NZXT H2 review

With its understated front bezel and angular design, the H2 is an attractive case from NZXT that focuses on noise reduction rather than extreme cooling. Every interior panel is lined with sound-absorbing foam and all the fans are connected to a speed controller on top of the case to switch between cool or quiet computing.

As well as three external 5.25in drive bays there are eight internal 3.5in bays, each of which slides out through the front of the case. To make this task easier, the two 120mm intake fans use a clever quick-release system that lets you remove them without having to disconnect any cables. You still need to open the side panel to connect SATA and power cables, but there’s a hot-swappable disk caddy built in to the top of the case if you want to temporarily connect a hard disk or SSD.

As well as the two front intake fans, a single 120mm fan exhausts hot air through the back of the case. This configuration did a reasonable job at cooling our test kit, but there are mounts for adding a further two 120mm fans if required. Wires are kept from obstructing air flow by well-placed cable management holes in the motherboard tray.

It can be awkward to attach a hard disk to one of the 3.5in mounting brackets, but otherwise there’s very little to criticise about the H2. It has better stock cooling than the Fractal Design R3 and also has a front-mounted USB3 port, but can’t match it for noise isolation and outstanding build quality.