Nzxt h210i review in Spanish (full analysis)

NZXT has upgraded its entire chassis family, with minor structural changes and the incorporation of the Smart Device V2 controller into its i series. Today we are dealing with the small NZXT H210i, a tower-type chassis for ITX boards, but with capacity for large graphics cards, as well as a 240mm liquid cooling system.

It is presented in 3 color combinations with black, white and red, along with a large tempered glass panel that reveals the entire interior area. In addition, two AER F120 fans have been included, as well as a HUE 2 RGB LED strip that we can manage from NZXT CAM. Stay with us to see all that this small chassis has to offer, let's get started!

But first, we thank NZXT for continuing to trust us by transferring this product to us for analysis.

NZXT H210i technical characteristics

Unboxing

The NZXT H210i has come very well protected by a double rigid cage box. The first of them only works as a wrapper to protect the interior during transport. This other is the original of the product, which has a vinyl-style finish in the identifying colors of the brand white and purple along with photos of the chassis.

We go further inside to unpack the chassis, which is protected by two polyethylene foam molds, as well as a plastic bag to protect it from dirt. The rest of accessories come in a box.

So this bundle has the following elements:

• NZXT H210i chassis Plastic clips Component installation screws GPUD bracket Splitter for 4-pole to 3-pole jack

More or less the same as in the rest of the chassis, except for the detail of including the audio splitter for the 3.5 mm jack on the front panel, which has both audio output and microphone input on its 4 poles. This comes in the same colors as the chassis to match.

In this case we have the H210i version which includes the Smart Device V2 microcontroller with an included lighting strip, although it requires the brand's software to activate and manage it.

Exterior design

The exterior design of this NZXT H210i, as well as the rest of the H series chassis that had previous versions, has hardly changed its design, and an example of this is this one. We have in this case an ITX-type chassis, although with the measurements of a Micro ATX at least, with 349 mm in height, 372 mm in depth and 210 mm in width, weighing approximately 6 kg when empty.

Its construction is based on good quality materials such as SGCC type steel of a good thickness, with it provides a very good rigidity to the chassis, as well as a notable weight despite its measurements. To this we add the tempered glass window on the left and a sober and minimalist design on their faces like the one we find in all the chassis of the NZXT and that I personally love .

As for external news, we have very very few compared to the previous generation H200i. Both faces and the distribution of colors have not changed one iota, and it is something that we consider improvable, since you can always introduce variants in more colors or with some differential details. This means that if someone already owns an H200i it doesn't make much sense to switch to the NZXT H210i unless they have a new generation lighting system.

Let's start now by looking in detail at each of the faces of the NZXT H210i, to see what is included. The first protagonist will be the left part, which has a 4mm thick tempered glass panel without any darkening to be able to see all of our components in natural form. The panel continues to occupy the entire full side to the bottom and the black frame around to cover the metal chassis in which it is installed.

Precisely here we have one of the few aesthetic innovations, since now its installation is not done using the ugly manual thread screws of the H200i, but through the back with a single screw and a coupling in the lower area to leave it perfectly fixed. A subtle but very necessary change that greatly favors the final appearance.

We still have a small area in front of the panel also built in metal and that will serve to draw air into the chassis. This area is painted in the secondary color of the chassis, in this case in red and in the others in black.

We now continue with the right side area of the chassis, which only consists of a plain black painted steel sheet without any aesthetic detail beyond simplicity. The good thing about this ready panel is that it brings elegance to the chassis, but also an interesting surface on which to capture our personalization art with some of our own creation. You already know that for example in the H500i there are very striking and original versions of Fallout 4.

Also in this area a secondary colored metal grille has been used for the air intake. In principle, these two do not have any type of dust filter, since it is inside the chassis just in the area where the fans are installed.

The front area is practically as simple as the previous one, since we only have a steel plate without missing the NZXT logo and completely smooth in the main color. In it we do not see any opening, since we have enough with the two sides.

