It has been a bumper yr for PCs however my decide for the very best new {hardware} in 2024 is a chassis, shocking even myself

I may reel off a listing of merchandise all deserving of a nod on this yr’s {hardware} awards. The ROG Strix X870-I Gaming Wifi and Ayaneo Flip DS, to call simply two, are straightforward suggestions. However neither may have earned my suggestion come September. That was after I first received my fingers on the Havn HS 420.

Choosing the proper chassis is a vital a part of PC constructing. Select the flawed one and put together to come back away from the expertise with bleeding fingers and a vow to purchase a prebuilt subsequent time. However make the precise name, and you may wish to stare on the majesty of your PC for hours.

The Havn HS 420 is the precise name.

Havn is a brand new identify within the house—the HS 420 is the primary product launched by the model—nevertheless it’s born out of Professional Players Group, who additionally personal a number of of the large european tech retailers and keyboard producer Ducky.

Bro, this chassis is hearth—is what I think about somebody on TikTok has stated concerning the HS 420 sooner or later. It is inarguably eye-catching, too. I caught sight of it from throughout the showfloor at Computex, the place it was first unveiled, and instantly bolted over to see it. It was on a step by step rotating plinth, and I took an excellent few snaps of it and made a notice to return for a chat about it earlier than scuttling off to my subsequent appointment.

Let’s discuss concerning the chassis itself, then.

The vented aspect and prime panels are a selected spotlight. They appear gorgeous however they serve a objective—this chassis gives a wide range of methods to put in followers and/or radiators. That features down the aspect of the motherboard tray, above the motherboard, beneath the motherboard, to the opposite aspect of the motherboard—throughout the motherboard, actually.

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The HS 420 goals to maintain airflow transferring throughout your CPU and motherboard and preserve scorching air erupting out of your GPU from sticking round too lengthy. To that finish, the VGPU model—which features a PCIe 5.0 riser and bracket for mounting your graphics card on its aspect—additionally features a glass separator to assist ease the airflow inside the case. I did not discover it made a lot of a distinction to be trustworthy, nevertheless it seems to be good, and my temps have been first rate in testing.

I do have a number of issues with it that it is solely honest to notice right here. Firstly, it would not include any followers, which on prime of the price of the chassis itself, beginning at $199 for the non-VGPU model, means it will not be successful any awards for being reasonably priced. Although I would argue it is nonetheless an incredible funding in the event you plan to maintain this chassis for any appreciable size of time.

It additionally weighs 19 kg. With a aspect panel that wraps across the entrance and is made totally of glass, I can see why. However that weight does make it unwieldly. What you do not wish to occur is unkowingly decide it up by the mud filter and have stated mud filter draw back from the case, sending the chassis right into a speedy descent in direction of the concrete flooring. And all taking place simply moments earlier than you are presupposed to shoot it for a characteristic your standard journal, which is on deadline. Not that this actual factor ever occurred to me, but when it did I’d have caught it with the assistance of our photographer and solely barely injured myself within the course of.

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You may nonetheless be considering ‘a case is a case is a case’. I strongly disagree. The HS 420 may appear to be an empty vessel that serves no objective till it is crammed with a large number of different elements, nevertheless it’s the cleanest, most builder-friendly chassis I’ve utilized in fairly a while. Heck, possibly ever.

The broad and deep cable administration on the rear of the motherboard tray is an efficient instance of its excellence, which makes for simple work of genuinely handsome cable administration with out a diploma from cable administration faculty (which I haven’t got). Everywhere in the case there are indicators of design for comfort—the best way the consumption and exhaust fan mounts take away, or the mud filters, or the only screw that holds the decrease fan mount in place… every little piece removes some small trouble or inconvenience from the constructing course of.

What’s most shocking, nevertheless, is simply how expertly designed this chassis is contemplating it is the primary ever product from Havn. Positive, the folks behind it aren’t full newbs [sic], however to nail a design that works for each novices and skilled builders alike—effectively, it is simply darned spectacular.

I got here away from constructing within the Havn HS 420 feeling like I would nailed it. Realistically, I had solely put a number of white elements collectively and referred to as it a PC construct. The Havn HS 420 was, and continues to be, the true star of the present.

If you wish to discover out who received the PC Gamer {Hardware} Awards, we’ll be publishing the winners on New Yr’s Day.