NZXT Source 340 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Introduction

Earlier this year we brought you news of the new NZXT Source 340 (S340), the new budget friendly mid-tower from one of the industries leading chassis manufacturers. Now we’re very happy to bring you the full review of the latest chassis from NZXT. The S340 is the latest edition to the Source range, and there have been some pretty big changes to the general design. Gone are the sweeping curves and large sections of mesh ventilation. Now we have bold flat panels and a very minimalist look that has more in common with the H440 than it does with previous entries to the Source series.

Priced at just under 70 EUR, the S340 does have a focus on being more affordable. However, NZXT has really pulled out all the stops to pack this chassis full of unique features, high quality components and more to make it incredible value for money. The chassis comes fitted with dust filters, a large side panel window, high-quality fans, a PSU shroud and more.

The S340 comes in a choice of black and white finishes. There’s support for 120mm and 140mm fans; although two 120mm fans come pre-installed. There’s easily room for high-end components; the chassis will handle 334-364mm long graphics cards, 161mm tall CPU cooler, mini-ITX to ATX motherboards and more.

While I normally mention packaging here, this S340 was shipped to me directly from the factory; it came in a plain brown box that is of little interest to consumers.

Exterior

The left side panel on the S340 is held in place by a pair of thumb screws at the back of the chassis; so quickly accessing your components should be easy enough. There is a huge crystal clear window too; perfect for showing off your build.

The right side panel is just a plain panel, which is great for showing you that brilliant white paint job.

Another bold white panel on the front of the chassis. You’ll notice the S340 has no optical drive bays; just like the H440.

You’ll find HD audio jacks, a pair of USB 3.0 ports and the main power buttons in the top right. Here you can also see a magnetic dust filters that runs right down the front of the chassis.

At the back you’ll find the motherboard I/O cut-out, a 120mm fan mount, seven expansion slots with snap-off covers and the PSU mount. The PSU mount features a removable bracket which is fitted to your PSU prior to installation.

There’s a 120mm fan in the top of the chassis, but the mount also supports an optional 140mm fan.

There are four durable plastic feet on the bottom with rubber grips; these provide good ground clearance for the PSU air intake, which has a clip-in mesh air filter.

Interior

The interior of the S340 has been treated to a matte black finish that provides a nice contrast to the gloss white exterior and some parts of the interior. There is a large CPU cooler mounting cut-out behind the motherboard.

In the base you’ll find a huge PSU shroud that should work wonders for hiding your cables and the entire PSU out of sight. On top of the shroud you’ll find two 2.5″ drive mounts with removable brackets, as well as three cable routing holes.

Towards the front there is some ventilation, with angled fins to help drive airflow from your front mounted fans towards your CPU and GPU.

There is a good quality 120mm exhaust fan pre-installed in the back of the chassis.

There are seven expansion slots on the S340, unfortunately they feature the cheaper snap-off covers. This does help keep the cost down, but they also look very cheap in my opinion.

Cable management is handed by this cool looking cable cover. There’s loads of space to route cables to the back of the chassis, and the top section is enlarged to allow easy passage of your 24-pin motherboard cable.

All the pre-installed fans in this chassis come with 3-pin headers and removable molex adaptors for maximum compatibility.

Behind the motherboard you’ll find a range of cable routing cut-out at the front and top of the chassis. There’s a good range of cable tie loops around the chassis to help keep cables in check. Most importantly there is a vast amount of cable management space in the base; allowing all the boring stuff to be tucked out of sight under the PSU shroud.

Your PSU takes airflow from the base of the chassis and there’s more than enough room for longer enthusiast-grade PSUs.

Tucked away near the front you’ll find a pair of 3.5″ bays and below that another 2.5″ mount on the base of the chassis.

The cable cover is removable and features extra cable tie loops to aid with cable management.

Complete System

The NZXT Source 340 is really easy to work with in general, but it’s certainly a little different that most chassis. First I installed the PSU under the shroud, ready to pre-route cables prior to installing all other major components.

Hard drives installed in the rear section of the chassis.

Turning the case around you can see I’ve got everything installed. The total build time was just 30 minutes, which is about my average time for a mid-tower build. The chassis is fairly easy to work with and having the PSU and some of the storage tucked away under the shroud is a blessing when it comes to cable management; look how clear this front section is!

Our ADATA 128GB SSD screwed straight into the bracket with ease and there is plenty of space behind it to route cables both to the drive and to the bottom edge of the motherboard. There is also a small routing hole to the right; this is perfect for routing cables to graphics cards.

GPU clearance simply isn’t an issue, the Sapphire R9 270X is no small card, but there is a vast amount of space for a much longer card should you need one.

The cable cover working perfectly. I had my doubts about this cover, but I think it actually looks neater than grommets and it’s a lot more capable at handing cables.

Loads of clearance around the motherboard for good airflow, good news if you have a large CPU cooler or a rear mounted radiator.

Even with our long graphics card installed, there is still plenty of room for a thick radiator setup in the front panel.

With the side panel back in place you can really appreciate just how clear that window really is; that extra tidy cable management really pays off here.

Overall a very sleek and nice looking build, certainly a very good chassis for those who love to show off the interior of their rig.

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The pre-order for the NZXT Source 340 is just £54.95 + shipping from Overclockers.co.uk and can already be purchased in the US for $87.29 from Amazon.com. This is great value for money given the range of features and the quality on offer. The Source 340 is also covered by a standard 2 year warranty.

Overview

The Source 340 is one of the biggest innovations on the chassis market right now. It’s quite clever that almost nothing on this chassis is new, original or that innovative in a sense, at least to my eyes, but the chassis as a whole unit is. The PSU shroud is something that the modding community has been doing for a while now and NZXT even did something similar on their recently released H440. The cable guard to the right of the motherboard has been done by modders many times over, but NZXT are the first to put it into a consumer ready product (that I know of). Then we’ve got the complete lack of optical drive bays and no USB 2.0 ports, two bits of technology which are slowly going the way of the Dodo.

You’ve got front mounted hard drive bays for 2.5″ drives, but standard 3.5″ drive bays in the front of the chassis are gone, leaving a staggering amount of space for long graphics cards and thick front mounted radiators. This is basically taking what modders have been doing for ages; only NZXT has now stripped out the drive bays for you.

Then you’ve got the exterior design, it’s pretty minimalist, which is a polite way of saying bland. However, it’s been treated with a sleek paint job and a crystal clear side panel window that shows off that stunning interior. The chassis manages to be subtle from the front, but incredibly flashy when viewed from the left side.

The only minor oversights I can see with this chassis is that I don’t like the design of the top mounted fan vent and that there are snap off covers on the expansion slots. This chassis is very budget friendly given its spec, but surely they could bump the price up a tiny bit to include decent looking reusable covers!

The price certainly is a focal point for the Source 340, it’s got all the features I would expect on a premium grade chassis at mid-budget prices. There are tiny compromises here and there, but the end result is that you get a whole lot of cool features for your money.

Pros

• Reliable build quality
• Dust filters
• PSU shroud
• Excellent cable routing
• Ultra-long GPU support
• Competitive price
• Clear side panel window

Cons

• Snap-off expansion slot covers

“The Source 340 is one of the most competitive chassis’ on the market right now. It has enough features to put many other chassis’ in its class to shame, and it does it at a price that will leave a smile on your face. It looks great, it’s packed full of features and it’s a little unique; you would be mad not to at least consider this for your next build or upgrade.”

NZXT Source 340 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Thank you NZXT for providing us with this sample.