Grab a GN Modmat, Mouse Mat, or shirt on the GN store to support our work and get something in return: store.gamersnexus.net/ Watch our X-Ray analysis (ft. Creative Electron) of the good NZXT riser replacement: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c9PlibqsBWg.html Watch us showing how the original riser was dangerous: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fjUscSRLwks.html
Why its not plated all the way through? I would wager they know there is still a live layer so they probably intend to send these with plastic screws and cross their fingers. The answer now is simple. My home and family are worth more than NZXT's messing about so I shall never buy any of their products again. The best and by the looks of it only real way to fix this.
Hey I just wanna let you know I had in the Riser replaced and I actually got the higher quality one two days ago so I don’t know what’s going on but I did get the newest one
@@siraff4461 you see this kind of behavior in so many American businesses now. When they give people huge bonuses for saving the company money, people will hurt the brand to save the company money
@@johnblaze8092 mostly because people conflated a pro consumer stance with being a 1st party console studio. Being one doesn't mean you are the other by default. But on the flipside, they actually got Sony to do refunds for once.
man, so bizarre they wouldn't just take the hit and send out the better quality replacement parts. You would think " we really want to ensure we don't burn down your house " would be an easy position to take as a company. Props GN for seriously trying to stay objective.
honestly, if that riser is actually good and not an issue, I don't see nothing wrong with it being shipped... buuuuuuut... they showed the different version to the world when steve did a video on it, so it's kinda like they said in the title, a bait and switch.
unfortunately it can be cheaper for them to deal with possible lawsuits than for them to fix all of the issues, at least in the short term. Its sad to see.
Most companies are being run by beancounters first and foremost nowadays. EA is the worst offender, buying up passionate studios just to drive them into the ground, CDPR had this issue making CP2077. But it's not just gaming or PC tech. Tool manufacturers, cars, basically everything is made "cost-optimized".
This was 100% intentional and they chose a to save a few $$ over their reputation. Why the fuck would they risk their reputation for a small amount of revenue loss? Foolish. They can't be trusted again.
I lost faith in NZXT when they switched from high airflow super functional stuff like their Switch case to their super minimalist air choked streamer shit
I have been wary of them since the CAM crap a couple of years ago. Why do my case fans need to send telemetry data back to NZXT... Definitely a shit company that doesn't care about their customer base.
The sad thing is, someone in NZXTs engineering (and likely marketing) departments was in a meeting when this change was discussed, and told them to absolutely not do this, because of exactly this reaction. And they were ignored. Hopefully they have their CV up to date and can move onto better things.
What made them think this would go unnoticed, after they put a spotlight on themselves by selling a fire hazard? I seriously cannot grasp how these companies are thinking.
@@cyrfung This is one of the more expensive option, unless NZXT is literally closing business soon, no way this can be considered as ''the cheapest'' option.
You're not the only one pissed. This entire issue has been handled by NZXT in a way that honestly would make ME feel slimy doing business with them. Clearly they value cutting corners and cutting everyone out of the loop more than anything else.
I have personally been a fan of their stuff but after this I lost not just respect but trust for them and their "products". I most definitely will not be recommending them for any build lists I make for people anymore (which is pretty often).
You just have to weigh up the pro's and con's. Is a potential loss of your home/family in a fire worth it if you get unlucky? I will never buy anything from them again.
@@damdibidum To be fair to NZXT they seem to handle everything else fairly well. And ive also heard horror stories for years on other companies pulling things like this as well.
Your pro consumer advocacy and gerenal stand-up-ness reminds me a lot of TotalBiscuit and the work he did for the PC gaming space. Keep it up! We need strong voices like yours in the hardware space to keep the companies in check. Vote with your wallet people!
Wow, that's an honor of a comparison. I met TotalBiscuit briefly in the very beginning of our heavier switch to RU-vid. Saw a talk he did at a convention and got to ask him a few questions. Very inspirational and gave a lot of excellent advice that I still follow today. I don't think he ever knew who we were -- we were nobodies back then -- but that just makes the fact that he took the time to explain things even more impressive. He stood to gain nothing from helping us, but was very kind to do so anyway. Wish I had the chance to tell him that he really pointed us the right direction on some stuff.