This front gives us the possibility to disassemble it to access the fine mesh dust filter inside. This is fixed to the bottom so we would have to remove the fasteners from below. In addition, it has a hole wide enough to house two fans in the area, although it makes more sense to put them in the interior area and take advantage of the filter.

The internal metal frame is also removable to better install the fans or cooling system, this not being another of the novelties of the H210i version compared to the previous one because it is exactly the same. Supports two 120 or 140mm fans and 240mm liquid AIO systems.

We move to the top of the NZXT H210i, where we will see both the I / O front panel and a fan slot directly integrated into the sheet metal. The area supports 120mm fans, and we already have a NZXT AER F120 pre-installed to draw air to the outside.

Finally, an adapter for SFX format fonts has been included in the bottom slot for PSU. If we do not have one of these, then we simply remove it and use the standard ATX.

We finish the external analysis with the lower area of ​​the NZXT H210i, in which we have interesting things to tell. One of them is the rail area that we have up front, whose utility is to install 2.5 and 3.5-inch HDD or SSD units. Or in your case, a hard drive cabinet that is not included in the model.

Further back we have the usual, the corresponding air intake opening for the PSU and a fine mesh dust filter installed on a plastic frame and a pair of rails to remove it and put it in total comfort. The hole in the front that allows us to remove the front does not escape us either.

Interior and assembly

Without further comment on the front, we will continue with everything that the interior of the NZXT H210i chassis offers. Once again, the design and distribution of elements is practically the same as in the H200i. Exclusively supports standard ITX format motherboards.

Without a doubt one of the most elegant and well-designed of all the chassis we currently find on the market. It is characterized by being very clean in the management of cable holes and having a PSU compartment of considerable size. In the front area we do not have a plate to cover the fan hole, a solution to thank for those who are not going to put anything on this front.

The metallic band in secondary color is already a classic in these chassis, a simple, aesthetic and above all effective resource to cover the gap behind to pull cables into the main compartment. In this model it does not include RGB strip in that vertical band, such as the H510i or H710i.

Another interesting resource is the use of a front frame to install an SSD, since on the PSU cover it is not possible due to the presence of the graphics card. The NZXT H210i supports GPU sizes up to 325mm long and 44mm thick, with the limitation to 2.25 slots discussed above. To this we add its capacity for heatsinks up to 165 mm high.

Space and cable routing

We flip the chassis to get a better view of the back, or rather, its cable compartment. The total available thickness of this is 16mm, being quite fair for thick cables or 90 ^or SATA connectors.

Of course, it's more than enough for generic configurations, and it also has a small double cable router that we will use for the power ATX connector, as well as the PCI connectors for the GPU. In it there is a single velcro strip to hold these cables well, and a few clips included in the bundle in case we need them.

On the right side we see enough space to work on the CPU Backplate and the support for two HDDs. An advantage of not having a hard drive cabinet downstairs is being able to put a lot of excess cables there to avoid saturating the rear.

Storage capacity

Now we are going to focus on the storage capacity of the NZXT H210i, which in this case is quite good due to being a fairly large ITX chassis.

We will start at the back, since it is where most of the available holes are concentrated. Just on the back of the motherboard a detachable metal frame has been installed that supports two 2.5 ”drives that can be HDD or SATA SSD.

Further down, in the power supply compartment, we find the only slot available for a 3.5 ”HDD drive or a 2.5” HDD or SSD drive. This must be installed directly on the bottom plate thanks to the rails placed there. We do not have a bay cabinet included, although it is possible to put it if we buy it separately or we have one from another chassis. The gap measurements will be sufficient to support up to 3 units in a stack.

Finally we moved to the front to rescue the capture where that small metal frame appeared on the front of the PSU cover. In it we can install a fourth 2.5 ”SSD SATA hard drive.

Making final balance we have capacity for 3 units of 2.5 "+ 1 of 3.5" or 4 of 2.5 ". Not bad, making the most of the available holes and spaces.

