Final Words & Conclusion

Conclusion

The H700i is a lovely chassis, albeit a bit of a pricey one? Our sample was the rather bright 'n white one. Luckily you'll be able to select from more color options. The H700i shines in design, it looks great, the tempered glass brings that nice and open feel to the components harbored inside the chassis. Albeit limited in meshes, the four included fans will offer decent enough airflow. The biggest feature for the H700i, however, is that NZXT embedded an RGB LED strip and controller. They also tie the fans towards the controller which on their end can connect towards CAM software. Basically, the controller is fed by a SATA power cable and then a USB cable leads from the controller towards your motherboard. We applaud NZXT for embedding this. Unfortunately, we had massive issues with the new CAM 3.5 software, it would either crash on startup or simply not detect our RGB  and fans rendering the concept of what the H700i is all about completely useless. With the latest CAM software update, the controller was detected and active, a minute later there was a firmware update available for the unit, and you likely guessed it already .. the firmware update killed the unit. Totally non-functional.

Update November 24th, NZXT send out a replacement controller. This one works as shown on the previous page.

Truth be told, this wsn't the first time we've dealt with CAM issues, often small firmware upgrades are needed to get gear going. Granted, when it works it works nicely, however, CAM has become what I deem to be an over-engineered piece of software that defies the purpose of its functionality. NZXT even tries to implement overclocking (even the GPU) and storing presets in the cloud while forcing you to log in to Facebook. Heck, right now they are even are trying software overlays. All funny sure, but I'd 10x rather have a stable and simple piece of software that runs low-level with low CPU utilization that does not send my data over the web and heck, software that actually works problem-free?

The Design

The NZXT H700i can be classified as a PC chassis for a high-end build. It has a nice size and if you are digging the style, it looks great. We love the tempered glass side panel but do feel it would have been better with a bit of black coating. The storage options for HDDs are a bit limited, just two of them and they do not get a rubberized seat. This might be an issue with resonating noises. SSD wise NZXT went all out, three in the front and two in the back is simply put lovely. Also, the support for up-to E-ATX motherboards was a good call to make.  Liquid cooling wise you have two primary options, the front, and top:

The airflow seems okay, the fans if configured right offer proper airflow at low noise. However, due to CAM software not kicking in, we could not regulate them ergo I cannot define a more solid conclusion on that one either.

The Innards

The chassis innards are done clever, we mentioned the advanced hiding options on the left side, hiding the PSU and HDD bay. You'll have a nice all black interior including all black cabling with plenty of hidden holes to work with. We appreciate the overall space for everything and that shielding, albeit simple enough, is screw based. All normal motherboards up-to E-ATX motherboards will fit as well as the smallest Mini-ITX ones, also the most lengthy graphics card will fit (413mm) and CPU coolers can have a height of up-to 185mm which is a little less than expected, but still, that is a proper tolerance. There's space for pretty much all popular liquid cooling formats. The motherboard tray also has a massive cutout which has a shield on the back side as well. With the four included fans you can create enough airflow. That said, there aren't too many meshes which can restrict that fact a bit.

Final Words

I like the H700i, I really do like it. However, we ran into problems and issues with the CAM software initially, the H700i is totally dependant on it with the proprietary FAN/RGB controller. Once the software did support the controller, a firmware update killed the unit. Since it manages the fans and RGB and this means that if you cannot get the software working (like me) then you just threw away good money. Anyway, let's hope this was an isolated incident on our side, so enough about that.

Update November 24th, NZXT send out a replacement FAN/RGB controller. This one works as shown on the previous page.

Chassis-wise it's all good and nice though. The aesthetics are very pleasing with decent storage options. Airflow seems okay, but I cannot test/verify it 100% just yet as I cannot regulate the fans. Style and design wise this chassis have got it all, and if it works properly it's one of the very few cases that gets a fan/RGB controller and four fans and a free RGB strip. Obviously, you do pay a premium price for that as the H700i will cost 199 USD/Euros. Overall, we love the tempered glass panel and the overall looks. It's a very nice, feature-rich enough and proper chassis series. 

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