Depth in which direction? If you're talking about making the case thinner sideways, then the reason is because people want to put large tower heatsinks.
Do we really need a 36cm deep case to fit a 240mm radiator? The 90º folds in the chassis should be able to support holes for mounting a radiator, so a depth of 26cm ought to be plenty, for GPU compatibility 30cm probably makes sense (with the PCI brackets extending out the back).
I suppose the same question can be asked of why not a Mini ITX motherboard though; it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot, as IMO it's usually better to just get a single card and upgrade it later, as multi-card setups are almost always disappointing.
I do wish we'd get away from the longer cards actually, as there are too few good half-length offerings, though the 960 from Nvidia and the new Nano from AMD seem like good options. What we really need are more shorter cards with liquid cooling integrated, as it really opens up the possibilities for smaller systems.
Your points are all valid, but in general I feel desktops should keep their size. Laptops and tablets, even cell phones are taking over in terms of compact computing. The charm of the desktop is that it still has the big bays for DVDs and hard drives and giant radiators/fans.
Pretty soon we should be able to get rid of the big optical drives though, they're already on the way out. The mass storage devices can be relocated and overall I agree with your suggestions.
I also find multi GPU setups not worth the risk and cost, prefer to get a high end card and keep it for a few years. The large cards are difficult to fit in all cases.
What risks are you talking about in terms of mutli GPU set up. Its rather simple and with say the Nvidia 900 series cards your talking about almost half of the power consumption of previous generation cards. I have a MSI 980 GTX SLI set up it was cake to put in. On top of that the cards are near silent in everyday computing. Even with games running max its still pretty quite compared to cards of the past.
Also this case was never geared towards you its geared towards a computer enthusiast. I recently built a monster gaming rig using the NZXT H440. While it looks somewhat traditional it lacks all bays for various legacy drives. Internally its been covereted into HDD/SSD slots.
Also if you do not like this case there is a tremendous selection of many other slim cases, micro cases etc.
"it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot"
I have a GPU, PCIe SSD and a PCIe sound card. No way I'd manage with just one PCIe slot. Mini ITX lacks expandability. You buy a new Mini ITX system and are happy with it for a while. Then you start thinking about some additions, like a sound card with a headphone amp or a super-fast SSD for games or whatever. Later on your GPU starts lagging behind in the newest games and you think it would be a cheaper upgrade to get a second GPU for SLI on CrossFire. But you can't get anything because your only PCIe slot is taken by the GPU. Mini ITX also lacks the space for M.2 SSDs and often comes with less DDR memory slots than ATX mobos. Even adding memory means you have to buy a new kit with more RAM per stick, instead of just getting two extra sticks to accompany the original ones.
Mini ITX is ok if you want a small, portable system for LAN parties. Also for basic users who don't know anything about upgrading their systems with more stuff. But IMHO, for a "power user" who doesn't want to buy a new system every time he wants to upgrade something, it just isn't enough.
You make a bad generalization about mini-ITX cases and the expertise of those who build them. Mini-ITX builders know very well the trade-offs inherent with the smaller footprint. Those storage items you cite (SSD, M.2 SSD) can easily be added to mini-ITX systems, including M.2 as long as the motherboard supports it. Other limitations you quote (2nd GPU, more than two RAM slots) are understood by mini-ITX builders. They also understand you can add external peripherals as well, like an external sound card.
When I built my own mini-ITX system, I knew exactly what I wanted. I also knew that if I really wanted to get two GPUs later, I would need a different case. I didn't want a hulking tower case that could fit 3 GPUs and a ton of fans. I was perfectly fine with the GPU I spec'ed out, the SFX PSU needed to support that GPU, the 2 x 8GB DDR, and the SSD I wanted.
If anything, I would say mini-ITX builders have to be more discerning in understanding what they want because of the design constraints of the smaller footprint.
with the smaller cases and mini boards, you will have problems with keeping her cool, in general - smaller the case - the hotter it runs. Full towers - are the standard for "balls to the wall" gamers, and for good reason....more space...more air - and cooler temps.
I'll disagree with the generalization that full towers = cooler temps.
If a case is designed with good *air flow*, then it will do well with cooling. A poorly designed case, even a full tower, will have problems no matter what internal volume it might have.
The biggest issue is case makers are always trying to cater the largest possible market and they end up straddling weird lines...
