The NV7 arrives with room for twelve fans and not a single fan in the box. With glass on the front and side, there’s no front intake to fall back on either.
So every fan is your call. Phanteks already published the layout it designed the case around, so start there.
The layout to copy
These follow the “recommended airflow configurations” page of the NV7 manual.
With an air cooler:
| Fan spot | Fans | Set it to |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom | 3 x 120 or 140 mm | Intake |
| Side bracket | Up to 4 x 120 mm | Intake |
| Top | 3 x 120 mm | Exhaust |
| Rear | 2 x 120 mm | Exhaust |
With a liquid cooler:
| Fan spot | Fans | Set it to |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom | 3 x 120 or 140 mm | Intake |
| Side bracket | Up to 4 x 120 mm or a 360 mm radiator | Exhaust |
| Top | 3 x 120 mm or a 360 mm radiator | Exhaust |
| Rear | 2 x 120 mm | Exhaust |
The bottom fans do the heavy lifting in both. Phanteks built the floor for direct and dedicated GPU cooling from the bottom, so cool air comes up under the graphics card and rises out the top.
Buying fans in stages
Twelve fans add up fast. If you’re buying a few at a time, this order follows Phanteks’ layout and gets the most out of each fan:
- Bottom intake. Feeds the graphics card, the hottest part in most builds.
- Top exhaust. Gives that warm air a way out.
- Side intake. Sends fresh air across the motherboard toward the CPU cooler.
- Rear exhaust. Clears the last pocket of warm air near the CPU.
The bottom bracket
The floor takes three 120 mm or three 140 mm fans. It’s the only spot in the NV7 for 140 mm fans.
The manual also notes the bracket can be flipped around for angled fans. That aims the air more toward the graphics card.
One catch with early units: KitGuru found the 140 mm fans didn’t fit because of a tooling error in the screw holes. Phanteks has fixed the tooling and will send a replacement part if your case is affected.
The side bracket and airflow covers
The side bracket slides out by its handle after you remove one screw. It holds four 120 mm fans or a 360 mm radiator up to 65 mm thick.
Phanteks puts two airflow covers in the box. They give a clean look, but the manual warns that with a cover on, the airflow is closed off. Leave them off any spot that has fans.
Should the side fans blow in or out?
It depends on your CPU cooler. With an air cooler, set them as intake so the cooler gets fresh air. With a liquid cooler, Phanteks flips the side to exhaust, so the bottom becomes the main intake.
Reverse blade fans
Reverse blade fans flip the look of a fan, so you see the clean blade side even when it’s pulling air in. They suit the NV7’s glass side and bottom intakes. Check the box, though: some reverse models move a little less air than their standard twins.
Our dual chamber case guide compares a few.
Noise with twelve fans
KitGuru filled every spot and measured 54 dBA, which it called noticeable. The glass and mesh panels don’t do much to block sound.
The good news is that more fans let each one spin slower. Set a gentle curve with this free curve calculator on our sister site.
KitGuru also found that taking panels off made no real difference to temperatures, so the case breathes well once the fans are in.
NV7 size limits
From Phanteks’ spec sheet and the manual:
| Part | Limit |
|---|---|
| Graphics card | 450 mm long |
| CPU cooler | 185 mm tall |
| Power supply | 255 mm long |
| Top and side radiators | Up to 360 mm |
| Bottom radiator | Up to 360 mm, or 280 mm with 140 mm fans |
| Rear radiator | Up to 240 mm, mounted outside the rear |
NV7 or NV5?
The NV5 is the smaller sibling, with eight 120 mm fan spots and no 140 mm support. Its floor holds just one 120 mm fan aimed at the graphics card, so the side and top fans matter more.
Related guides
- Hyte Y70 setup, another glass showcase case with a cold floor.
- Dual chamber case setups, with test data from four popular cases.