NZXT H7 Flow Gaming PC Build 2022 – RTX 3080Ti & i7 12700K

Introduction

NZXT have been a major player in the case market for a number of years, and in recent years they have branched out to create a number of components in the peripherals and motherboards spaces. Today, though, they go back to their bread and butter – launching a new line-up of very competitively priced chassis!

With the release of the NZXT H7 series, we’ve put together a high-end, high-airflow build that incorporates some of the best components money can buy. We’ve put our best efforts into making one of the best, most powerful systems you can currently build. Including the likes of an Intel Core i7 12700K and Nvidia’s RTX 3080Ti, the new H7 Flow is in great company.

CPU: Intel Core i7 12700K

Intel‘s Core i7 12700K is part of the newest 12th generation line-up that comes with a brand new set of features including support for PCI-E 5.0, DDR5 memory, XMP 3.0 overclocking and more. This CPU is the unlocked variant, allowing us to get underway with some overclocking to give us that extra performance boost.

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Key Facts:

Boost Clock Speed: 5GHz

Core Count: 12

Thread Count: 20

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X73 RGB

For the raw power of our CPU, we need a good CPU cooler to go with in this system. We’ve chosen the NZXT Kraken X73, which is a superb AIO featuring an RGB LCD display. With the use of NZXT’s Cam software you can customise the lighting of the cooler to your heart’s content, and the 360mm radiator is plenty to keep the build cool and quiet.

Buy the Kraken X73 RGB on:

Key Facts:

Radiator Size: 360mm

Included Fans: 3

RGB: Yes

Motherboard: MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY

The MSI MEG range of Z690 motherboards give us access to some of the latest features that come with Intel 12th Gen CPUs. The Z690 UNIFY features DDR5 DIMM slots, that support sticks of up to 6666MHz in clock speed. You’re also given 5 x M.2 connectors, four of which are PCI-E 4.0 – perfect for leveraging the latest, super-fast Gen 4 drives.

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Key Facts:

Form Factor: ATX

Built-in IO Shield: Yes

Max Memory: 128GB

RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB

The DDR5 Dominator Platinum kit from Corsair is an excellent set of 16GB memory sticks that will give us 32GB of super-fast memory for our build, and provide the raw speed you would expect from the latest in memory tech. Additionally, the individually addressable RGB LEDs on the top of the DIMMs provide extra flair and customisation for any build.

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Key Facts:

Capacity: 32GB DDR5

Clock Speed: 5200MHz

CAS Latency: 38-38-38-84

SSD: Samsung 980 PRO 1TB

Samsung’s 980 Pro is one of the fastest SSDs on the market to compete against the likes of Seagate’s FireCuda 530. With extremely fast read and write speeds, and a 1TB capacity (larger drives are available), this should be more than enough space for your most frequently played games and used apps.

Buy the 980 Pro 1TB on:

Key Facts:

Capacity: 1TB

Read Speeds: 7000MB/s

Write Speeds: 5000MB/s

Interface: PCI-E Gen4 x4

GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080Ti Founders Edition

The RTX 3080Ti will give us the graphical power we need to compliment our CPU. With 2nd generation RT cores, this GPU is kitted out for maximum ray tracing performance. In combination with Nvidia‘s mature DLSS technology we’ll be pushing out plenty of frames for a buttery smooth gaming experience.

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Key Facts:

CUDA Cores: 10240

TDP: 350W

RT Cores: 80

Case: NZXT H7 Flow

The NZXT H7 Flow is one of the latest three case designs from the California-based giant. It is a case that we’ve reviewed in detail, and given plaudits to for its design, value for money and feature set. In some ways, this is a chassis that makes a significant new chapter in design philosophy for NZXT. This particular case is designed for maximum airflow, which will synergise well with the Kraken X73 cooler choice, ensuring the system runs nice and cool!

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Key Facts:

Form Factor: Mid-Tower

Fan Support: 6+

Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, MicroATX, ATX, E-ATX

PSU: NZXT C1000 Gold

The C1000 Gold is the newest NZXT PSU on the block. With 1000W of maximum power output, it is entirely modular, minimising the frustration that comes with cable management. The C1000 also sports an 80% Gold efficiency maximising our power draw, and removing the bulk of wasted power dissipating into heat. We’ve looked at whether you really need 1000W of power in another review on the site.

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Key Facts:

Wattage: 1000W

Modular: Yes

Efficiency: 80+ Gold

NZXT Lift Mouse

NZXT’s Lift mouse features a super lightweight design, ideal for fast paced games that require quick movement. The PixArt 3389 optical sensor supports up to 16000 DPI ideal for those wanting extreme accuracy when playing games. This mouse also comes in some crazy colours, so you have the option to spice up the aesthetic slightly. And with minimal RGB surrounding the edge, it is simple, but with a premium touch.

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NZXT Function MiniTKL

The NZXT Function MiniTKL keyboard is a product that we’ve looked at before and love. This keyboard is one of the only options available on the market to be fully modular, all the way down to the switches. The hot-swappable switches are Cherry MX style that can be changed on the fly. The keys also feature per-key programmable RGB giving you some extra customisation to sync up your lighting with the rest of the system.

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NZXT Capsule

We tried our best to find an NZXT headset, but the brand has announced that their audio lineup will return at a later date. For the time being, the NZXT Capsule microphone should perfectly suffice. This mic features a cardioid polar pattern, so any unwanted background noise from fans or keyboards should be removed. You’ll get extremely crisp sound from the Capsule, an all around brilliant microphone for this setup!

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Benchmarks

All of our benchmarking videos are courtesy of our own YouTube channel- ‘Benched’. We benchmark all of the various GPUs that we’ve reviewed which you can take a look at in depth on our website. We’ve also provided some gameplay footage of Valorant in 4K which will demonstrate the power of the RTX 3080Ti!