This NZXT design would indeed work better for a M-ATX or ultra quiet build. I doubt anyone that's gonna use SLI/CF (much less water cooling) is gonna be very interested in this, so why bother catering to those markets.
I'm a CF, sound card, and ODD user myself, and I still struggle to find cases that meet my needs perfectly. I have little need for half a dozen 3.5" bays but all enthusiast cases seem built to house a server array of discs...
My Corasair Air 540 is working alright for now, specially for the price I paid, tho I still feel it wastes too much space on the right hand compartment.
"Do we really need a 36cm deep case to fit a 240mm radiator?"
Yes, next question.
"I suppose the same question can be asked of why not a Mini ITX motherboard though; it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot, as IMO it's usually better to just get a single card and upgrade it later, as multi-card setups are almost always disappointing."
Wrong.
"I do wish we'd get away from the longer cards actually, as there are too few good half-length offerings, though the 960 from Nvidia and the new Nano from AMD seem like good options."
Those are for small-form-factor builds only. If you want an SFF build, build one. This is an ATX case and isn't meant for that.
I think the irony is the case is 36cm deep (long) yet the expansion slot design leaves that huge gap around the screws. This will invite bugs and rodents to live in the case. My rule of thumb is no openings greater than 1/4" in a PC case and that gap is nearly 3/4" all around. You might as well just leave all the expansion slot covers off!
Considering the already lengthy depth, they could have just added 1/2" (a few centimeters) too the overall length, recessing the I/O plates, but the stamping was probably too expensive for the budget compared to using a "flat" back where the expansion slot "gap" was actually created by stamping out the lip. Definitely an economical solution, but at least include a cover?
When I used to service PC's in Chicago, I came across this a lot. Fortunately I never had to deal with a live infestation, usually just droppings. But I'd say it was more common in the 90's and early 00's than these days where custom built PC's are virtually non-existent outside of the enthusiast. But even still, someone often leaves a dust cover off and something gets in and takes a piss all over the back of the videocard.
PC's offer a warm, dark, secluded space, very attractive to pests.
Can't say I've ever seen that after 10+ years of small business IT work in Puerto Rico (and a lot of places I've worked don't even have central AC etc)... I have seen a handful of old systems literally choke and overheat on dust sucked in from every pore tho.
Where were these people keeping their PCs? Outside? Or are they living in filth? LOL. The only thing I can think of possibly entering a computer case in my house is a spider, but even then I've never come across more than cobwebs in a PC case before.
I've literally never had a bug enter any electronic device that I have owned in my entire life. Are you keeping your computer outdoors? Do you never clean your house?
I feel it would be preferrable to use liters instead of cubic meters when listing the volume of a case. For the NZXT S3430 the volume is 38.4 liters which I prefer to 0.0384 cubic meters. For small mini-ITX cases, the volume is often listed in liters.
Fitting the monster GPUs of today is one reason... At least AMD is trying to end that trend with the super-short Fury cards. But yeah other than that GPU length has gotten out of hand IMO.
You would be correct on that. My MSI 980 GTX is about as long as they get in terms of length. I would of been screwed getting it into a smaller case other then the one I recently chose.
I think the main reason for them being longer all of a sudden is to spread out the electronics for heat dissipation.
Good to see more cases ditching the 5.25" drive bays. I haven't put one of these drives in a system since 2005. USB DVD RW works well enough in the rare case I need to use it. Even for OS installs, I just use flash drive since it's faster.
With that being said, I do wish they made an add-on item for extra 2.5"/3.5" bays to go where the 5.25" drives would have been. Something similar to the removable drive bays we've seen in other cases.
So, i'm assuming HSF (first page, by GPU clearance) is in reference to a CPU cooler? It certainly looks like a nice, minimalistic case - cable routing to the bottom right corner of a motherboard would look fairly difficult as I don't think the cables were meant to be run in front of the cable holding panel thing. I wonder though, how much clearance is there from the top fan to the motherboard, as some motherboard heat sinks are really thick and the provided example build picture doesn't really illustrate if that may be a problem.
Good catch on the negative pressure airflow problem for cooling the HDD's. Good review/read; if I could make a suggestion, I think you should have also added the Bitfenix prodigy as a temperature/price comparison. Crank out more case reviews!
