Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
The removal of the side panels on the NZXT H210i is another thing that has been revised this time around, though it is still intuitive to use. Similar to the H510 Elite, the tempered glass panel can be removed by unscrewing the captive thumbscrew at the back and popping off the panel. The glass is actually held in with two metal pegs at the top that slot into sockets. With some force, they will pop out, which is why the extra measure of the back screw exists to secure it to the steel frame of the case. Compared to the previous solution of four screws on the panel, I think this solution looks cleaner while still accomplishing the same result, as it moves any notion of thumbscrews on the side to the back. The right-side panel is held on with two thumbscrews, both of which are also captive screws.
After you open up the panels, you can get a closer look at the inside of the NZXT H210i. From here, you can see similar elements such as the contrasted metal bar down the front and an open area for the motherboard and expansion cards. The power supply shroud cover is at the bottom of the case. This separation divides the motherboard area from the power supply basement, which is pretty standard. This shroud has circular holes on the top of this panel to allow air to pass through. This is good since your expansion card will be quite close and thus should allow airflow around here. As we have mentioned previously, the area here can only fit motherboards in the mini ITX size. The layout remains quite open for air to flow in from the front and out the back.
Looking at the back of the case, you can see the motherboard opening and the two included Aer F120 fans with the H210i. These are the same fans NZXT has included with the predecessor, with speeds of up to 1200 RPM, airflow rating of 50.42 CFM, and noise rating of 28 dBA. These fans use a rifle bearing rather than the more expensive fluid dynamic bearings. Moving on, we can also get a better look at the motherboard opening and two expansion slots below. One thing you may have missed is right at the top, as you can see some LED lights poking through. These are HUE 2 lights with addressable lighting and you can add more HUE 2 strips if you are so inclined.
Near the front of the case, there are a few more interesting things to point out. For one, we have a plastic drive sled where you can mount a 2.5-inch drive in front of the power supply shroud. It is mounted with some push tabs and friction. A routing hole is hidden behind the metal bracket at the front of the shroud so you can lead your cables through here. While it used to be a tool-less affair, this sled requires screws to hold onto your drive. You can also see another opening on the power supply to lead power cables to your expansion card. The white bar hides the primary routing holes at the back, which make for a cleaner cabling job. There is ample space here to lead cables through here while also hiding them from plain sight. Again, you can see the front and its space where you can mount different cooling options. This area extends into the basement of the power supply, so mounting fans will cool above and below the PSU divider.
At the front, we have a metal panel that can be removed by popping it off. A plastic mesh panel is attached to the fan openings by plastic pressure slots. This is affixed to another bracket where you can attach cooling options. Unfortunately, NZXT has not included any fans here. However, we do have two fans in total included with the H210i already, so you could just choose to relocate a fan instead. As for this front area, users can put two 120mm or 140mm fans, or a radiator with a size of up to 240mm. I really like the fact they have used a removable bracket here for front mounting, especially since it makes installation of these aforementioned cooling options easier. They are held to the case with more captive thumbscrews.
As for the back, there are several different mounting places here in the NZXT H210i, though most of these things should be familiar. A dual 2.5" drive metal sled can be found behind the motherboard opening. It is mounted with a single captive thumbscrew. To the left and top of this, we have several plastic routes for cables to slide through. A Velcro strap exists on the left plastic guard to keep cables in this valley. At the top, we have a small hub where many cables are already connected to. NZXT refers to this as their Smart Device v2, which controls fan speeds and RGB illumination. Unsurprisingly, the "i" in the H210i name refers to this controller, which allows you to control the aforementioned features with NZXT's CAM software. The second version of this device indicates this hub works with the second generation of NZXT HUE lighting products. This module also includes a small microphone to help with detecting noise and optimizing your system for a better noise to temperature ratio. We will see how this works later on in our review. If you like the case without these extra smart features or lighting, non-i versions for all of the H-series, with the exception of the H510 Elite, are available.
In the basement, you can see we have a large opening at the back for the power supply to sit here. Your mounted power supply will be raised up by two rubber strips, which also help in dampening the vibration between the case and the PSU. At the front is where you could mount an additional drive to the bottom of the case, such as a larger 3.5-inch drive. Finally, you can see we have all the necessary cables bundled up for the front I/O for the NZXT H210i. They are all black cabled and include a USB 3.0 header, a USB Type-C header, front I/O header, and audio header. In terms of spacing, NZXT has provided us about 16.3mm at the back of the case.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