I love how Steve added links for home fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. For just $1 a day, you can buy a new extinguisher every month, for those poor children with PCs using a NZXT case.
*The riser may catch fire.* Thats bad. *But it comes with a free nylon screws.* Thats good. *The screws don't fix the underlying issue.* Thats bad. *But you also get a replacement riser* Thats good. *The replacement contains the original riser.* ... *Thats bad.*
@@GamersNexus I wish! The type of projects I was responsible to translate since 2007 couldn't have any work done during COVID and the first people to go were those, whose only skill was to speak a language better than other people who are qualified to do the more important stuff for the projects. When there's no actual communication to perform, because there's no activity to report about, keeping a glorified spell-checker on retainer is not very high on the list.
@@dominic.h.3363 depending on the language you speak you might be selling yourself short. For example, 13% of the US population speaks Spanish as a first language or only speaks Spanish. This might surprise you but many industries fail miserably at hiring for this segment of the population. Banks, for example, often need translators for legally required information they must provide to all of their customers to serve this segment of the population. This is just one example of an industry where people who speak a specific language in the US are underserved by the industry and where the industry is thriving right now.
@@explodatedfaces They don't mean an actual different language. They mean technical jargon - the job was to translate the technical jargon into something an average person would understand.
@@explodatedfaces I'm hungarian and my language pair is german-hungarian, I rarely translate anything to english. Everyone worth their salt is speaking german and english around here and I've only chosen this path of employment out of necessity, I'm quite... restricted in my options sitting in a wheelchair. Furthermore I was provisionally hired by / interned for the company I used to translate for while I was still studying, and it was only their benevolence that kept me earning some money when I failed to graduate due to my mobility issues. That benevolence stopped with COVID.
In the first 45 seconds, you can practically see the waves of anger radiating off of Steve, who is so damn professional and reserved that I didn't even know anger was on his radar.
They didn't think that a reviewer wouldn't actually do there job and actually follow through with their work. That's true dedication and true integrity that you don't find often. Seriously NZXT if it takes that long for QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR SAFETY, TAKE THE HIT AND DO IT RIGHT. your already slammed when you got called out with full evidence of the problem. would you rather take a fine and still recall all the cables or face a class action lawsuit and a international product ban rendering your entire product's line useless until fully proven safe by national safety standards for each individual country that follows through with the ban.
The 'new replacement' also has multiple holes that may be used in the future and aren't protected AT ALL. Take any of the risers and shift them left or right to put pressure from the screw on the side of the holes and then tighten both screws, it may wear through the PCB to under-laying PCB layers easier then...
I am so grateful for Steve, he looks after the kitty cats and also stands up for consumers - something we have not had until recent years. Huge appreciation for channels like this, HU and Linus etc. It's not so easy for the likes of NZXT, Intel, MSI, Nvidia and many others, to get away with such UNADULTERATED SKULDUGGERY anymore. (posted here in the hope NZXT see it and feel the pain they deserve). I for one am utterly SICK of the sheer amount of underhanded and unscrupulous business and marketing practices we have to endure as consumers. THANK YOU STEVE.
At this point it's actually gross negligence. If another fire is caused by this, there should be jail-time for the responsible people. As I wrote above I suspect that this cable has the exact same problem as the original. 12V plane right up to the perimeter of the hole.
Realistically you probably have better chance of being struck by lightning on a sunny day than this catching fire but everyone loves to over react to everything these days.
The list of shaddy companies I'll never give my money to grows ever larger, thanks Steve and all the team at GN for doing all of this work to help protect us from this kind of absurdity.
@@marcovincentuy3039 Not gonna go trhough everything, but a few ones are for example Dell: their customer support is the worst and the'll do anything they can to upsell you on useless warranties or some other form of extra charge, a bunch of their products is crap aside from the higher end laptops and way overpriced too, the way they price simple components at their store like a ram stick is super predatory to someone that isn't savy and is afraid of breaking their pc by putting in something made by a third party. Apple: I really don't like them, arrogant and hypocritical they don't respect the customer at all, they put on a veil of being green and differrent and taking care of you, but pretending that a screen replacement somehow cost more than a new device is a downright lie and creates a ton more e-waste by destroying a perfectly goodn device all the while posing as enviroment friendly, and that's just the tip of the inceberg on them I could go for a lot longer (note: you can like Apple products I don't care and will not argue about it, so don't bother). And the get out of the tech space, Nestle: they are just evil in the most horrible ways, but it would take too long to talk about it so I suggest googling this one.
