NZXT H1 Review: SFF Excellence, PSU and AIO Included – Tom’s Hardware

NZXTs new ultra-compact H1 mITX chassis arrives equipped with both a 650w, 80+ Gold SFX modular power supply and built-in NZXT 140mm AIO liquid cooling, making it incredibly attractive for system builders looking to assemble a tiny but powerful desktop PC. Simply drop in your choice of mITX motherboard, 2.5-inch SSD/HDD (or a motherboard-mounted NVMe drive) and system memory (and a graphics card if youre a gamer), and the NZXT H1 becomes a quiet, compact machine. With support for all but the largest of GPUs, the H1 can also be built up as a powerful gaming monster.

Priced at $349, the H1 seems pricey, until you stop to factor in the cost of a quality AIO cooler and SFX-L PSU. Taken together with the attractive chassis, theres a surprising level of value here.

As small form-factor (SFF) cases go, the H1 delivers a simple, monolithic look snf minimalist appeal. At 187mm x 187mm (7.36 x 7.36 inches square), it occupies a tiny amount of desk or floor space, while allowing for system builds which rival large gaming PCs. Combine this with a very perferated set of side panels, the H1 allows for access to fresh air for the 140mm AIO as well as allowing easy venting of the thermal load.

Top panel access is clean and concise, with an LED-lit power switch and a single item each of USB-C, USB-A and a 4-pole audio I/O jack.

The NZXT H1 ships with all components nested neatly within its rectangular frame, including the installed 650w power supply and PCI-e graphics card riser. Cabling is neatly bundled and already routed throughout the chassis, making cable management an afterthought even before assembly.

Included accessories are focused around AIO cooler mounting for AMD AM4, FM2(+), FM1, AM3(+), AM2 and Intel 115x. An included headphone/mic splitter makes for easy addition for audio I/O from the top panel, instead of routing 3.5mm connections to the bottom of the motherboard panel.

Getting to the interior of the H1 requires both the tempered glass front panel and mesh rear panel to be popped off to unlock the singular, U-shaped side+top cover of the chassis. Side rails allow for the top/side panel to slide neatly up and off of the chassis, and provide guidance when sliding them back down into position during reassembly. Magnetic, removable mesh dust filters extend along the interior length of both side panels.

The 140mm AIO comes with a splotch of pre-applied thermal compound on the plate, and the radiator is mounted on a swing-out frame that allows for simple access to the motherboard mounting platform.

Stubborn stickers are unfortunately found on multiple components of the H1, which tend to leave a lot of adhesive mess upon removal. A bit of adhesive remover was required to tidy this up, but wed like to see a better approach to providing information to the buyer/builder than stickers that wind up looking like the above when you attempt to remove them. We would also like to caution that a good amount of pressure and rubbing was required when removing the gunk, which could cause damage to components if you arent careful.

Even though the H1 supports only the small, mini-ITX motherboard form factor, it feels like theres a good amount of space to move about inside the chassis during installation of components. A relocated PSU power cable allows for the 120v power to be relocated to the rear/bottom of the chassis, along with the motherboard I/O panel.

Below the motherboard sits the PCI-e graphics card riser mount, which wraps around to the opposite side and allows for the riser to be fitted into the PCI-e slot. There is ample room for all but the very largest graphic cards on the market, allowing for the H1 to pack as much graphics card power into a highly portable build.

Closely resembling the Kraken M22, the 140mm AIO in the H1 has the pump mounted in the center of the radiator, leaving the mounted component to function only as a CPU block.

Swivel fittings allow sweeping the sleeved tubing out and away from the CPU when the radiator and fan are swung back into mounting position. Since the 140mm AIO pivots down to sit adjacent to the CPU block face, rotating the coolers tubing is required to close up the chassis. Use care when performing this step though, as it still requires focus to correctly orient the tubing while also not pinching it or the fan/pump wiring between the chassis pivot hinge in the process.

Once the motherboard is installed and the cooler cold plate is mounted, closing up the H1 shows just how compact a complete system build can be. The layout and preparation of the cabling, cooler and drives resembles a densely complex puzzle of components. Seeing the close proximity of all the components, its easy to see why the correct positioning of the coolant tubing is needed to complete the electronics origami inside the H1.

The bottom of the H1 aligns the motherboard I/O panel, graphics card ports and relocated power supply connection in a convenient cavity and routing arch cutaway. As the H1 is designed to stand vertically, the lower cutaway provides Ethernet, USB, display and power cabling to collect and direct out the bottom rear of the H1 chassis.

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NZXT H1 Review: SFF Excellence, PSU and AIO Included - Tom's Hardware