The HAVN HS 420 PC case and its vertical GPU variant are the first products made by challenger brand HAVN (part of the Pro Gamers Group), that look to take on the likes of HYTE in the panoramic PC space. They both come with a unique curved tempered glass panel covering the front and side that comes off in a single piece, along with other unique design features to benefit both airflow performance and aesthetics. It’s not an exaggeration to say some some of the leading experts in PC case design have worked on these two cases, as the company has staff that used to work at Fractal, NZXT, Cooler Master, Sapphire Wistron, and Corning, plus the cases have had design input from the likes of Caseking, Overclockers UK, PC Case Gear, and 8Pack.

We were sent both cases by HAVN: the base model in black and the VGPU variant in white. As both cases are identical except for in a few key areas we will be treating this as a joint review, and discussing the points of difference when they come up. Let’s see how they got on!

HAVN HS 420

5 /5

Editor’s Rating

How We Review

Specifications

Type: Hybrid (Mid-tower/dual-chamber)
Motherboard support: E-ATX / ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX
Included fans: n/a
Fan support: 11x (120mm or 140mm, max 30mm thickness) or 9x if storage maximised
Radiator compatibility: 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm
Case drive bays: 1 in rear, 4 in ‘customizable space’ (supports up to 5x 3.5” / 10x 2.5”)

CPU cooler clearance: up to 185mm
GPU clearance: up to 480mm
Expansion slots: 6
PSU support: up to ATX (290mm clearance)
Dimensions: 541 x 259.5 x 547mm
Weight: 17.84kg
Materials: SGCC sheet metal, tempered glass, ABS, Nylon, zinc alloy, NdFeB magnets
Front I/O: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, power & reset button

What We Think

Two top-notch cases with excellent airflow, cable management, and some great unique design choices. We would have liked the look of the exterior to match the sublime interior, and for the price to be a bit lower (or at least fans included with it), but besides these quibbles, this is one of the best PC cases we’ve seen.

HAVN HS 420 VGPU

5 /5

Editor’s Rating

How We Review

Specifications

Type: Hybrid (Mid-tower/dual-chamber)
Motherboard support: E-ATX / ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX
Included fans: n/a
Fan support: 11x (120mm or 140mm, max 30mm thickness) or 9x if storage maximised
Radiator compatibility: 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm
Case drive bays: 1 in rear, 4 in ‘customizable space’ (supports up to 5x 3.5” / 10x 2.5”)

CPU cooler clearance: up to 185mm
GPU clearance: up to 470mm
Expansion slots: 4 vertical / 6 horizontal
PSU support: up to ATX (290mm clearance)
Dimensions: 541 x 259.5 x 547mm
Weight: 19kg
Materials: SGCC sheet metal, tempered glass, ABS, Nylon, zinc alloy, NdFeB magnets
Front I/O: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, power & reset button

Pros

Excellent airflow performance
Excellent cable management
Fantastic looking case interior
Great build quality
Ingenious tilted fan & airflow guide for the VGPU variant
Modular ‘Customizable space’ for storage/fans/VESA mounted screen

Cons

VGPU variant is a bit pricey
No fans included

HAVN HS 420 VGPU: Video overview & airflow test

Pricing

The base variant HAVN HS 420, whilst not exactly cheap, is competitively priced at $199 (USD) / £199.99 / 229,90€, coming in slightly less than the HYTE Y70, another panoramic glass, dual-chamber case (also without back-connect support) with a focus on airflow. However, the HYTE Y70 does come with a vertical mount and riser cable, giving you the option for a VGPU setup should you wish. The HAVN HS 420 VGPU with the vertical mount, riser cable, angled bottom fans and airflow guide costs a fair bit more at $269 (USD) / £269.99 / 289,90€.

Main Features & Specs

Immediately below are the key selling points of these HAVN cases if you want to get a quick understanding of whether they’re what you’re looking for. Below this, we’ve listed the detailed specs, and further down the page is an in-depth breakdown of the main features.