@@needlessoptions Well it is their legal responsability to their shareholders though, the thing is we have to be the ones to dictate where the line is drawn these companies only have as much power as we allow them. So encourage the behavior you approve and stay away from what you don't the moment you stop caring completely is when they the shady executives win.
Well I have the gamer and streaming pc, different case and I would 100% buy from them again, got my pc last October and it has run flawlessly in all aspects abd plays aby game I want with ease, so my experience has been all positive.
It's things like this that make you glad there is so much competition in the PC DIY space. There's plenty of companies who make quality alternatives to every product NZXT makes. I'm 100% never supporting NZXT again. Their cases suck anyways.
@@cody6009 Lol you act like your PC is made from all NZXT components. They're just a vendor who built your PC using other companies components and added their fans and little accessories they make inside their shitty cases. NZXT has nothing to do with how well your PC is performing or how well it runs games. NZXT didn't make your CPU, GPU, RAM, SSD, etc. Thank the companies who make the actual components for your PC's performance. Plenty of companies put together and sell the same PC you're using or you could literally buy all the same components and build your same PC yourself avoiding NZXT all together and it would be no different.
@@Starlesslemon "Hey guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on gamersnexus.net. I'm Steve Burke and I'm here today at the gamersnexus workshop taking a look at a very interesting and perplexing decision by NZXT"
It's as if NZXT said: "Wait... fixing this issue costs.. money. Can we cut some corners to save money? Because that's clearly what matters the most here"
Yes, if you go by the actions and not their words, that is what they are saying of course. Well, no more NZXT stuff here at least if this is how they treat a serious recall like this... Damn, not even Pinell did the same with their fire hazard DAB radios back in the day.
Just shows once again, the life and property of others, mean nothing to those in charge of such companies. They are willing to kill you, as long as it makes them a profit. A profit at the cost of other peoples lives. This is disgusting. And NZXTrash will never see a penny from me! It would lit my heart if someone could ironically incite an angry mob with torches, to burn down their company. -CEO included-
I bought the NZXT H1 for a build for a friend when it came out. Then they sent me the plastic screw and the "revamped" cable. Looking at the cable under the light you can still see the nearby copper power lanes. It looks like they painted the plating to "fix" it too. I thank you guys for forcing NZXT to act upon it because I"ve never got a response since that article came out about it.
Every time I hear about NZXT customer service, I'm more and more convinced that their employees are just two stray racoons in a warehouse with a cell phone. Whenever they get a call or an email notification, they either respond by running away from the phone or they rummage around in the dumpster for a solution. The only flaw in my theory is that actual racoons would probably put in more effort into their jobs if you told them to treat the customers like "trash."
By "screwing the customer again" they mean put the house on fire! So many people have their PC standing on a wooden floor or even a carpet! And the time to go to the toilet and come back, is enough to set your room aflame. As we saw in one of Steves videos, at how fast that garbage case startet to burn. If you carpet starts burning, 99.9% of people are screwed, and have no chance of putting that fire out. Fact! My neighbor has a few of those really long haired carpets. This is like unlit Napalm sitting on the floor, waiting for the Disaster called NZXTrash to lit the fuse!!
the mark of a quality company isn't that it makes no mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. it's how you handle that mistake that counts. NZXT has demonstrated that nobody should ever trust them for anything ever again. their actions convey that they can't admit their mistakes because they just make the same mistakes over and over again but try to pass it off as a fix. it's ridiculous.
I was on the side of "every entity, especially when you make so many products and the scale of things, has one in x NR of cases that is a BUBU". I was willing to accept the facts. S**T happens, recall is put out, good move on the fast track (even tho it required GN to yell about it), hope everybody gets the memo and gets the fix. '👍 All's-a-good-ing. Now, if i hear about NZXT i would tell everybody "STAY AWAY! And don't risk it. Even for a CMYK keyboard! ". They burned (heh) that bridge (hehe).
