NZXT H510 Flow Review: Better Airflow, Higher Price

When NZXT came out with its H510 and H510 Elite chassis in 2019, the cases quickly became popular options for builders. The simplistic looks appealed to buyers, and the base variant was affordable at just $80. But the intake was never impressive with either steel or glass panels, so we’re delighted to see the updated H510 Flow. It’s basically the same case, but with a front mesh intake.

And indeed, the H510 Flow fixes the biggest issue the earlier H510s had. But its price is up, too. At first, it was set to MSRP at $75, but according to NZXT, the new tariffs on imported goods and added shipping costs with the pandemic have made the company push the price up to a mighty $110.

Let’s dig in and find out whether the H510 flow is worthy of our Best PC Cases list.  

Specifications

Features

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Taking a quick look around the H510 Flow, you’ll find it’s style is simple -- very rectangular, with nothing but clean lines and a neat, tinted-glass panel.

The case’s IO lives up top and consists of a headphone/mic combo jack, a USB Type-C port, and a USB 3.0 Type-A port. At the original price of $80, this is great connectivity, but at the new price point of $110 I would at least have expected a second USB 3.0 Type-A port.

The front intake mesh offers lavishly big perforation, but behind it resides a filter to ensure your system doesn’t get too grimy. And the PSU has its own filter that pulls out from behind the case.

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The case is made from painted steel, and although that isn’t unexpected for a case of this caliber, I’m not impressed with the finish. There are multiple defects in the paint finish at the edges of some panels, and the side panel on the cable management side is built quite rough, leaving panel gaps that would make Tesla owners feel good about their cars.

Internal Layout

Peeking inside the case, it’s also among the simplest ATX cases, featuring a large upper compartment to fit up to an ATX motherboard, GPUs up to 14.5 inches (360mm) long, and CPU coolers up to 6.5 inches (165 mm) tall.

At the front of the case, you’ll be able to fit up to two 140mm fans or a 280mm radiator, and the bracket is removable for easy installation. The rear exhaust supports a 120mm fan, and the top can support a 140mm spinner. Two 120mm Aer F fans are included, installed at the intake and exhaust locations.

But this isn’t complete, and I have an issue with the top exhaust. Not only is there not room for at least a 240mm AIO, the mount isn’t recessed – so installing a fan there will lead to the heads of screws protruding out the top of the case. That’s not a pretty look. And if you don’t have a fan installed there as exhaust, the lack of a filter can lead to dust accumulation.

Flip around to the back and you’ll find the PSU chamber and cable management area. Back here, there is room for the largest of ATX power supplies, two 3.5-inch drives in the HDD caddy, and two 2.5-inch drives in SSD sleds. The cable management bar NZXT is famous for is also present.

With the tour all out of the way, let’s move on to assembling a system in the H510 Flow.