‘Hybrid’ design sits between dual-chamber and mid-tower (though not back-connect compatible)
Supports E-ATX, ATX, M-ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards
Single curved tempered glass panel covers front and side of the case
SimpliCable routing system with user-friendly labelling & convenient fan-hub placement
Double-layer rear panel with round fan holes for a cleaner look
Angled air vent panelling on the right/back side, the rear, and top of the case
Cut-outs in the base to maximize airflow
Base model comes with a graphics card support bracket
VGPU model comes with vertical mount, riser cable, angled bottom fan bracket & tempered glass airflow guide
Modular ‘Customizable space’ in the back panel can be fitted with storage/fans/radiator/portable display
Comes with a 3 year warranty
Available in white or black

Besides the differences listed above, the two cases have slightly different GPU clearance (the base model having up to 480mm, the VGPU only 470mm) and weight (the base model being lighter at 17.84kg, the VGPU variant coming in at 19kg), though both cases are very heavy. If using expansion slots vertically, the VGPU model also only has four of them, compared to six horizontally. For reference the Hyte 70 comes with seven horizontal expansion slots, and four vertical.

Specifications and dimensions

Specification	HAVN HS 420 (base model)	HAVN HS 420 VGPU
Type	Hybrid (Mid-tower/dual-chamber)	Hybrid (Mid-tower/dual-chamber)
Motherboard support	E-ATX / ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX	E-ATX / ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX
Included fans	n/a	n/a
Fan support	11x (120mm or 140mm, max 30mm thickness) or 9x if storage maximised	11x (120mm or 140mm, max 30mm thickness) or 9x if storage maximised
Radiator compatibility	240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm	240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm
Case drive bays	1 in rear, 4 in ‘customizable space’ (supports up to 5x 3.5” / 10x 2.5”)	1 in rear, 4 in ‘customizable space’ (supports up to 5x 3.5” / 10x 2.5”)
CPU cooler clearance	up to 185mm	up to 185mm
GPU clearance	up to 480mm	up to 470mm
Expansion slots	6	4 vertical / 6 horizontal
PSU support	up to ATX (290mm clearance)	up to ATX (290mm clearance)
Dimensions	541 x 259.5 x 547mm	541 x 259.5 x 547mm
Weight	17.84kg	19kg
Materials	SGCC sheet metal, tempered glass, ABS, Nylon, zinc alloy, NdFeB magnets	SGCC sheet metal, tempered glass, ABS, Nylon, zinc alloy, NdFeB magnets
Front I/O	2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, power & reset button	2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, power & reset button

The Outside

Whichever version of the HS 420 you opt for, in whichever color, you’ll get a premium looking case with nice rounded edges and a beautiful curved glass panel. We strongly recommend getting internal components that match the color of your case to take best advantage of this, like we did in our all-white build (with a couple of black accents) in the HS 420 VGPU which you can see below.

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The front & sides

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Most of the front and left side are covered with the curved tempered glass panel, which is held in by Phillipshead ‘safety screws’ when you first open the box, but these can be removed once you lift off the lid and you can instead rely on the magnetic connection plus hooked grooves on the top to hold it in place: it’s nice to have the option to go screwless or be more secure. The exact movement needed to take off the panel (towards the front of the case and upwards at a 45° angle) takes a bit of getting used to, particularly when you’re trying to replace it, but once you’ve got the knack it’s okay.

The glass panel itself is something that HAVN have put a significant amount of research and development into: it’s a ‘heat-formed UniSheet’ design where they’ve attempted to ‘engineer the smallest possible curve radius and minimize visual distortion’. Distortion does still exist and the image warps when you look around a centimetre either side of the corner, but it’s still pretty snazzy. Whether you consider this to be much more of an actual improvement to your enjoyment of the case compared to just having two joined glass panels is ultimately down to subjective taste, but as a bunch of computer geeks, we found it quite impressive.