@@____________________________.x The issue is mitigated, it has not been "Fixed". This is a design flaw in the pcb itself. The trace location, that caused this issue, as far as has been presented, has not changed. As such, the potential still remains.
@@chrisbaker8533 Yes it's a PCB design flaw, see those drill holes? That fixes the hidden trace issue. That's how you can fix track problems on multilayer boards, by drilling them out. All this video does is wind up know-nothings like Andrei above
What I really appreciate is in the tech field on RU-vid is all you guys tell it how it is and not just suck up to these companies for more product. Just like this they tried to use you and you called them out on it. Bravo.
Do you not remember the crap products they hawked back when they started? Clearly they didn't use a good enough coat of paint on their turds and we are just seeing the what their products truly have always been.
@@altrdgenetics Oh man, I remember that. I thought that was just them learning the art of making cases, but obviously, there's systematic/management failure at NZXT.
NZXT boss looking at the cable "this is perfect, make 50 of these and send them out to the reviewers" "Produce me 10.000 cables for the rest of the cases, but find me 1-2$ savings on each cable"
I actually had my eye on a H1 case on Ebay this week, seller was listing it with the replacement riser, but I did notice that the one in the photo in the listing had the extra holes in it. I figured the seller was trying to pull a fast one, but this makes far more sense... Guess I will be getting a different brand of case altogether then!
Let's face it, the "it works, but make it cheaper" is what led to the issues in the first place. Straight canceled by one of their influencers, that must've gave them another burn.
"Let's save a nickel and cheap out on this cable" - "Shit, we got called out for cheaping out! Quick, get replacements done... but let's save a nickel and cheap out on this cable" m(
From my experience working in the PCB industry having a plated through hole for a screw is nice but not necessary. What is necessary is that all power planes are pulled back far enough from the through hole to guarantee that shorting can not happen. A plated ring around the hole is great to prevent wear to the pcb when screws are tightened but beyond that it's usually not necessary and a nylon or composite washer can serve the same purpose. The through hole vias in the plated ring are used to connect it to the internal ground planes if grounding is neccisary. Grounding this ring can provide a ground connection to the chassis through the screw but this shouldn't be required as the board is grounded through the pcie connector as well. Based on what I can see in the video not having a plated through hole is not a red flag for lack of quality but just a design or manufacturing decision.
@@n-11ordoskirata70 They blacklisted both GN and Hardware Unboxed from receiving their review units of motherboards because both GN and HUB gave negative reviews regarding their motherboards, their budget motherboards are the worst, poor VRMs running at 100+ degrees and seriously thermal throttling and bottlenecking the CPU, apparently Asrock didn't liked getting called out like that
Thank you for continuing to cover this issue. I still haven't got my replacement riser cable which means I haven't been able to use my computer for 5 months now. The plastic screws are not the solution. When will I get the replacement for my replacement cable? I haven't even gotten my replacement yet. Another 5 months from now? Seriously boycott NZXT.
The really big thing is hidden, whether the power plane is still closely around that screw hole. If it's close enough to contact the screw after a bit of wear and tear, there's still a serious risk of a short. If they have properly pulled the power plane back from all screw holes, then it's possibly cheaping out but the major issue is addressed. Edit: I do agree with pretty much everything in this video, in general, and find the situation a bit bizarre. They had what seemed to be a high quality replacement and were on track to bank some positive PR and goodwill by the time this was over. This seems like they went out if their way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, apparently just to save a few bucks. Yeah, could be $50-100k, after multiplying by the size of the production run, but reputation and goodwill are worth that when we're talking about unexpected fiery death scenarios.
I was able to get a few friends to avoid NZXT due to these issues - one was eying a complete BLD and the others were considering cases, fans, and AIOs. Congrats NZXT for losing yourself several customers over your shoddy practices! And double thanks to GN to covering these issues!
