NZXT H630 Silent Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 14, 2013 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- NZXT
- ATX
Testing Methodology
For testing full 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.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 in SLI (full fat testing only) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive 3x HGST DeskStar 3TB 7200-RPM HDD |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 1000W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
For the "full fat" testbed, the GTX 560 Ti is swapped out for a pair of GTX 580s, and three hard disks are added to fill out the case.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z77X-UD4H motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- Thank you to HGST for providing us with the trio of hard drives.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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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