NZXT H440

[Darksaber]

The NZXT H440 aims to make the new and revamped H series part of the mid-tower market. Offering no external drive bay is either gutsy or naïve, but let us take a closer look to figure out whether NZXT managed to gun for the glory among silent mid-tower cases this time around.

Show full review

 

[The Quim Reaper]

Damn..that's one sexy looking case.

Worst part would be choosing which colour scheme to go with, chic white or classic black..Hmmm, decisions,decisions.

Also, NZXT do a compatibility checker on their web site, which will be able to tell you if your PSU will fit or not...assuming it's in the database of course.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Okay, I'm confused.

There is also a 120 mm fan to push air out the back of the chassis at the very top.

The specifications say that there's a 140 mm back there. "(1 x 140mm FN V2 Fan Included)" Which is it?

Four 140 mm fans included right out of the box

"(3 x 120mm FN V2 Fans Included)"

The top cover is lined with sound-dampening material out of the box, which you will have to remove to create the airflow necessary to use this area actively.

I don't see that in other reviews and your picture seems to show light coming through from below??? I'm assuming the top is lined like the front.

NZXT: May I suggest the following? I know that this case is designed for water cooling, and therefore does not need the extra expansion slot(s) that 3 dual-slot GPU's would need, but I sure would like this case to have 8 to 9 expansion slots for those who want to use air cooling. Secondly, the lack of an ODD makes for a clean look, but I still want one. There appears to be space at the bottom of this case to put in a slim slot load ODD. It would even be tidy down there. I wouldn't even care if I had to open the front cover to get to it.

 

[Shinshin]

If omitting the drive bay is a pro, what would be the score??
Just being curious here...

 

[HM_Actua1]

Hodor!!!

My modified H440 for proper radiator air intake.

 

[TheDeeGee]

The thing that prevents me from buying one is that the Black Case comes with Red : /

I would have liked to see the Red as Grey/Graphite.

 

[HM_Actua1]

The thing that prevents me from buying one is that the Black Case comes with Red : /

I would have liked to see the Red as Grey/Graphite.

You can always stop by a hobby lobby and get some paint =)

 

[Footman]

@Hitman.
This case was abysmal for airflow when trying to push air through radiators on the top and front of the case. I too was about to mod the case, but decided to go back to my larger Switch 810. It is a great looking case, let down by poor airflow, IMO. My PC overheated when the panels were in place and ran perfectly when panels were removed.

Switch 810 rebuild

So now I have this sexy looking case in my garage in a box.

 

[HM_Actua1]

@Hitman.
This case was abysmal for airflow when trying to push air through radiators on the top and front of the case. I too was about to mod the case, but decided to go back to my larger Switch 810. It is a great looking case, let down by poor airflow, IMO. My PC overheated when the panels were in place and ran perfectly when panels were removed.

Switch 810 rebuild

So now I have this sexy looking case in my garage in a box.

very nice!!!! sEXY!!!!

Yes I had to do the mod for the front panel. The air flow is so dismal I couldn't get a decent temp with the rad mount on the roof either.

 

[Footman]

very nice!!!! sEXY!!!!

Yes I had to do the mod for the front panel. The air flow is so dismal I couldn't get a decent temp with the rad mount on the roof either.

How are you getting on with your Gsync monitor?

 

[HM_Actua1]

Oh man, G-sync is the best thing I've ever experience in gaming.

no input lag.

no tearing

no frame buffer over head and loss of GPU/CPU utilization from being bound to a fixed fresh rate.


I rather play games at work on my work rig(single 780) with the Gsync monitor then at home with SLI titans on a regular fixed rate 120hz monitor.

The single

 

[Footman]

Oh man, G-sync is the best thing I've ever experience in gaming.

no input lag.

no tearing

no frame buffer over head and loss of GPU/CPU utilization from being bound to a fixed fresh rate.


I rather play games at work on my work rig(single 780) with the Gsync monitor then at home with SLI titans on a regular fixed rate 120hz monitor.

The single

Interesting, Asus are bringing out the ROG Swift, a 120hz 2560x1440 27in TN panel with Gsync, shame I have a pair of CF R9 290's then...

 

[HM_Actua1]

Interesting, Asus are bringing out the ROG Swift, a 120hz 2560x1440 27in TN panel with Gsync, shame I have a pair of CF R9 290's then...

Yes the ROG Swift PG278Q was suppose to have been released this month. I've been talking with a ASUS rep on twitter and It's been delayed. Same thing with BenQ, they're XL2720G was suppose to have released back in mid march. Now it's pushed to June.

I'm going with ROG swift. that will replace my 120hz acer at home. I'll keep the NVIDIA G-SYNC: ASUS VG248QE at work.

 

[Disparia]

If only they made the top a little taller the USB/audio could go on the side as well as possibly helping the airflow issue.

The biggest issue and a potential deal-breaker to some is the lack of an external drive bay. Even users that no longer use an optical drive may want the option to put in a hot-swap bay or a fan controller instead. NZXT may be called ingenious or foolish for its omission in retrospective, but only time will tell which.

I'll just answer it now: ingenious!

I mean, NZXT manufacturers approximately 15 other models right now, all with 5.25" drive bays. Not having a bay-less case in your line-up is becoming a deal-breaker as people such as myself can go to other brands today and get one of their bay-less cases or at least a case that compromises (bay mounting is easily removed).

 

[HM_Actua1]

@Hitman.
This case was abysmal for airflow when trying to push air through radiators on the top and front of the case. I too was about to mod the case, but decided to go back to my larger Switch 810. It is a great looking case, let down by poor airflow, IMO. My PC overheated when the panels were in place and ran perfectly when panels were removed.

Switch 810 rebuild

So now I have this sexy looking case in my garage in a box.

exactly the same thing for me too. That why I had to mod the front panel. Only way it could breath.

 

[Ozoon]

Hi there
The tower is absolute great, but there's no space for pump and reservoir. Also the front fans are too loud. I've changed them to the Corsair SP120 quiet edition.

 

[Caring1]

@Hitman.
This case was abysmal for airflow when trying to push air through radiators on the top and front of the case.

So now I have this sexy looking case in my garage in a box.

I just assembled the Nvidia edition of this case today for my son, it's a sexy beast that looks big but seems to lack room inside.
To install the Kraken X-61 AIO with 240mm Radiator, on the top I had to remove the front drive trays, so I decided to take all of them out for appearance and space.
The GTX 960 we decided on is a tight fit between the drive bay holder and the rear of the case, with only mm's to spare when they were in.
With the fans in a push only set up on the radiator, I can't see it getting hot at all, unlike the one pictured with a pull set up that would have less static pressure imo.
One other thing I wished was different about this case is the cover over the PSU is fixed, so access to cables and plugs is limited.
Once it was completed I was very happy with the way it looks with matt black paint and green lighting, matching the motherboard and graphics card, both also having green lighting and black theme.
All up it wasn't a bad case to assemble a system in and no knuckles were bruised or fingers cut, and I had a smile on my face the whole time due to it's great appearance.

 

[HM_Actua1]

I gave my modded H440 to a friend. I'm using the NZXT noctis 450 and Corsair 450D

The Noctis450 is very similar to the H440 but allows for push/pull rad configs. More room for pump/reservoir and superior air flow over all without having to mod the panels.