The "best" part is that there is actual literature - genuine studies have been performed - proving that there's a positive correlation between product failures and lost sales, and further that the impact is greater for both safety failures and repeated failures.
yep well your not alone. Unless something drastic changes for the better I'm never buying NZXT stuff again seems you just can't trust them if there is a problem. Real scummy companies use bait and switch tactics.
had an H510 as my first case in my first build. just swapped that bulky brick wall with a slimmer case with actual airflow (MSI MAG 100R) and will never look back
Yeah, I just received the whole kit with the multi drilled PCB...I live in Italy and I waited for months for the replacement and now I feel disappointed, I'm at your disposal if u need some sort of evidence from an H1 hyped customer. Ty for your valuable work
If Steve was just mad, you wouldn't see NZXT ducking for cover, and on that note, I'll bet some ducking, covering, and kiss-assing to Steve is probably imminent, and if it's not, and they do try to spin anything or defend themselves in any way that's not true, they'll see Steve's horns get longer yet, mark my words... Steve might not have an LMG sized budget, but he knows how to get companies to listen to him, even if, sometimes, it's at the tip of a loaded, and most times scathing, as well as 100% accurate video describing exactly what, when, where, why and how, they screwed the pooch, the gardener, the poolboy, the lady of the house, and, just everyone in general...
@@sophiethemasochisticninja7655 I don't think Buildzoid could make a short video unless he had outside help or a fuckton of pressure. Best he could do was like 30 minutes.
One reason, likely, the thru hole wasn't plated internally, is if that PCB does still have the same issue as the original, ie. having the "positive" conductor layer pierced by the mounting hole, then by plating it they would then be directly shorting to ground (negative) the positive layer. If you can either dig out some of the fiber on the inside of the hole to see if the positive layer is there (or have it x-rayed), then you can make a decision as to if the fire hazard issue is still present or not.
I've been saying it ever since I made the mistake of buying and then quickly never again buying NZXT cases for clients last year: they're a dumpster fire (literally)
Thanks for the heads up, Steve & team. I'm surprised NZXT would do that because it's so risky for their reputation. They've maneuvered their way onto my no-buy list for the next 5 years (maybe more).
It's really hard to find the correct words when a company takes not only its customers for idiots but also a tech channel that is known for being thorough. What exactly did they think would happen here? It's really mind boggling.
Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either. I always thought NZXT products were expensive, but higher quality with very good aesthetics on top. After seeing this video I have to assume it's more style than function. Will make me think twice about paying the premium for their stuff in the future.
I really appreciate how thorough your testing methodologies are and that you genuinely care about bringing more quality to the end-user. Through my time watching your videos I feel that my decisions pertaining to computer tech have become more informed and less impulsive. Thank you
I received two of the replacement PCIe riser cables for my wife's and my N1 case and both are of the better one with only 1 hole on each side. They were shipped to us about two weeks apart. Good luck to other N1 case owners.
You have to Sue them Steve. I was speaking to my lawyer about this. He went to Loyola Law and Georgetown and I worked for his practice for decades. Seek legal counsel or let me know if you need to liaise with him or anything but there’s multiple issues here on multiple levels and he said he would actually have to hire a couple lawyers to consult with over your case because of all the areas of issue spanning multiple legal specialties. He also said to make it clear RE: you suing for harm to your business’ credibility, this is not a petty “give me your money” suit. You can ask for the damages to simply be that they make things right by changing their internal practices and issues a statement committing to change and apologizing etc. you do not need to seek monetary damages. But you can guarantee everyone receives the proper hardware. That’s literally only a single aspect of legal specialties given the multiple variables in this situation. Breach of contract, fraud/defrauding and misleading your customers and putting them at risk a la GM deaths and recalls etc. anyway seek legal counsel please. And tbc it’s really NOT ABOUT YOU and NOT ABOUT NZXT at the end of the day and that’s what they’re failing to get. Although they’ve made it about you by using you as a launchpad to put out a literal and proverbial FIRE, which they accomplished only because of you, and now many people who think all is well are at risk again and your reputation is on the line.
Bought the H1 case a few weeks ago (I am aware of the fire hazard issue thanks to Tech Jesus) but what I got was the Nylon screws with cheese holes version. I reached out to them and earlier today NZXT told me they’ll be shipping it soon once they have stock. Lets see if they send me the perfect one OR the fixed cheese holes version. Will update after a few months.
