NZXT H400i Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 14.05.18
With the H-series, NZXT offers three new cases. Today we are going to review the H400i which features a compact form factor as well as space for high-end components. Despite its small dimensions, there is actually enough space for a 280mm radiator. There is also a separate compartment for the power supply allowing for very clean looking builds as well as a left side panel that's been made from tempered glass. 
A few months ago, NZXT announced its brand new H series line of cases equipped with RGB lighting and Aer F fans. The H series has a chassis that should meet the need of each gamer, from the mid-tower up to the mini-tower. The new lineup includes: the H700i, the H400i and the H200i. Before we talk about each model, we have to say that there are several common points in these chassis. For example they are all equipped with tempered glass side panels, power supply cover and water cooling support. Furthermore they are available in matte black or white with red, black, and blue accents.
The H700i mid-tower chassis comes with seven expansion slots and supports up to E-ATX motherboards. Storage wise you can install up to seven 2.5" SSDs and three 3.5" HDDs. In addition there is enough space for graphics cards up to 413mm in length and CPU coolers as tall as 185mm. The H700i can accommodate up to total of seven 120mm fans and radiators up to 360mm. This chassis comes with three Aer F120 intake fans and a single Aer F120 exhaust fan.
The H400i is a still a mid-tower chassis but compatible with micro-ATX motherboards and it's equipped with four expansion slots. The H400i is compatible with four 2.5" SSDs and a single 3.5" hard drive. This chassis can be outfitted with graphics cards up to 411mm in length and CPU coolers as tall as 164mm. There are mounting locations for up to five 120mm fans and radiators up to 280mm. NZXT includes inside the H400i case a two Aer F120 intake fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan.
Last but not least we have the H200i case. As you might expect, this chassis supports mini-ITX motherboards and sports two expansion slots. Despite its small size, the H200i has the same storage options than the larger H400i. Despite its size, CPU coolers as tall as 165mm can be installed in this case. Cooling wise, there are mounting locations for four 120mm fans and up to 240mm radiators. Inside the H200i you will find two Aer F120 fans.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Preview
Specifications
| Model: | NZXT H400i | |
| Case Type: | Mid tower | |
| Dimensions: | 210 mm (W) x 417 mm (H) x 421 mm (D) | |
| Material: | SECC, Tempered glass | |
| Color: | Black | |
| Drive Bay: | 5.25": | 0 |
| 3.5": | 1 | |
| 2.5": | 3 + 1 | |
| Expansion slots: | 4 | |
| Form factors: | micro-ATX, mid-ITX | |
| Cooling: | Front: | 2x 120mm / 2x 140mm (2x Aer F120 included) |
| Rear: | 1x 120mm (1x Aer F120 included) | |
| Top: | 2x 120mm / 2x 140mm | |
| Bottom: | / | |
| Side: | / | |
| Watercooling | Front: | 280mm / 240mm |
| Rear: | 120mm | |
| Bottom: | / | |
| Top: | / | |
| Link to the product: | H400i | |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Features
Tempered glassOne of the two panels of the NZXT H400i is made entirely of solid tempered glass. The panel is secured to the main structure through four screws. There are no hinges or any other release mechanism, the window can only be removed completely. The tempered glass panel allows a quick look inside the case and provides a rather unique design. |
Support for custom watercoolingThe NZXT H400i offers good flexibility when it comes to water cooling gear. Looking at the case from the left side, you see two spots, where one is on the top and the other in the front area. Inside the NZXT H400i you can install a 120mm and a 280mm radiators. |
Dust filtersIn total there are five spots for 120 millimeter fans in this case. All the air inlets are covered using dust filters. These can be removed easily in order to clean them under tap water. |
PSU CoverIn order to hide all the cables connected to your power supply, there is cover hiding away the unit. This helps creating a neat and clean looking system. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Product overview
Overview |
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| The NZXT H400i is a mid-tower case designed for micro-ATX motherboards. The entire front and a good part of the top segment is completely without any mesh or openings thus both areas are clean. Both side panels are solid, well-finished and again there is no mesh and there are no openings. The top part also features the I/O panel which comes with two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, audio jacks for headphones and microphone. The back panel is standard and here we find the opening for the 120mm fan, the space for the I/O backshield panel of the motherboard and four expansion slots. The bottom part of the case features an opening for the ATX power supply and the removable and washable dust filter. | |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Installation
Overview |
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| The NZXT H400i is only compatible with mid-ITX systems. The motherboard is placed vertically and thanks to the size of the case you will not have any problems with the installation of large heatsinks. The motherboard tray is made of solid steel, and it features a big cut out behind the socket, which allows the user to install aftermarket CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard. The tray features a few openings allowing for neat cable management. Between the motherboard tray and the right side panel there is enough space to hide plenty of cables.