It actually is a really nice looking case. I'm glad to see more minimalistic, less gaudy designs. Some of these cases over the years have been ridiculous. Even the likes of Silverstone aren't immune to aesthetic screw-ups (the Raven's, in my opinion, are ridiculous looking, especially when they are internally similar to the fantastic looking Fortress's)
At first I thought this is ... "odd-free" design, and wondered what is that 'odd' means ? everything comes in even number ? Then I realized later that it actually is "ODD-free" (as Optical Disc Drive). Take me a few hours to realize lol.
I like the overall style of the case, but I personally find it a little bit large though I understand there are some space compromises that have to be made to handle ATX specifications. What I think is a bigger problem is the lack of USB ports. With there being no optical drive, I think an increase in front or top accessible USB ports becomes more important for things like memory card readers, flash drives, or occasional USB ROM drives since file exchanges don't always happen over a network connection.
People are so eager to ditch ODDs, might as well use USB hubs too instead of front ports! Just being facetious, I know the latter takes up little room, probably just a sacrifice in order to hit their price point.
I'm not sure there's a good reason to push along the demise of optical media. Yes, very slow, takes a lot up a lot of space, and is losing relevance over time, but in a desktop system where space isn't typically a major concern there's not as much of a reason to abandon optical drives very quickly. Laptops, on the other hand, benefit from it because the space can be reclaimed to reduce the system's footprint, allocate space for more effective cooling, increase battery capacity or whatever else.
Anyway, yes, it's probably a cost related matter that resulted in there being only a couple of USB ports and an external hub would solve the problem, though it'd be a sort of awkward solution to a problem that really shouldn't have existed in the first place.
Oh I agree, I still buy some movies AND music on disc and if I can have it in a bay I'd much rather have that than another external device cluttering my desk...
There's already 3 displays, 2 amps (Emotiva for speakers, Asgard 2 for hp) and soon a DAC on my desk, and the external backup HDD occupies the sliver of space next to the case on the file cabinet it sits on.
I actually view half a dozen 3.5" bays (on other cases) as a larger waste of space than one or two 5.25" bays which can also be used for card readers, fan controllers, etc.
3.5" bays also tend to take up a sizeable chunk of internal space and they complicate thermals whereas a 5.25" bay can be designed in vertically or atop the entire rest of the chassis (without increasing it's volume outwards by more than the bay's thickness rather than a few 3.5" bays' length.
Oh c'mon they're not *that* old. I'm guessing you also missed the mobo is P55--LGA1156? :P They probably just have "old" components lying around to do case reviews--it's not like you need a Haswell i7 in there and GTX 980 Tis, just to do a case review.
I'm pretty sure I've seen this same components in other case reviews so they must be their go-to stuff for such reviews.
IMO they *should* be using new components and actually installing full systems in these cases, instead of this weird "fake computer load" thing this guy does. But everyone has mentioned this many times on the (somewhat useless) case reviews this guy does.
Older high end GPU's work great for testing clearances and cooling capabilities of cases. Performance doesnt matter but size and heat generation are similar to current cards. (Although the reviewer in this article uses simulated loads for thermal testing, not those GPU's)
I've had this case for a while now and I really like it. I agree the 3.5" drive bays probably aren't the best, but I personally don't use them. Two 2.5" drives are all I need (1 SSD 1 7200 RPM). If you want a big gaudy case that can fit a dozen 3.5" drives there are plenty out there. This case is clearly marketed for someone with minimalistic needs, something that looks great but blends in well to just about any home style, and something that can still pack a serious punch performance wise.
Cable management/hiding is also fantastic with this case. I love NZXT's use of the PSU shroud to cover that whole mess, makes for a great place to just stuff all your wires. First thing people ask me when they see it and look through the window; "Where are all the cables?".
For me buying this case wasn't about the money. I could have easily afforded the H440, but I just like the looks and minimalistic design of the S340 better.
Silverstone's cases are crap quality, but their layouts and compact case sizing with good airflow consistently make me overlook their shoddy material and finish. I wish Lian Li got with it on that same level of efficient layout.
Sounds like a bunch of kids, upset with their lollipops. I found this case ( as well as the 440 ) to be very nice cases - well thought out. very easy digital build in the 230 - I went with a MSI Krait ( b/w ) 4 sticks of hyper ( 2 black - 2 white), and a Devils Canyon i7, 2 - GTX SSC 960's (black) 2 Intel 730 'skulls' in the window - with a black Sam Pro 512 850 in it's tray ( it will hold total of 6 SSD's ) Kraken wet one up front. LQQQks nice.....Runs nice.
