise generated by the fans in the case.
A very low score for the H630 here which shows that it really lives up to NZXT's ultra quiet claims.
We are very impressed with what the NZXT H630 brings to the table. It is clear they are trying very hard to compete with the most renowned PC case manufacturers such as Corsair and Fractal Design.
We love the unique aesthetic lines of the H630 as they give it a distinctive visage which sets it apart from other models in this class. It is also a completely different style against NZXT's Phantom range of cases, offering a more understated look for those who may not appreciate a flamboyant design.
NZXT have also been able to cram in an impressive number of fan mounting points into the case, meaning it supports two 360 mm radiators. This makes it a great option for those users who are looking to build a quiet system with a custom water cooling loop.
In our tests, we found the H630 to be very quiet indeed, almost rivaling Fractal Design's best models in terms of quietness. Thermal performance was also decent and the inbuilt fan hub should prove useful for those who are looking to populate the chassis with multiple fans.
At a price of around £130 at Overclockers UK, we feel that the NZXT H630 is a little expensive although we hope it will come down in price slightly over the coming months to a similar level to the Fractal Design Define XL R2.
Pros
- Very quiet.
- Unique visage.
- 10-pin fan hub
- Impressive water cooling support.
- Available in multiple colours.
Cons
- A little expensive compared against competitor products in same sector.
KitGuru says: An excellent case from Nanoxia which rivals Fractal’s finest.