Cooling capacity

We now continue with the details of ventilation and the capacity of the NZXT H210i, which also continues to be quite good and identical to the previous model. Although we cannot avoid commenting that a more open upper area would have been a good update.

Let's start by citing the space available for fans:

• Front: 2x 120mm / 2x 140mm Top: 1x 120mm Rear: 1x 120mm

Of which we have two NZXT AER F120 fans already pre-installed in the upper and rear holes. These fans provide an individual air flow of 50.42 CFM rotating at a maximum speed of 1200 rpm that we can modify and customize through the NZXT CAM by having PWM control and being directly connected to the Smart Device. It has a rifle-type bearing system and generates a maximum noise of 28 dBA.

These do not include any RGB lighting, and of course we can modify their arrangement to pleasure, for example, placing both in the front area so that they put air. We recommend placing at least one extra or one of these in the front area to get air, being able to use the PC's own heatsink to draw air back if it is a tower type.

In this NZXT H210i we do not have a dust filter in the upper fan, only in the front area, therefore we recommend placing fans for inlet flow in the front. In any case, we consider that the flow will be good in the current configuration, since the front openings will be more than enough to ensure entry through natural convection.

And the cooling capacity is as follows:

• Front: 120/140 / 240mm Rear: 120mm

We believe that with this ability we effectively cover the needs of a user who uses an ITX board for their equipment. The normal thing is to have liquid AIO systems of 120 or 240 mm.

For this chassis and in view of the distribution of fans, it is normal to place the radiator in the front area with the fans drawing air into the interior. Although this means introducing hot air when passing through the radiator, we already have two other fans that are in charge of removing it, so there is no fault.

It even allows a Push and Pull configuration, that is, placing two rows of fans on the radiator, which would be about 77 mm in total thickness. How? Simple, because we have plenty of space inside or we can use the gap between the front and the installation frame to place the first stage of fans.

As a final conclusion of the section, we would have liked a greater capacity in the upper area, for example, of two fans instead of one and thus take advantage of the space and justify the renewal of the chassis in more aspects. In this upper area we could not fit a radiator and fans unless the height of the chassis is increased by 25 to 30 mm.

Smart Device V2 and RGB LED strip

Before getting to the assembly section, which in the NZXT H210i will be quite simple, it is worth reviewing the possibilities provided by the Smart Device V2 controller that integrates this "i" version. We think that it is worth opting for it and not simply H210.

The main novelty of the Smart Device V2 compared to the V1 is its LED strip addressing capability, as it now supports HUE V2s that are essentially more advanced than V1s, as well as new fans with lighting based on this technology.

Its input ports are the same, supporting the PWM control of 3 fans and the connection of 2 LED strips, of which we already have a pre-installed on top of the main compartment. In it we can see a 4-pin header in case we want to expand the system with more strips connected in series.

This microcontroller installed in the back supports complete management from the NZXT CAM software, for this we will have to connect it to a USB 2.0 header on the board. This software has been updated mainly in aesthetics and accessibility by the user. From it we can customize the LED lighting to LED (addressing), the speed profile of the fans, and its star function, that of adjusting the speed of the fans based on the noise they make or the temperature of other components.

Virtually no microcontroller integrated into a chassis is capable of doing the latter, making it one of the main assets of the NZXT chassis i range.

Installation and assembly

After analyzing all the elements of the NZXT H210i, it is time to carry out the corresponding hardware assembly and see what problems or facts we should take into account during the process.

The hardware we have used is the following:

• AORUS B450I Pro Motherboard AMD Athlon 3000G Stock AMD Wraith Prism Heatsink 16GB RAM DDR T-Force Dark Z-Alpha MSI Radeon RX 570 ArmorPSU Antec HGC Gold 750 Graphics Card

We see then an ITX board as it is obvious, a graphics card that occupies about 2 expansion slots and a PSU of standard ATX size and depth of 140 mm.