I mean...gawwd that mobo is uuugly...lol, blue n blue n beige...I would of hid that rig behind a "windowless" case.. yup one fugly board thar doood. Why would you spend the time and/or bucks putting in that wiring on that thang. What a waste....of time. lol orange wires/cards lmao.
I had a slight clearance issue with over long screws on an AMD board with an (old but excellent) ASUS Silent Square http://www.anandtech.com/show/2210. More modern boards will have the holes lower down so less of an issue.
The fans were louder than I expected, I've always rated NZXT fans in the past but these seemed a bit too much.
The lack of ODD trays means that there's room for a thick 2x140mm radiator in push pull.
"It remains strange why NZXT installed a 120 mm fan at the top of the S340, where a 140 mm can fit."
Cost. Duh. Come on.
"On the other hand, the S340 is far too plain and the flat surfaces are cold and uninspiring, so it may look out of place in a modern environment or in a youth's room."
Uh, looks like it fits just fine in a "modern environment" to me.
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48 Comments
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zepi - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Why are these cases so huge in terms of depth? I'd think that removal of 5.25" and 3.5" bays would allow for much more compat case designs.Shadow7037932 - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Depth in which direction? If you're talking about making the case thinner sideways, then the reason is because people want to put large tower heatsinks.zepi - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Depth in terms of measure from front to back.Shadow7037932 - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
To fit larger longer GPUs and radiators.mr_tawan - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
It's for 240mm radiator.Haravikk - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Do we really need a 36cm deep case to fit a 240mm radiator? The 90º folds in the chassis should be able to support holes for mounting a radiator, so a depth of 26cm ought to be plenty, for GPU compatibility 30cm probably makes sense (with the PCI brackets extending out the back).I suppose the same question can be asked of why not a Mini ITX motherboard though; it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot, as IMO it's usually better to just get a single card and upgrade it later, as multi-card setups are almost always disappointing.
I do wish we'd get away from the longer cards actually, as there are too few good half-length offerings, though the 960 from Nvidia and the new Nano from AMD seem like good options. What we really need are more shorter cards with liquid cooling integrated, as it really opens up the possibilities for smaller systems.
niva - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Your points are all valid, but in general I feel desktops should keep their size. Laptops and tablets, even cell phones are taking over in terms of compact computing. The charm of the desktop is that it still has the big bays for DVDs and hard drives and giant radiators/fans.Pretty soon we should be able to get rid of the big optical drives though, they're already on the way out. The mass storage devices can be relocated and overall I agree with your suggestions.
I also find multi GPU setups not worth the risk and cost, prefer to get a high end card and keep it for a few years. The large cards are difficult to fit in all cases.
powerwiz - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - link
What risks are you talking about in terms of mutli GPU set up. Its rather simple and with say the Nvidia 900 series cards your talking about almost half of the power consumption of previous generation cards. I have a MSI 980 GTX SLI set up it was cake to put in. On top of that the cards are near silent in everyday computing. Even with games running max its still pretty quite compared to cards of the past.Also this case was never geared towards you its geared towards a computer enthusiast. I recently built a monster gaming rig using the NZXT H440. While it looks somewhat traditional it lacks all bays for various legacy drives. Internally its been covereted into HDD/SSD slots.
Also if you do not like this case there is a tremendous selection of many other slim cases, micro cases etc.
Kepe - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
"it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot"I have a GPU, PCIe SSD and a PCIe sound card. No way I'd manage with just one PCIe slot. Mini ITX lacks expandability. You buy a new Mini ITX system and are happy with it for a while. Then you start thinking about some additions, like a sound card with a headphone amp or a super-fast SSD for games or whatever. Later on your GPU starts lagging behind in the newest games and you think it would be a cheaper upgrade to get a second GPU for SLI on CrossFire. But you can't get anything because your only PCIe slot is taken by the GPU. Mini ITX also lacks the space for M.2 SSDs and often comes with less DDR memory slots than ATX mobos. Even adding memory means you have to buy a new kit with more RAM per stick, instead of just getting two extra sticks to accompany the original ones.