The case comes the latest features regarding internal layout and design, in fact, there is a big midplate covering the power supply and its cables. Overall, the NZXT H400i supports up to one 3.5" HDD and three 2.5" SSDs, both in dedicated places and well hidden. Behind the motherboard tray there are several cable routing channels which will help in case of cable management. For our test we used an ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer motherboard and an AIO 240mm from Corsair and did not run into any compatibility issues, despite the small size of the case. Assembling a systems inside the H400i is easier than you might think. The area dedicated to the graphics card is large enough to accommodate even the most powerful GPU available on the market. After placing all the components inside the case you will end up with a clean rig. Although there are several thumb screws, most of them are way too over tighten and you will need a screw driver. |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Ventilation options
Overview |
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| The cooling concept of the NZXT H400i is rather simple. There is space for a couple of 120/140mm fans in the front and in the top, and one 120mm fan in the back. Included in the delivery you will find two 120mm fans placed on the front and one in the rear part. NZXT includes in the delivery two Aer F120 Case Edition which can spin up to 1200 RPM with a max airflow of 50 CFM at 28 dBA. If you are a fan of water cooling, you can equip this case with an all-in-one water cooler as we demonstrated on the previous page. The front can be equipped with a 280mm or 240mm radiator, while in the back there is space for a 120mm radiator. Furthermore there is space for high-end cooler up to 165mm height. |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Temperatures
Overview |
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For testing purposes we're using an MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC motherboard, an Intel Core i5-6600K CPU, which receives cooling through a SilentiumPC Fortis 3 HE1425 MCE cooler as well as a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. The ambient temperature is close to 24°C. |
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| All noise dampening panels installed | Idle (°C) | Full (°C) |
| Intel Core i5-6600K | 28 / 27 / 28 / 27 | 51 / 50 / 52 / 49 |
| MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G | 52 | 75 |
| Less is better | ||
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
Rating |
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| Cooling | Features | Layout | Build Quality | Value for Money | |
| Pros | + Good
compatibility for watercooling and aircooling
+ Fan controller |
+ Water cooling + Tempered glass + LED + Dust filters |
+ Interior space | + High quality materials |
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| Cons | - Paint | - Price | |||
The NZXT H400i is a mid-tower PC case designed for those who are looking for a compact gaming rig, which is offering plenty of space even for high-end hardware as well as custom liquid cooling. NZXT decided to use the classic design approach which has been introduced with their S340 case. The materials and build quality are on very good level, which is something we certainly expected from NZXT and apart from that we like the tempered glass side panel. The paint job is on a good level too, but in our opinion it could be improved since it comes off when you untighten some screws. It's hard to understand if the problem are the screws that are too tighten or the paint job itself.
On the inside there is a lot of space available. Once the motherboard will be installed you can easily put a radiator in the front and another tiny one in the back. Apart from that all drives bays have been moved to the bottom area of the case, which means that you will not see them. Since there is a huge tempered glass panel, NZXT has added a few LEDs which will light up your rig. Testing the case as delivered with two 120mm fans in the front and one in the back, we found temperatures to be on a reasonable level, while the noise level was very low. The cable management is rather good, we like the cable canals that have been placed in the rear part.
The amount of features you get with the H400i make it a very interesting. We appreciate that there is space for water cooling setups, which means installing an all-in-one water cooler is a piece of cake. The NZXT H400i is compatible with 240mm and 280mm radiators. At the moment on the market there are several micro-ATX motherboards compatible with Coffee Lake, Skylake-X, Threadripper and Ryzen CPUs. In other words you might create a beefy gaming or workstation rig inside this case. Since the bigger radiator finds place in the front, you have to check out the size of your GPU.
The H400i from NZXT is a PC case which we can definitely recommend. If you are looking for a mid-tower PC case with two pre-installed fans, a small fan controller and a good build quality, this is a great choice. With this case it is really easy to build a high-end rig. The NZXT H400i is available on Geizhals for 139.90 Euro excluding shipping costs and the price is pretty steep. The case is available in four different color schemes: black, black and white, black and red, and black and blue. The NZXT H400i earns 4 out of 5 stars.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |