NZXT Source 340 review

The NZXT Source 340 feels incredibly robust. It’s made predominantly from steel, which gives it fantastic build quality and is also very pleasant to the touch. The front and side panels are glossy and you get a choice of either black or white models. Our black model looked particularly sleek. The top of the case has a matt metallic finish.

Every part of the case feels premium and well finished, and there’s no hint of any rough or sharp edges. The case’s cable management works well. Your power supply’s cables sit behind the motherboard tray, and you thread them through a vertical slot in front of the motherboard. There’s a vertical metal bar covering this slot equipped with cable clips, and you attach your cables to this bar at the right elevation for your various components. This means you don’t have to thread your cables through fiddly grommets from the rear of the motherboard tray.

The Source 340 takes ATX, microATX and Mini-ITX motherboards and standoffs are pre-installed in the case, which might help you get up and running more quickly. There’s a cut-out in the motherboard tray that will make it easier to install any CPU cooler that requires a back plate. We were able to install a 160mm-high cooler without any problem. You also get just over 330mm of clearance for a graphics card, which is plenty for any current model.

There’s a 120mm fan installed on the rear of the case, and the front has mounts for two 120 or 140mm fans or radiators, but we were disappointed to see that no front fans were included with the case. The top of the chassis can take a 120mm or 140mm fan, and a 120mm model is preinstalled. We felt the exposed top-mounted fan spoilt the look of the case, however.

There are two 3.5in drive bays in the bottom of the case, next to the PSU mounting point. Above that are two bays for 2.5in drives. There are no 5 1/4in bays, so you won’t be able to fit an optical drive. The relatively small number of drive bays makes this more a gaming case than a good basis for a powerful video-editing PC.

The Source 340 is overall a very competent case. It’s a pleasure to work inside and the cable management is neat. It certainly beats the SilverStone Quiet Precision PS11 for looks, but can’t match it for value.