Mini ITX is ok if you want a small, portable system for LAN parties. Also for basic users who don't know anything about upgrading their systems with more stuff. But IMHO, for a "power user" who doesn't want to buy a new system every time he wants to upgrade something, it just isn't enough.
romrunning - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
You make a bad generalization about mini-ITX cases and the expertise of those who build them. Mini-ITX builders know very well the trade-offs inherent with the smaller footprint. Those storage items you cite (SSD, M.2 SSD) can easily be added to mini-ITX systems, including M.2 as long as the motherboard supports it. Other limitations you quote (2nd GPU, more than two RAM slots) are understood by mini-ITX builders. They also understand you can add external peripherals as well, like an external sound card.When I built my own mini-ITX system, I knew exactly what I wanted. I also knew that if I really wanted to get two GPUs later, I would need a different case. I didn't want a hulking tower case that could fit 3 GPUs and a ton of fans. I was perfectly fine with the GPU I spec'ed out, the SFX PSU needed to support that GPU, the 2 x 8GB DDR, and the SSD I wanted.
If anything, I would say mini-ITX builders have to be more discerning in understanding what they want because of the design constraints of the smaller footprint.
HQQKrWithAPC - Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - link
with the smaller cases and mini boards, you will have problems with keeping her cool, in general - smaller the case - the hotter it runs. Full towers - are the standard for "balls to the wall" gamers, and for good reason....more space...more air - and cooler temps.romrunning - Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - link
@HQQKrWithAPCI'll disagree with the generalization that full towers = cooler temps.
If a case is designed with good *air flow*, then it will do well with cooling. A poorly designed case, even a full tower, will have problems no matter what internal volume it might have.
Impulses - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
The biggest issue is case makers are always trying to cater the largest possible market and they end up straddling weird lines...This NZXT design would indeed work better for a M-ATX or ultra quiet build. I doubt anyone that's gonna use SLI/CF (much less water cooling) is gonna be very interested in this, so why bother catering to those markets.
I'm a CF, sound card, and ODD user myself, and I still struggle to find cases that meet my needs perfectly. I have little need for half a dozen 3.5" bays but all enthusiast cases seem built to house a server array of discs...
My Corasair Air 540 is working alright for now, specially for the price I paid, tho I still feel it wastes too much space on the right hand compartment.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
"Do we really need a 36cm deep case to fit a 240mm radiator?"Yes, next question.
"I suppose the same question can be asked of why not a Mini ITX motherboard though; it's rare to see anyone actually needing more than one PCIe slot, as IMO it's usually better to just get a single card and upgrade it later, as multi-card setups are almost always disappointing."
Wrong.
"I do wish we'd get away from the longer cards actually, as there are too few good half-length offerings, though the 960 from Nvidia and the new Nano from AMD seem like good options."
Those are for small-form-factor builds only. If you want an SFF build, build one. This is an ATX case and isn't meant for that.
Samus - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I think the irony is the case is 36cm deep (long) yet the expansion slot design leaves that huge gap around the screws. This will invite bugs and rodents to live in the case. My rule of thumb is no openings greater than 1/4" in a PC case and that gap is nearly 3/4" all around. You might as well just leave all the expansion slot covers off!Considering the already lengthy depth, they could have just added 1/2" (a few centimeters) too the overall length, recessing the I/O plates, but the stamping was probably too expensive for the budget compared to using a "flat" back where the expansion slot "gap" was actually created by stamping out the lip. Definitely an economical solution, but at least include a cover?
Flunk - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I think that might be a location specific issue, with rodents and insects. I've never had problems like that.Samus - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
When I used to service PC's in Chicago, I came across this a lot. Fortunately I never had to deal with a live infestation, usually just droppings. But I'd say it was more common in the 90's and early 00's than these days where custom built PC's are virtually non-existent outside of the enthusiast. But even still, someone often leaves a dust cover off and something gets in and takes a piss all over the back of the videocard.PC's offer a warm, dark, secluded space, very attractive to pests.
