NZXT H2: Not Quite Quiet
by Dustin Sklavos on May 26, 2011 2:43 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- NZXT
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
Fret not! There are more on the way.Oh, so MANY more. ;)
geniekid - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
I just want to say I totally support your reviewing of cases, ESPECIALLY those that are designed to be quiet. This is an area of system building that is severely lacking in good information on the internet, second maybe to power supply testing (which you guys are also good at).After using my home built machine for the last 4 years, I've made up my mind that my next rig must be inaudible at idle and pretty quiet at load. It's gotten to the point where choosing the graphics card isn't just picking out the best card on the price/performance curve - it requires looking at noise at load. In that vein of thinking, I would like to suggest that you guys test GPUs that you've already tested just to generate some noise benchmarks for third party cooling solutions.
scott967a - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
I've also been looking at case reviews. Glad to see Anandtech might do more in this area. I had pretty much crossed off the H2 and this confirms it. Now looking at the Fractal Design R3, but most sites that review quiet (or quieter at least) cases aren't also looking at whether these quiet cases can handle an OC system. I'm looking at a Corsair H70 cooler so have to kind of guess how that radiator will work in these cases.Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
We were supposed to get a Fractal Design R3 in house at one point but it didn't materialize and I haven't shaken their tree to get one sent in because I have such a backlog of other cases to review. ;)But I hear you about quiet, high performance cases because I'm in a similar boat. We have an Antec Sonata IV review that should be going up within the next month and then hopefully I'll be looking at SilverStone's Raven RV03 next month, too. Not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about that one.
Andreos - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
Suggest you guys update your photography skills and possibly equipment. Out-of-focus, motion-blurred, poorly exposed photos really don't do justice the content of your reviews, or the products being reviewed.tekeffect - Thursday, May 26, 2011 - link
I would like to see this some numbers for this with a liquid cooling setup...at least for the cpu.MMinNC - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - link
Does anyone know if extra fans can be controlled by the integrated fan controller? This case has room for one 120mm fan at the bottom and one 140mm fan at the top.Thanks
kuzzia - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - link
I'm almost positive that it can control an extra fan, bringing the total amount up to four.raytseng - Sunday, August 5, 2012 - link
if people still are looking at this article, apparently nzxt did make changes to H2 to address the concerns.I think they are stealth changes so no change in model number.
SilentPCReview was happier with an H2 build they received that had a later H2 over their initial review.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1274-page2.ht...