The installation process should always start with the power supply, since it is the element that will include all the cables that must be routed to their corresponding locations. The fountain fits perfectly in the hole, and the entrance space is sufficient and it exceeds to have very thin frames on the chassis.

Something to keep in mind, at least in our case, is that the CPU power connector must be inserted before installing the board, and make the connection before placing it in the hole. The reason is simple, once placed and with the heatsink installed there will be practically no hole to put your fingers in and connect it.

Another small problem we have had comes from the ATX power connector. This time it is due to its rigidity, as it has capacitors at the end of the cable, which makes making the 90 ^o curve towards the plate complicated with the metal plate that covers the hole.

For the rest we have not had major problems in the hardware installation, since the space for cables is more than enough and the routing of the rest does not pose major problems. The air flow has been more than satisfactory with a fairly open front and two fans pulling correctly.

The internal connectors of the front panel of the NZXT H210i will be the following:

• 1x header for USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C1x header for USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (blue) Audio headerUSB 2.0 header for Smart Device V2SATA type power connector for Smart Device

The fans do not require connection to the board, as they are connected to the microcontroller. Similarly, the LED strip also goes directly to the Smart Device.

Final score

We finished the review of the NZXT H210i seeing the final result with the assembly made and in operation. Remember that the LED strip will work when we have Smart Device connected to the internal USB 2.0 of the board. And whose management can be done when we have the corresponding software.

The assembly has been quite clean and with more than enough space for all the components. In short, it is a slightly smaller chassis than the size of a Micro ATX. The AER F120 fans are extremely quiet, reaching only 1200 rpm, enough speed to blow enough hot air outside.

Final words and conclusion about the NZXT H210i

The NZXT H210i tower is not exactly a revolution in terms of news compared to the NZXT H200i and it is that there are very few changes, rather it is an update in which the Smart Device V2 is introduced to replace the V1.

This new Smart Device 2 microcontroller and the A-RGB light strip are the main differences with the H210, a chassis that is 30 dollars cheaper than the H210i. However, we believe that it is worth it, since it is a device that allows intelligent control of the fans according to temperature and noise, as well as the management of lighting strips.

Its aesthetics are still as striking and elegant as always distinguishes itself in the NZXT chassis, with quality construction, excellent finishes and rigid and well painted sheets. The only new feature compared to the previous version is the much better made and easier user tempered glass clamping system.

We recommend reading the best chassis on the market

As for its internal capacity, you already know that it is a chassis only for ITX boards, which reduces the market niche. But its extensive media offers capacity for PSU ATX, up to 4 storage units 3 2.5 "+ 1 3.5", and full-size graphics cards up to 325 mm. We only have the limitation of supporting only 44mm thicknesses, and many current GPUs far exceed that measure.

The cooling aspect is at an excellent level and is something that should justify its price. With two AES F120 fans pre-installed for air extraction we have enough for standard needs. But we recommend at least one on the front, even if you are moving one of the already available. It also supports Liquid AIO systems of up to 240 mm.

Finally we have the NZXT H210i available with an official price of $ 109.99 USD, but for Spanish buyers we find it at around 117 euros for the black / red and black version, and 120 euros for the black / white version on Amazon. Curiously, it is a price higher than 108 euros that is worth the H510i with ATX support although this has a somewhat more basic design. It is the best there is for ITX boards, but we needed more news to earn the recommended award.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ ELEGANT DESIGN AND QUALITY OF MATERIALS	- LIMITATION OF 44 MM THICKNESS IN GPU
+ AESTHETICS OF THE INTERIOR AND INCLUDES RGB STRIP	- FEW INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CHANGES REGARDING THE PREVIOUS MODEL
+ VERSION WITH SMART DEVICE V2
+ EXCELLENT REFRIGERATION WITH 2 AER F120
+ GOOD HARDWARE CAPACITY DESPITE BEING ITX

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

NZXT H210i

DESIGN - 92%

MATERIALS - 88%

WIRING MANAGEMENT - 88%

PRICE - 84%

88%