Impulses - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Can't say I've ever seen that after 10+ years of small business IT work in Puerto Rico (and a lot of places I've worked don't even have central AC etc)... I have seen a handful of old systems literally choke and overheat on dust sucked in from every pore tho.ES_Revenge - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Where were these people keeping their PCs? Outside? Or are they living in filth? LOL. The only thing I can think of possibly entering a computer case in my house is a spider, but even then I've never come across more than cobwebs in a PC case before.Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
I've literally never had a bug enter any electronic device that I have owned in my entire life. Are you keeping your computer outdoors? Do you never clean your house?Qrash - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I feel it would be preferrable to use liters instead of cubic meters when listing the volume of a case. For the NZXT S3430 the volume is 38.4 liters which I prefer to 0.0384 cubic meters. For small mini-ITX cases, the volume is often listed in liters.Wardrop - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I agree. Litres seems to be more standard in the industry.ES_Revenge - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Fitting the monster GPUs of today is one reason... At least AMD is trying to end that trend with the super-short Fury cards. But yeah other than that GPU length has gotten out of hand IMO.powerwiz - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - link
You would be correct on that. My MSI 980 GTX is about as long as they get in terms of length. I would of been screwed getting it into a smaller case other then the one I recently chose.I think the main reason for them being longer all of a sudden is to spread out the electronics for heat dissipation.
Shadow7037932 - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Good to see more cases ditching the 5.25" drive bays. I haven't put one of these drives in a system since 2005. USB DVD RW works well enough in the rare case I need to use it. Even for OS installs, I just use flash drive since it's faster.With that being said, I do wish they made an add-on item for extra 2.5"/3.5" bays to go where the 5.25" drives would have been. Something similar to the removable drive bays we've seen in other cases.
Sushisamurai - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
So, i'm assuming HSF (first page, by GPU clearance) is in reference to a CPU cooler? It certainly looks like a nice, minimalistic case - cable routing to the bottom right corner of a motherboard would look fairly difficult as I don't think the cables were meant to be run in front of the cable holding panel thing. I wonder though, how much clearance is there from the top fan to the motherboard, as some motherboard heat sinks are really thick and the provided example build picture doesn't really illustrate if that may be a problem.Good catch on the negative pressure airflow problem for cooling the HDD's. Good review/read; if I could make a suggestion, I think you should have also added the Bitfenix prodigy as a temperature/price comparison. Crank out more case reviews!
Samus - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
It actually is a really nice looking case. I'm glad to see more minimalistic, less gaudy designs. Some of these cases over the years have been ridiculous. Even the likes of Silverstone aren't immune to aesthetic screw-ups (the Raven's, in my opinion, are ridiculous looking, especially when they are internally similar to the fantastic looking Fortress's)jabber - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Would look even better with no windows.mr_tawan - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
At first I thought this is ... "odd-free" design, and wondered what is that 'odd' means ? everything comes in even number ? Then I realized later that it actually is "ODD-free" (as Optical Disc Drive). Take me a few hours to realize lol.BrokenCrayons - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I like the overall style of the case, but I personally find it a little bit large though I understand there are some space compromises that have to be made to handle ATX specifications. What I think is a bigger problem is the lack of USB ports. With there being no optical drive, I think an increase in front or top accessible USB ports becomes more important for things like memory card readers, flash drives, or occasional USB ROM drives since file exchanges don't always happen over a network connection.Impulses - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
People are so eager to ditch ODDs, might as well use USB hubs too instead of front ports! Just being facetious, I know the latter takes up little room, probably just a sacrifice in order to hit their price point.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - link
I'm not sure there's a good reason to push along the demise of optical media. Yes, very slow, takes a lot up a lot of space, and is losing relevance over time, but in a desktop system where space isn't typically a major concern there's not as much of a reason to abandon optical drives very quickly. Laptops, on the other hand, benefit from it because the space can be reclaimed to reduce the system's footprint, allocate space for more effective cooling, increase battery capacity or whatever else.Anyway, yes, it's probably a cost related matter that resulted in there being only a couple of USB ports and an external hub would solve the problem, though it'd be a sort of awkward solution to a problem that really shouldn't have existed in the first place.
Impulses - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - link
Oh I agree, I still buy some movies AND music on disc and if I can have it in a bay I'd much rather have that than another external device cluttering my desk...There's already 3 displays, 2 amps (Emotiva for speakers, Asgard 2 for hp) and soon a DAC on my desk, and the external backup HDD occupies the sliver of space next to the case on the file cabinet it sits on.
I actually view half a dozen 3.5" bays (on other cases) as a larger waste of space than one or two 5.25" bays which can also be used for card readers, fan controllers, etc.