The back panel of the case is taken up by a grid of metal slats, composed of the same SGCC sheet metal as the majority of the chassis, with ample gaps between them for ventilation – particularly useful if you want to install a vertical radiator in the ‘customizable space’ on this side. Similar to the glass panel this can be initially removed by taking off the lid and unscrewing it from the top, but then afterwards you can rely entirely on the latches and magnetic fastenings should you wish.

The top & bottom

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The top panel is composed of the same slanted grill as the back panel, and can be easily removed using the fabric pull tab, and fixed back in place using the magnetic fastenings.

On the top is where you’ll find the safety screws that keep the side panels in place, as well as the top bracket that you can use to place up to three fans, be they 120mm or 140mm in size, or your AIO radiator for the CPU (up to a max size of 420mm). This works as well as you’d like and we had no problems when securing the radiator in our build.

The top of the case is also where we see the first instance of the SimpliCable routing system, with a labelled groove that says ‘Recommended for fan cables’ on a green arrow. Better cable management means a more stress-free build/upgrade process and a cleaner looking case with better airflow, so we’re very much in favour of this.

The top/front I/O consists of two USB-A, one USB-C, a headphone jack and a power/reset button, which is somewhat limited for such a premium case (we would have liked to have seen a dedicated mic jack at least), but still reasonable.

The airflow cutouts at the bottom of the case, which run beneath the glass panel, are something we haven’t seen before, and are a sensible inclusion that makes you wonder why other cases don’t do it. There’s also the usual removable mesh covering for the fan intakes.

The rear

The rear of the case is another area that’s fairly pioneering, certainly impressing our PC building veteran Shaun who’s handled more cases than you’ve had hot dinners. It has a dual-layer design that effectively hides the wiring from the fans as well as most of their frame, on the inside and the outside, making them look a seamless part of the case. From an aesthetic point of view, it certainly looks a lot better than the usual messy design you’d typically find on most cases.

There are six horizontal expansion slots to accommodate even the largest graphics cards, or one or two other add-in cards. If you’re using the vertical mount for the VGPU model, then you get four expansion slots.

The inside

The main chamber

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The HAVN HS 420 isn’t a full dual-chamber case, given the back chamber where all the cable management takes place is relatively small and as it isn’t compatible with back-connect motherboards, however the airflow space is still maximised by having the PSU shroud tucked out the way beneath the motherboard, allowing the floor of the main chamber to be taken up by cooling fans instead.

The hybrid design does mean it’s narrower and takes up less floor/desktop space compared to a proper dual-chamber case, more akin to a standard mid-tower, which is the key reason HAVN seems to have gone for it, so if this is a priority for you then it’s a definite plus point. It’s still a very large case though.

The lack of compatibility with back-connect motherboards is a bit of a shame really, given the focus on aesthetics and airflow this would have seemed an obvious choice, however there are plentiful well placed rubberised grommets to hide away your cables. These grommets resemble grills which run the vertical length and horizontal breadth (across the top of the PSU shroud) of the motherboard, with plastic separators helping you to bunch the cabling together. The plus point of this design is the increased airflow you get for hot air to escape through the back panel, the downside is that when you run cables through them they do have a tendency to bend in a way that looks quite ugly if you’re not careful, slightly throwing off the otherwise nice aesthetics.

The dedication to airflow extends to all the metal surfaces of the interior, which have been constructed with a slight curve to them to minimize turbulence and also therefore reduce noise. All the fan brackets also have rubber shocks to absorb vibrations and reduce noise.

On the right, on the motherboard/back panel side of the case, is the customizable block, which can house up to a whopping four 3.5-inch drives, or eight 2.5-inch ones (two in each of the four pod/bracket sections). You can replace all of the storage brackets with a full-size 420mm radiator using the same main bracket should you wish, or alternatively remove each of the brackets individually and mix and match, with some being dedicated to storage, others to fans/radiators, or indeed a VESA mounted mini screen (up to 14-inches in size). Although we didn’t test it, you could probably fit in a 240mm radiator with one of the storage sections remaining. We’ve seen similar storage blocks like these ones in Phantek cases, though it’s still a fairly uncommon feature and one we’d like to see more of, though from an aesthetic perspective we’re not sure having ‘STORAGE’ written on them was really necessary.