In their defence, there could be a wider keepout around the screw holes than there was previously- so that only the ground plane layers on the riser are near the hole and the 12v layer has say, 3mm clearance. That might be invisible to casual observation but would prevent the issues noticed before, albeit in a cheaper way.
I have an H1 and was sent the 'good' replacement cable but I'll not be considering NZXT for anything else in the future. I guess that will make my hardware and case decisions easier with one less company to consider.
It's amazing just how badly they have dealt with this FIRE HAZARD situation... As a consumer I have totally lost faith in their products. They are gonna have an uphill battle to clear their reputation.
The contact was traced through in the screw area on the OG and since this Isn't plated all the way through, won't that start another fire on the exposed contact trace?
@@SuperQBoi It's less likely that the screw will dig into the material because the hole is bigger. But: If the 12V plane still extends right up to the perimeter of the hole, another short circuit is very possible. I don't like the emphasis GN puts on the plating of the hole. It distracts from the actual problem. The plating does not matter AT ALL. The 12V planes distance to the hole does.
Having been through a design flaw that was similar in seriousness once long ago, we destroyed every bad device and no thought was even given to doing a “rework” of the bad ones. Every customer got a redesign that was better in multiple ways at our cost, which was considerable. What the reworked one tells me is that engineers weren’t in control of the process to fix it, bean counters were. And that’s all I need to know to avoid NZXT products forever.
Hello, welp I never used risers till I got a core P3. But now I see the appeal, but it’s expected to see companies cutting corners these days..... sadly
I have never put anything from NZXT into any of my builds, but after this final conclusion to this saga I 100% will never put anything NZXT branded in any computer I build for the foreseeable future. I will take better quality parts from another manufacturer at a higher cost than a fire hazard and potential hassle with my insurance company any day. Thank you and your team for the deep dives that you do on hardware to help us.
I'm glad you're here to show us consumers the truth of the situation! Especially since this could be damaging to your ability to get funding, since you're definitely not getting nzxt sponsor spots.
Just commenting for those with this case who are still trying to use it... I received my NEW replacement riser from NZXT today that contains the riser assembly that looks just like the one GN was originally sent to test and X-ray. I can't confirm it's the exact same build but it does look different than the other replacement risers that were being sent out. This one has no "cheese grater" holes that seem extraneous and seems to be a purpose-built PCB rather than one that was repurposed from old stock. Your mileage may vary, but if you got the garbage replacement version, ask NZXT to get the better-engineered version and you may end up with a win. Good luck!
I bought the H510 some years ago on the basis of GN's positive review. Now, because of this video, I also won't be buying any of NZXT's product in the future. Thanks Steve!
NZXT is completely dead to me at this point. The good replacement cable was their chance for redemption. Everyone gets one of those, no more major screwups in the future, and everything is good. But instead they baited and switched and now I can't trust them to care about product safety, honesty, and simply doing the right thing. Hope it was all worth it, NZXT.
Interestingly enough, I have yet to receive a new riser. It took NZXT 2(!!) months to send me the nylon screw kit, which I received last month. And there is no sign of a riser yet. Thanks for this video, I have now told them that they don't need to bother sending a riser if they're not sending the 'original new riser', then I'll just take a refund.
sadly yes, but they did it this way because its not a situation of "sorry we made a bad product" its more of a "sorry we got caught" because had this issue never appeared before, they would have never aimed to fix it in any capacity
yea, with the bulk purchasing of parts it would prob not have cost NZXT more than $5 a rig to fix them all the proper way. Now they will lose out millions in revenue because they decided to put money over people and the PC community found out....
Went to see the PCIe replacement they sent me after watching the video, I received it a few weeks ago but haven't had the time to deal with it... I was convinced that I was getting what GN showed. Well. This was my first and last purchase from this brand period.
I have my current build in an S340. I like the look of it, but there are some little niggling quality issues with things like the hardware it came with. Like thumb screws being difficult to put in and remove. Or the fact that both stock fans started to rattle within a few months of owning it. I replaced those with Fractal Designs Silent Series, and they've been chugging along fine since. Never had issues like this with my previous cases. Had a Thermaltake Soprano for over a decade beforehand. That thing was built like a tank.