3.5" bays also tend to take up a sizeable chunk of internal space and they complicate thermals whereas a 5.25" bay can be designed in vertically or atop the entire rest of the chassis (without increasing it's volume outwards by more than the bay's thickness rather than a few 3.5" bays' length.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
It's very rare that anyone needs to use more than two front-USB devices at once. I would say that situation has basically never happened to me.Steveymoo - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I thought I was seeing things for a minute there. ATI Radeon? Blast from the distant past!extide - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Yeah they look like Radeon 5800 series cards, I think.ES_Revenge - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Oh c'mon they're not *that* old. I'm guessing you also missed the mobo is P55--LGA1156? :P They probably just have "old" components lying around to do case reviews--it's not like you need a Haswell i7 in there and GTX 980 Tis, just to do a case review.I'm pretty sure I've seen this same components in other case reviews so they must be their go-to stuff for such reviews.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
IMO they *should* be using new components and actually installing full systems in these cases, instead of this weird "fake computer load" thing this guy does. But everyone has mentioned this many times on the (somewhat useless) case reviews this guy does.jann5s - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
why are there ATI radeons inside? feeling nostalgic?extide - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
Older high end GPU's work great for testing clearances and cooling capabilities of cases. Performance doesnt matter but size and heat generation are similar to current cards. (Although the reviewer in this article uses simulated loads for thermal testing, not those GPU's)freeskier93 - Monday, July 13, 2015 - link
I've had this case for a while now and I really like it. I agree the 3.5" drive bays probably aren't the best, but I personally don't use them. Two 2.5" drives are all I need (1 SSD 1 7200 RPM). If you want a big gaudy case that can fit a dozen 3.5" drives there are plenty out there. This case is clearly marketed for someone with minimalistic needs, something that looks great but blends in well to just about any home style, and something that can still pack a serious punch performance wise.Cable management/hiding is also fantastic with this case. I love NZXT's use of the PSU shroud to cover that whole mess, makes for a great place to just stuff all your wires. First thing people ask me when they see it and look through the window; "Where are all the cables?".
For me buying this case wasn't about the money. I could have easily afforded the H440, but I just like the looks and minimalistic design of the S340 better.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
The S340 is flat-out a better case than the H440, I think.n13L5 - Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - link
Silverstone's cases are crap quality, but their layouts and compact case sizing with good airflow consistently make me overlook their shoddy material and finish. I wish Lian Li got with it on that same level of efficient layout.HQQKrWithAPC - Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - link
Sounds like a bunch of kids, upset with their lollipops. I found this case ( as well as the 440 ) to be very nice cases - well thought out. very easy digital build in the 230 - I went with a MSI Krait ( b/w ) 4 sticks of hyper ( 2 black - 2 white), and a Devils Canyon i7, 2 - GTX SSC 960's (black) 2 Intel 730 'skulls' in the window - with a black Sam Pro 512 850 in it's tray ( it will hold total of 6 SSD's ) Kraken wet one up front. LQQQks nice.....Runs nice.HQQKrWithAPC - Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - link
I mean...gawwd that mobo is uuugly...lol, blue n blue n beige...I would of hid that rig behind a "windowless" case.. yup one fugly board thar doood. Why would you spend the time and/or bucks putting in that wiring on that thang. What a waste....of time. lol orange wires/cards lmao.initialised - Saturday, July 18, 2015 - link
I recently upgraded a system to this case.I had a slight clearance issue with over long screws on an AMD board with an (old but excellent) ASUS Silent Square http://www.anandtech.com/show/2210. More modern boards will have the holes lower down so less of an issue.
The fans were louder than I expected, I've always rated NZXT fans in the past but these seemed a bit too much.
The lack of ODD trays means that there's room for a thick 2x140mm radiator in push pull.
Seems a quality case for the money.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
"It remains strange why NZXT installed a 120 mm fan at the top of the S340, where a 140 mm can fit."Cost. Duh. Come on.
"On the other hand, the S340 is far too plain and the flat surfaces are cold and uninspiring, so it may look out of place in a modern environment or in a youth's room."
Uh, looks like it fits just fine in a "modern environment" to me.
Dorek - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Oh, also, you mention that 2.5" drives can't go in the 3.5" area. Sure they can, just zip-tie them, tape them, etc. SSDs can go ANYWHERE in a case.