A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the NZXT H5 Flow RGB offers some nice, clean and understated looks. Sporting lots of fine mesh panels as well as a clear glass panel, it manages to feel refined, retaining that design approach the H-Series is known for.


At the front, the fine mesh panel also acts as a dust filter, meaning that you won't find such a second layer anywhere on the chassis. Thus, the case can omit any plastic components, providing a material mix using glass and steel exclusively. Behind the panel, there are three 120 mm fans in the shape of the F360, which fuses all three units into a single frame, with a single set of cables. This is certainly a USP of the NZXT H5 Flow RGB. The fan bracket is held in place by four black screws. While that is fine, those dark elements can clearly be seen when viewing the enclosure from the front. Silver screws would have been a better solution here to minimize that visual noise. In the rear, the case has an essentially traditional layout except for the PSU bay. While most cases have a centered unit, the one in the new H5 Flow RGB is offset to hug the metal side panel.


Looking at the main side, it may seem like we pulled off the glass panel, because NZXT has opted to skip any tint while also keeping the white framing as skinny as possible. On top of that, by skipping that liner at the bottom, the glass flows into the vented section nicely. It is held in place by clips, so gaining access to the interior through this side is tool-less. The vented section is quite unique as it wraps around the underside with quite a bit of clearance for a few centimeters. This is also the reason the PSU is offset. This design also means that you don't have any visible feet on the case, which is also apparent when looking at the metal side panel. The vented section is quite literally sitting on the floor of the case. This panel is held in place by two captive thumb screws.


Taking a closer look at the rear, the PSU bay is not only off-center, but also requires you to install it with the fan facing upward, which is an intriguing requirement. It will be interesting to see if that has a positive effect on cooling performance. Above that, there are the seven bridge-less expansion slots. Each of these is covered with a reusable piece which are individually held in place with classic screws. A metal panel covers the gap that gets created due to the way the steel is folded. It has two screws which are meant to be loosened so you may slide the cover over to provide room for your GPU to snap into place. In the very top, there is a fourth 120 mm fan, set to push air out the back of the case. It lacks ARGB and thanks to the elongated mounting holes, you can adjust its height to best fit your needs. That said, there is barely any room above it, which is why the case is unfortunately limited to a 240 mm AIO for most scenarios.


At the top, there is another metal mesh cover which also acts as a dust filter. It is held in place and reveals mounting possibilities for either three 120 or two 140 mm fans. While a 240 mm AIO will fit, a 280 will require you to utilize LP DIMMs and a 360 mm will simply not fit because it conflicts with both the rear and front fans. That is unfortunate, with prices of 360 mm AIO starting out around $80, NZXT basically opted to stop just shy of supporting such a unit. It is quite literally a matter of millimeters as we will see later on.

On the top you will also find the brands signature set of I/O, which consists of a power button and a single USB-A, a USB-C as well as an audio combo plug. While this is fine, we have been criticizing the fact that you will still be utilizing the full USB 3.0 header on your motherboard, so there is really no reason for NZXT to skip offering that second USB Type-A port.


Looking at the underside, you can clearly see that about one third of the area is carved out for the metal mesh section. The only other element to note are the two mounting positions for the internal HDD cage.