NZXT H500 Vault Boy PC case review: A must-have for serious Fallout fans

NZXT H500 Vault Boy

Fallout is one of the best RPG serial around, and NZXT makes some of the best PC cases bachelor. The game'due south developer, Bethesda, and the case maker teaming upwardly certainly sparked our interest. The effect of this partnership is the H500 Vault Boy mid-tower case, which is essentially the sleek-looking H500 but with plenty of Fallout flavour.

Brotherhood of Steel

NZXT H500 Vault Boy

Costs $150

Bottom line: This is a gorgeous mid-tower PC case for Fallout fans.

Pros

Fallout themed
Sleek design
High quality
Tempered glass side
Good thermals

Cons

Pricey for what you get

NZXT's H500 Vault Boy PC instance is just stunning

NZXT H500 Vault Boy

The H500 is the older version of the new H510, which introduces a USB Blazon-C port on the front panel. Fifty-fifty though this may no longer be the latest model, you lot're not really missing out on much compared to the H510. And because the H500 Vault Boy isn't the version of the instance with the Smart Device, you'll besides non have any LED lighting or fan controls preinstalled.

Category	Spec
Motherboards	ATX MicroATX Mini-ITX
I/O	Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A One Headset Sound Jack
Expansion	7 PCI two+ane 2.five-inch 2+1 3.five-inch
Fans	Front: Two 120 / One 140 mm Acme: One 120 / ane 140 mm Rear: One 120 mm
Filters	Front PSU Right panel
Radiators	Front: 120/240 mm and 140/280 mm Rear: 120 mm
Clearance	GPU: up to 381mm CPU: upwards to 165mm
Weight	6.eight kg
Dimensions	230 mm x 516 mm ten 494 mm
Materials	SGCC steel, tempered glass, ABS plastic
Warranty	2 years

When looking at the H500 Vault Boy in its box, it'southward clear what makes this a limited version PC instance. There's a huge picture of the Vault Boy on the side of the box, winking at yous to ensure you know full well you fabricated the correct purchase. Unboxing the main chassis is a similar affair, thanks to the custom blueish paint job and subtle Fallout branding. It looks fantastic, equally long as y'all're a Fallout fan.

The H500 rocks some pretty great features for system builders. You get plenty of clearance for the largest of GPUs and CPU coolers, all intakes are filtered, and you can install up to four fans in total on the instance, 2 for intake and two for exhaust. Throw in a 240mm or 280mm AIO cooler into this example, and you'll be sorted regarding CPU temperatures.

The main PSU shroud is also perforated, allowing you to meet what's beneath while aiding a little with airflow — full PSU shrouds tin can at times reduce the amount of air you tin push through, especially if you have a limited number of fan mounts on the case. Then you have the cable management yous'd expect from NZXT, as well as the metal riser bar painted yellow for the Fallout theme.

What makes this case so highly-seasoned is how subtle the theming is, just not and then much that you'd overlook the case when passing past.

If you really desire to take things to the next stage, you'll want to option up NZXT'south Z390 N7 motherboard with the company'south Fallout themed motherboard covers (see pictures above). You could too remove the covers on the motherboard and pigment them yourself, creating a truly unique await, but NZXT has plenty of options available if you lot don't feel comfortable going that route.

The H500 Vault Boy looks like it's straight out of a Fallout vault.

Even if y'all don't go with the N7 motherboard and Vault Boy cover philharmonic, whatsoever standard ATX to Mini-ITX lath will look great in the H500. NZXT pre-installs two 120mm fans for yous to get started, though you may wish to replace them if yous take RGB counterparts. After throwing in power-hungry components and running a few tests, the H500 Vault Boy performed well plenty for even more serious builds.

Using a 12-cadre AMD Ryzen 9 3900X CPU (with be quiet! Night Pro four), ZOTAC AMP! Extreme GTX 1070 GPU, and 32GB RAM with a Seagate FireCuda NVMe SSD, nosotros found no issues when running games, or benchmarks or while leaving the PC for some time. Using NZXT's E500W PSU immune us to hook everything upwards to CAM. Temperatures were well within expected ranges and matched those found with the H510 Elite.

It'due south not the all-time performer on the market for thermals and noise, and y'all can certainly find other cases out there at the same cost with slightly better performance.

Near that price ...

NZXT H500 Vault Boy

The just drawback to this great case from the Wastelands is the price, coming in at $150. The H500 is but $75 and the newer H510 commands a tag of $80. If you think the Fallout branding and license is worth double the price of the H500, this won't be an issue. For others, it may be a little offputting. That'south actually the only complaint we take.

So should you lot buy the NZXT H500 Vault Male child?

You should merely purchase a branded component such as this case if you really appreciate the theming. Fallout fans will love this PC case. Non simply is it highquality, simply NZXT did a stellar job taking the Vault Boy and Fallout branding to create a case that tin can easily exist themed around the popular RPG serial.

More than chiefly, the H500 performs well enough in testing, with results showing stiff enough airflow for even more enervating components like an AMD Ryzen nine processor. Space may get a petty tight if you lot want to pack inside your own custom h2o-cooling loop, only in that location are plenty features to make putting together a PC build a breeze.

Alliance of Steel

NZXT H500 Vault Boy

Build in the Wasteland

Ready to venture outside after the apocolypse? You'll need to have this Fallout-themed case with y'all to set up a solid-looking PC, with Vault Boy giving the thumbs-up on the side. NZXT took what fabricated the H500 great and slapped on some Fallout colors.

Editor'south note: NZXT provided Windows Cardinal with a review sample, which we used for in-depth testing and this review. We received a consumer package then our feel should reflect exactly what you lot'll receive if you lot purchase this PC case.

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