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Perhaps the only thing more daunting than building a gaming PC is rebuilding an existing one in a different case. As much as migrating your motherboard, components, cables, and everything else might seem like more effort than it's worth, it can often be worth it. However, what makes the process much easier is when you find a new chassis that works well for the components you have.
Friends, I recently took it upon myself to rebuild my small-form-factor gaming PC, and I'm shocked to tell you that, as daunting a process as it seemed, it was actually much easier than I thought it'd be because of NZXT's brilliant H3 Flow case, which launched this year. I now couldn't be happier with the result. To tell the truth, I'm slightly gobsmacked that this extremely versatile, beautifully stylish PC case only costs $79.99. In fact, right now, you can get it for just $59.99 at Amazon.
Let me give you some context. For the last few years, I've been using a small-form-factor ITX gaming PC, which I built for myself. Although it was in a smaller case, you'd never know it from the power it was able to harness. My motherboard is the very impressive Asus ROG Strix z790-i, which is just about as good as any mini-motherboard can get. Compared to using regular-sized builds, I haven't noticed any compromise in terms of performance because all of the usual desktop components are compatible. So, I had no cause to upgrade my motherboard or system specs, but my case was beginning to let me down.
Article continues belowWhen I originally built the PC, I had an Intel Core i5-13600K that was cooled by a relatively simple Noctua air-cooler. When I progressed to an i7-13700K, and now an Intel Core i7-14700K, I needed something that could work a little harder to keep my CPU calm. The Corsair 2000D Airflow RGB is a very clever small-form-factor case, and although it's one of the few ITX cases that can fit a full-sized 360mm AIO in it, that leaves very little room for any airflow, thanks to crowded components and nowhere to stow away cables. My CPU was thermal throttling, and I needed a change.
NZXT's H3 Flow is the perfect alternative. It's a Micro-ATX case, which means it's big enough to house a full-sized ATX motherboard, but also caters to ITX boards, too. More importantly for me, it has a smaller footprint than the bulking ATX cases that can't actually fit on a desk without stealing your entire worktop. Moreover, the H3 Flow is set up for more fan space overall, thanks to mesh panels on the front, rear, and left-hand side of the case. While Corsair's case is rather quirky and calls you to invert your motherboard and route all your cables through its bottom, the H3 Flow has a more conventional shape. It's even got a transparent, tempered glass wall, which is massively appealing since I'm a fan of RGB components.
Although there's only space for a 240mm AIO in the H3 Flow, and space for 2x 120mm front fans, I'd say the airflow in this case is actually far superior to Corsair's totally mesh chassis because there's more internal space. Only having room for a smaller liquid cooler doesn't bother me, since I learned first-hand what this brand's 240mm AIOs can do in my NZXT Player Three review.
If you have experience building an ITX PC, you'll know how finicky these motherboards can be to work on. Cases, being as tiny and quirky as they are, often leave you no room for your fingers to plug in motherboard headers or mount CPU coolers. Because an M-ATX case is designed for larger motherboards, I felt like I had plenty of room to get my hands in, route cables through the back panel, and slot them into the appropriate connectors. Thankfully, this case is actually back-connect friendly, which might suit you if you have one of the motherboards that the Maingear Zero Ruby does.
Mind you, this case does have a couple of quirks of its own, which mainly present themselves in its bottom half. The PSU/cable tray is covered with a mesh panel, which is lovely for airflow, but does mean slight transparency into the messiest part of any gaming PC. From a cooling standpoint, this tray also has space for bottom fans on top of it, but if you don't want to create a void between these and your GPU, you'll almost certainly establish negative pressure overall. That's not necessarily a massive problem, but it makes it a bit of a personal preference puzzle, which way you configure the fans in your case. For how much mesh paneling there is here, it's also a bit bizarre that the PSU has next to no space to vent out any hot air.
Would I have liked NZXT to supply this case with some front fans? Absolutely. You only get one rear fan included, which is a bit of a shame when similar cases like the Fractal Epoch include front fans as standard.
Still, it's hard to argue with the cosmetics here. The look of the NZXT H3 Flow is stunning, and I'm very pleased with how my tiny small-form-factor PC has evolved into the next phase of its life. Perhaps more importantly, from a few initial benchmarking tests, it's solved the thermal throttling issues I was seeing in my old chassis. If you're not playing around with massive components, this is a case I'd heartily recommend for your next PC upgrade.
- View all PC cases at Amazon
- Fractal Epoch: $129 at Amazon
- Corsair 2000D Airflow RGB: $119 at Corsair
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