The NZXT H440 is clearly taking all its design elements from the larger H630 to incorporate them into a mid-tower chassis. That said, the insides of the H440 are almost completely different, which does not necessarily mean that it is worse off. NZXT's excellent use of metal instead of plastic to cover the top and front of the frame really make this case stand out; it is also very nice to see very little plastic used on the exterior of a chassis with such a price point. There is the fact that the H440 comes with four high-quality 140 mm fans right out of the box and enough room for additional units in the ceiling, or a potent 280 mm or 360 mm liquid-cooling setup. There are also its numerous white lighting elements; these really add to its WOW! factor once the system is up and running.
While all this sounds awesome, there are a few things that are not. The biggest issue and a potential deal-breaker to some is the lack of an external drive bay. Even users that no longer use an optical drive may want the option to put in a hot-swap bay or a fan controller instead. NZXT may be called ingenious or foolish for its omission in retrospective, but only time will tell which. There is also the somewhat inefficient use of space in the front as more hard drive trays would have fit. While this is no deal-breaker, the H440 could easily hold more without sacrificing any of its cooling options. The third issue is the limited amount of space behind the motherboard tray, especially in combination with the panel's lining of sound-dampening material. While you should be able to route most of the leads of a default configuration through this area, doing so will most certainly damage the material as you put the side panel back into place. While this is not a performance-specific issue, it does hurt a bit as you are knowingly destroying something you essentially paid for. Another issue and an easy fix for NZXT is the restrictive PSU bay. The company should make the opening in the back slightly bigger to increase PSU compatibility.
There are luckily plenty of things that are pretty awesome. Let me rattle them down for added effect: metal hard-drive trays, dust filters, sound dampening everywhere, cool lighting, loads of fans, dedicated PSU cover, metal panels, loads of space for large hardware components, and a good price. The NZXT H440 is an incredible case for those who do not need an external drive bay and have a PSU that will fit.