NZXT H630 Silent Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 14, 2013 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- NZXT
- ATX
_678x452.jpg)
Introducing the NZXT H630
I had a chance to check out the NZXT H630 in its prototype stages a couple of months back, and I was suitably impressed. It seems simple to think about, but understand that breaking with accepted tradition can be a very unusual thing. Companies like SilverStone have their own traditions in and of themselves, and they live on the fringe of design, and NZXT is slowly plotting a course to those same outer reaches. What I'm getting at here is something I don't feel like other vendors have seriously considered: a silent case...without a door.
.jpg)
It's kind of a funny thing to think about. Nanoxia's Deep Silence 1 heavily tweaked the whole "door" concept by splitting it in two, but NZXT's new H630 eschews having a door entirely, and their logic is sound. If you ask why a door is needed, it's hard to come up with a really good answer. The door will certainly block noise from a spinning optical drive, but optical drives themselves are a dying breed, and gamers largely don't even need them anymore.
There's a lot of that "why didn't anybody think of this before" kind of mentality going on with the H630, and when you couple it with an incredibly striking modern aesthetic, you wind up with something that's fairly familiar at first but is remarkably progressive in the details.
| NZXT H630 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX, XL-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 2x 5.25" |
| Internal | 8x 2.5"/3.5", 2x 2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 200mm intake fan (2x 200mm fan mounts, or 2x 140mm, or 3x 120mm) |
| Rear | 1x 140mm exhaust fan (supports 120mm) | |
| Top | 2x 200mm/140mm or 3x 120mm fan mounts | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | 2x 140mm/120mm fan mounts | |
| Expansion Slots | 9 | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic, 1x SD card reader | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearances | HSF | 190mm |
| PSU | 280mm | |
| GPU | 354mm | |
| Dimensions |
9.65" x 21.54" x 22.32" 245mm x 547mm x 567mm |
|
| Weight | 30.9 lbs. / 14 kg | |
| Special Features |
USB 3.0 via internal header Integrated SD card reader Multiple removable drive cages Integrated fan hub Rear I/O lighting Sound-suppressing foam |
|
| Price | $149 | |
With NZXT there has been a gradual evolution in terms of feature sets. Many Taiwanese manufacturers make the mistake of just including a boatload of features regardless of whether or not they add value to the product, and oftentimes they'll shortchange the actual design of the enclosure in the process. NZXT's cases have been more frequently integrating authentically useful features, and there's a clear train of thought that goes into these inclusions. The switchable I/O lighting around the expansion slots and I/O ports in the back is unique to NZXT but seems like a no-brainer, and the integrated SD card reader is so obvious it's mystifying why other manufacturers aren't including it.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
27 Comments
View All Comments
Grok42 - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - link
I am happy to see it only has 2x 5.25" external bays. This is very progressive compared to other cases in the market and I'm glad to see it. I'm also glad to see that it integrated an SD reader into the case. While I have and never will use one I will gladly pay for one in every case I buy if it means they decide to put one less external bay on the case. No one can argue they need an external 3.5" bay for a card reader for this case even though you can get a more convenient USB reader for $5. I'd pay more for a fan controller too, again not because I need it but maybe they could get it down to one 5.25" bay.Xvi - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Nice case, I wish it were smaller, I really want a Micro-AXT case that is silence orientated but allows for a 240mm radiator. The Corsair 350D would be perfect if it had attempted some sort of ducted cover for the top vents, along with sound deadening. Maybe they could make another, more expensive version with such features.I do like all the possibilities the size allows for, being able to mount a rad on the top, front or bottom is great, but I just don't want an XL-ATX sized case. I hope they make a smaller version with only one front drive bay, and only room for 2x120/140 on the top and front, along with only 1x120/140 on the bottom. This would still be an ATX sized case no doubt, but I don't feel like NZXT want to exclude too many people with their more expensive cases, so I don't see them limiting it to mATX. That's what this case is, it works for everyone! Unfortunately, at the cost of the overall size. I'm looking forward to a potential H430.
maximumGPU - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
Agree with you Dustin, NZXT fans just plain suck.It's a shame to cripple a great case because of fan choice.
HisDivineOrder - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - link
I think they should knock the price down by $20 and remove all fans from the package. Everyone either has room to budget fans into their mix or has fans they'd prefer to use, especially if they're building a silent PC.Silence is all about the fans and few are going to pursuing such an endeavor without already KNOWING they were yanking those bundled fans regardless. So cut the price, cut the fans, and give us all what we really want.
issleeping - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
Does anyone know if there is a fan filter for the front fans? I like the H630's solution with the 5.25 bays available for fan controller / audio output rather than having a door.ggathagan - Thursday, May 16, 2013 - link
See the 5th postchristopherN - Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - link
NZXT H630 8is the best speaker I have used,great sound and good features.http://www.doctorbrakes.com