The bottom of the standard model has a mount for three 140mm or 120mm fans should you wish, designed to intake cool air from the bottom of the case, expel it upward into the intakes of the graphics card, and then onward to exit via the top of the case.

For the VGPU model this is replaced by a (140mm only) angled fan mount that blasts the air at 45° into the middle of the glass panel of the case, aided by the curved glass airflow guide that you screw in behind it (which also serves to redirect any hot air away from this cool stream towards the back panel). The vertically placed graphics card then sucks in this cool air through its intakes and out towards the back panel of the case. As you can see in the video of our smoke testing at the start of this review, this combination does a great job of redirecting the airflow as needed and keeping your components nice and cool – so pretty impressive! The fact the airflow guide is made of glass also means it doesn’t obscure the view of your build, which is nice.

Behind the back panel

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Round the back of the case is really where you see the SimpliCable routing system shine. Although there’s less space in the back compartment compared to a proper dual-chamber build, it’s been used very intelligently here, with ample grooves for cabling, plenty of velcro fasteners, and the same colorful guides to help you work out what to put where. The helpful placement of the two fan hubs (one on the top right, on on the bottom left) is also much appreciated.

As with many dual-chamber setups, the PSU is inserted vertically to maximise space. Above the PSU is where you can affix the final storage mount (or only one if you’re using the customizable space for a full-size radiator).

The back section is where you can take off the mount for the customizable space by removing three screws and lifting it out. Each storage mount/pod section can then be removed from this separately by taking off one screw for each.

Other features to note

On the whole the case was fairly easy to construct. Although it’s not a screwless design, the excellent cable management and option just to rely on magnetized panel fastenings means upgrading it is pretty straightforward.

Build quality overall is very good, though we were slightly disappointed from an aesthetic perspective by some of the details around the joins of the panels and the seams of the case. For instance, at several points where the front and side panels join the lid there are cross shaped notches that interrupt the ‘flow’ of the rounded edges, and some of the joins don’t look particularly flush. Given how nice the interior looks it we would have liked the outside to be a bit more refined in these areas and a bit less utilitarian, and this extends to the ventilation slits on the panelling, which look ‘fine’ but not exactly ‘nice’.

Are the HAVN HS 420 and HS 420 VGPU worth a buy?

The HAVN HS 420 and HS 420 VGPU are without doubt some of the best cases we’ve ever reviewed: the airflow management system, particularly on the VGPU model with the glass curve and angled bottom fans, is exceptional; the cable management system for both is excellent, and they’re a fairly straightforward build to put together overall. The unique dual-layer back panel design does a great job of incorporating the fans seamlessly, and combined with the single curved glass panel this makes a well designed interior to your case look fantastic.

Boh cases fall just short of a perfection because of how they’re priced. Neither option gives you any fans included with the case and the front I/O is a bit limited, which isn’t ideal considering how much you’re spending, though this is also the case for the big competing cases from the HYTE range. The base model is priced slightly cheaper than the competing HYTE 70, but doesn’t come with the flexibility to allow for a vertical mount, nor an accompanying riser cable like the ‘70’ does, or the ‘60’ before it. The VGPU model obviously does come with this option, along with the additional angled fan bracket and glass airflow guide, which the HYTE 70 does not have, however you pay £50/$50 more for the privilege; ultimately though it is a superior case due to all the additional design elements mentioned above.

Being particularly nitpicky, there are also some parts of the build, particularly the joints and seams and also the back, which don’t look quite as nice as we’d have hoped. Considering the effort that went into producing the wraparound glass panel, a more seamless, flush design would have elevated it to the next level (potentially also some nicer looking ribs/slats on the ventilation grills).

All things considered though, these quibbles aren’t enough to justify not giving it a 5/5: we think this is the best high-performance case currently on the market if you’re looking to build a machine with an aesthetically pleasing interior.