Havn HS 420 VGPU PC Case Review

What’s all the rage in PC building right now? If you said it’s a two-chamber case with glass front panels, then I have a PC case with a two-chamber glass front panel for you.

It’s called the Havn HS 420. If you haven’t read our story on this Computex case, you won’t be familiar with the Havn. This is a fresh brand led by Pro Gamers Group (PGG). PGG is also behind Noblechairs, Ducky, Streamplify, Aerocool and Endgame Gear.

HS 420 is Havn’s first creation. It’s a dual-bay mid-tower case with space for ITX/ATX/E-ATX motherboards and packed with some standout features that justify its starting price of $199/£200/€230.

I say starting price because I’m here to review the VGPU version, which comes with a mounting bracket, a PCIe 5.0 riser cable, and a fan mount for vertically loading the graphics card, costs an additional $70/£70/€60. That brings this matter to a point USD 269 / GBP 270 / EUR 290.

So let’s get to the point. Because that’s a lot of money for a chassis. What’s most noticeable is the panoramic glass panel that extends from the side of the case to the front – the glass is a single pane, heat-formed to fit. Of course, this is something surprising. There are few cases that provide as good a view of the inside of your computer as this one if you want to demo or just show off all the RGB LEDs.

The VGPU version is even nicer in practice. This is the version I had on my desk for review and I took the opportunity to operate almost exclusively white components in it. The glass facade offers a panoramic view of the colossally immense Gigabyte Aero RTX 4080 Super card, which I turned on its side and held aloft using the included sturdy adapter. This mounting option looks absolutely great with the parts I chose, if I do say so myself.

It is a casing resembling a chimney. This means that instead of having room to mount the fans at the front, they are located at the bottom and draw air through a ventilated base.

The VGPU version also includes a different fan mount than the standard version – it raises the three fans at a 45-degree angle and comes with an odd-looking piece of glass. This glass hangs in front of the fans, redirecting air from inside the case towards the GPU fans.

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I was told that glass is a key element in airflow management. Although in the name of science I pulled it out and ran some tests to see what a difference it really makes. Answer: not much at all. I performed all CPU tests with the cover removed and the temperatures were approximately the same. There may be some benefits to using it in certain configurations or with certain components, but don’t be afraid to ditch it.

Once everything was in order, I measured the airflow outside the case with an anemometer. This is a useful test to see how dust filters or case design affect airflow into and out of the case. Since this case uses a stack design, I can’t measure the intake this way, but I did check the top of the exhaust side, above where the Hyte Thicc Q60 liquid cooler sits, which I installed for testing. I measured the airflow at 1 m/s without a dust filter and 0.9 m/s – that’s quite good.

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There was some CPU burn, which was to be expected for the Q60 in my 14900K tests, though that’s something to take into consideration if you’re purchasing brand fresh parts for this case.

In hindsight, I should have placed the 360/480 mm radiator in the highest position. In any case, the VRM stayed reasonably cold, as did the RTX – the stack design does a pretty good job of feeding cold air to the vertically mounted GPU.

Flourish your charts here

If you are not concerned about spending a significant amount of money, a custom fluid loop is ideal for the HS 420.

Mounting the GPU vertically in this case gave me a few problems, namely compatibility with the components I had intended for this build. I built the machine before I received the case to check compatibility, so most of that falls on me, although having the GPU in front of the motherboard doesn’t make it any easier to make adjustments after assembly.

You have to pull out the fans to access the GPU, and once the GPU is gone, you have to remove the VGPU bracket to really have a chance of connecting a cable or adding an NVMe SSD. Although I think the VGPU mount is primarily for aesthetics rather than comfort.

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The worst types are the Q60 and Thicc FP12 fans. Needless to say, none of them fit as intended. Because the powerful Gigabyte graphics card takes up most of the space above the motherboard, the screen loaded onto the Q60 – admittedly a guilty pleasure and a crazy thing to place on a CPU cooler – is too immense to position it vertically as intended. Since you can’t rotate widgets on the Q60 for now (Hyte tells me this may change in the future), I’m stuck with putting pretty photos on the screen instead.

But this is more of an fascinating problem than a specific case – it’s just worth thinking about if you plan to build a kit that will fit in the HS 420.

The three 120mm fans also did not fit the VGPU fan mount. I could put a few screws into the holes for the 140mm fans, but I had to zip the rest up. They are quite secure, but no quite as tidy as I would like them to be. Additionally, the spec sheet suggested that 120mm fans were fine. I talked to Havn and the specification should only include 140mm when this case actually launches.

Plus, the build-in process for the HS 420 was made incredibly straightforward thanks to some of the best cable management I’ve ever used – dedicated and labeled channels running on the back of the motherboard. Sliding guides are also available and can be moved to the best location for any motherboard.

There are also plenty of storage options, and the case is easily built-in, providing plenty of clearance (without a VGPU bracket installed) and straightforward access to screws.

I opted for three exhaust fans from the bottom of the case, one intake fan at the back, and a second exhaust fan at the CPU. There was a massive Q60 cooler on top. Although there are many options. Remove the white panels on the right side of the motherboard to make room for three fans or a immense radiator. There is quite a lot of flexibility because they exist two fan controllers on the rear for neat, shared control. Dust covers are also available for the bottom, top and optional rear intake.

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A single screw holds the VGPU fan mount, which cleverly snaps into place, and the VGPU bracket is held in place with several thumbscrews for straightforward adjustment.

The hefty glass panel also slides into place easily and is held in place by four screws and a magnetically attached, vented cover on top. This top cover also surrounds the front I/O, giving it more of a top I/O feel, including a 3.5mm jack, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port.

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The side panel leaves plenty of space for cables leading from the power supply, which, thanks to its two-chamber design, is placed away from prying eyes. It’s even one of the more striking exterior panels I’ve seen – the striped ventilation is both practical with fans mounted on the right side of the motherboard and aesthetically pleasing.

I didn’t encounter any pointed edges during the entire build – it’s all put together quite well – and I ended up with no bleeding fingers. That’s a win in my book. I am very impressed with the quality of Havn’s workmanship.

However, this is quite a complex case. I don’t have a scale that can measure that much weight, but Havn says the net weight is 19kg.

The Havn is one of the easiest cases I have built with in a while. This is a combination of its size, two-chamber design, uncomplicated screws and extensive cable management system. There were a few moments of frustration with the VGPU mounting and how little of the motherboard is accessible when it’s mounted, although this is a fairly common theme among vertical mounts – they’re completely turned into functionality.

Combine this with the stunning overall look and Havn is a winner with his first creation.