It's been a bumper year for PCs but my pick for the best new hardware in 2024 is a chassis, surprising even myself

I could reel off a list of products all deserving of a nod in this year's hardware awards. The ROG Strix X870-I Gaming Wifi and Ayaneo Flip DS, to name just two, are easy recommendations. But neither could have earned my recommendation come September. That was when I first got my hands on the Havn HS 420.

Choosing the right chassis is a crucial part of PC building. Choose the wrong one and prepare to come away from the experience with bleeding hands and a vow to buy a prebuilt next time. But make the right call, and you'll want to stare at the majesty of your PC for hours.

The Havn HS 420 is the right call.

Havn is a new name in the space—the HS 420 is the first product released by the brand—but it's born out of Pro Gamers Group, who also own a few of the big european tech retailers and keyboard manufacturer Ducky.

Bro, this chassis is fire—is what I imagine someone on TikTok has said about the HS 420 at some point. It's inarguably eye-catching, too. I caught sight of it from across the showfloor at Computex, where it was first unveiled, and immediately bolted over to see it. It was on a gradually rotating plinth, and I took a good few snaps of it and made a note to return for a chat about it before scuttling off to my next appointment.

Let's talk about the chassis itself, then.

The vented side and top panels are a particular highlight. They look stunning but they serve a purpose—this chassis offers a variety of ways to install fans and/or radiators. That includes down the side of the motherboard tray, above the motherboard, beneath the motherboard, to the other side of the motherboard—all around the motherboard, really.

The HS 420 aims to keep airflow moving across your CPU and motherboard and keep hot air erupting from your GPU from sticking around too long. To that end, the VGPU version—which includes a PCIe 5.0 riser and bracket for mounting your graphics card on its side—also includes a glass separator to help ease the airflow within the case. I didn't find it made much of a difference to be honest, but it looks good, and my temps were decent in testing.

I do have a few problems with it that it's only fair to note here. Firstly, it doesn't come with any fans, which on top of the cost of the chassis itself, starting at $199 for the non-VGPU version, means it won't be winning any awards for being affordable. Though I'd argue it's still a great investment if you plan to keep this chassis for any considerable length of time.

It also weighs 19 kg. With a side panel that wraps around the front and is made entirely of glass, I can see why. But that weight does make it unwieldly. What you don't want to happen is unkowingly pick it up by the dust filter and have said dust filter pull away from the case, sending the chassis into a rapid descent towards the concrete floor. And all happening just moments before you're supposed to shoot it for a feature your popular magazine, which is on deadline. Not that this exact thing ever happened to me, but if it did I would have caught it with the help of our photographer and only slightly injured myself in the process.

You might still be thinking 'a case is a case is a case'. I strongly disagree. The HS 420 might look like an empty vessel that serves no purpose until it's filled with a multitude of other components, but it's the cleanest, most builder-friendly chassis I've used in quite some time. Heck, maybe ever.

The wide and deep cable management on the rear of the motherboard tray is a good example of its excellence, which makes for easy work of genuinely good-looking cable management without a degree from cable management school (which I don't have). All over the case there are signs of design for convenience—the way the intake and exhaust fan mounts remove, or the dust filters, or the single screw that holds the lower fan mount in place… each little piece removes some small hassle or inconvenience from the building process.

What's most surprising, however, is just how expertly designed this chassis is considering it's the first ever product from Havn. Sure, the people behind it aren't complete newbs [sic], but to nail a design that works for both beginners and experienced builders alike—well, it's just darned impressive.

I came away from building in the Havn HS 420 feeling like I'd nailed it. Realistically, I had only put a few white parts together and called it a PC build. The Havn HS 420 was, and continues to be, the true star of the show.

If you want to find out who won the PC Gamer Hardware Awards, we'll be publishing the winners on New Year's Day.