LABS TEST / PREMIUM CASES
T
he H510 Elite certainly isn’t new,
but it sure is beautiful and remains
NZXT’s flagship premium mid-
tower case. At £150, despite it being the
smallest case on test, it’s also the most
expensive, but there are some good
reasons for the high price. It has front and
side tempered glass panels, it’s beautifully
made, and it’s also the only case on test to
include software fan and light control,
courtesy of its Smart Device V2 feature – a
USB-controlled fan and lighting hub that’s
already wired up and ready to go.
You just need to install your hardware,
and the fans and RGB lighting automatically
fire up, ready to be controlled using NZXT’s
CAM software, which worked fine first time
in our tests.
Here, you can tweak the fan profiles – for
our testing, we switched between silent
and performance modes to get an idea of
noise levels and cooling performance.
There is a downside the H510 Elite’s
supremely compact design, however, and
that’s the limited expansion possibilities.
There’s space for just two hard disks, which
is paltry compared with the monstrous
offerings elsewhere in this month’s Labs
test, although it’s also the only case to
occupy all of its fan mounts out of the box,
with rear, top and dual front fans included
NZXT H510
ELITE /£150 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukas standard. However, that’s still far fewer
fan mounts than the rest of the field this
month, and you’re limited to a single 280mm
radiator too, which is barely enough to deal
with a high-end overclocked CPU and GPU in
one loop.
The interior is certainly snug, but a
smattering of Velcro cable anchors, as well
as a cable cover, help to keep the insides tidy.
The CPU area cut-out is large, so installing
your cooler while the motherboard is installed
is simple enough. Plus, with the two front
AER RGB 140mm fans, 140mm roof fan and
120mm rear fan all wired up out of the box, it
then doesn’t take long to build your PC.
However, bear in mind that the CPU cooler
height limit is adequate at 165mm, but not
exceptional, and any attempt to install a front
radiator could see the graphics card clearance
cut to less than 320mm, which will result in
longer cards struggling for space.
The H510’s sound reading of 48dBA with
the fans at full speed was by far the highest
on test, but despite the lack of ventilation,
this setting also netted the joint lowest CPU
delta T on test, and the GPU was kept within
a degree of the best result too. Switching
to the Silent fan profile saw the CPU delta T
rise from 69°C to 72°C and the GPU delta T
stay the same, but the noise was a far more
pleasant 42dBA.Conclusion
There’s no denying that the NZXT 510 Elite is a
stunning premium case, and it’s very well put
together. Its software control works well, and
the fact it’s pre-wired with fans and lighting out
of the box is very welcome. However, it’s verylimited in terms of expansion and you get a lot
more for your money from every other case
we reviewed this month, all of which cost less
money too. The H510 Elite isn’t quite all form
over function, but it’s only worth considering
if you can accept these limitations and
aesthetics are at the top of your priority list.VERDICT
Cramped, limited and pricey, but it’s well
built and undoubtedly the best-looking
case on test.ELITE
Good cooling
Software-controlled
lighting and fans
Looks fantastic
ELITIST
- Noisy at full speed
- Limited expansion
- Large CPU coolers
won’t fit
SPEC
Dimensions (mm) 210 x 428 x 460 (W x D x H)
Material Steel, plastic, glass
Available colours Black, white
Weight 7.5kg
Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 3, 1 x
USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x stereo/mic jack
Drive bays 2 x 2.5/3.5in, 2 x 2.5in
Form factor(s) ATX, Micro-ATX
Cooling 2 x 120/140mm front fan mounts
(2 x 140mm fans included), 1 x 120mm rear
fan mount (fan included), 1 x 120/140mm
roof fan mount (1 x 140mm fan included)
CPU cooler clearance 165mm
Maximum graphics card length 369mmCOOLING
29 / 30
DESIGN
23 / 30FEATURES
14 / 20
VALUE
15 / 20OVERALL SCORE
81 %
SUPPL