Cooler Master Intros Elite 344 Silver Entry-Level Case

[btarunr]

Cooler Master rolled out the Elite 344 Silver entry-level micro-ATX case. Made entirely of SECC steel and glossy plastic, the case measures 183 x 436 x 356.8 mm, weighing about 4 kg. Its storage area includes two 5.25-inch drive bays, one exposed and four discrete 3.5-inch bays, which are split into two cages. The bottom one is detachable, and creates room for graphics cards as long as 36 cm. Ventilation includes one 120 mm front intake fan, and a rear 80/90 mm spinner, in addition to fan mounts on the side panel. Its front-panel includes a USB 3.0 port (cable), two USB 2.0/1.1, and HD audio front-panel jacks. It is expected to be priced around $60.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[adulaamin]

Looks nice... No place to hide cables though... You could get the Antec 300 or the HAF 912 at the same price...

 

[Mckertis]

You could get the Antec 300

You could, but it's ATX, this one is mATX, with quite appealing dimensions. Everything else doesnt look that great, but size is okay.
If we're talking same price, Aerocool 200 or Fractal 1000.

 

[SeventhReign]

A beautiful case. I'm guessing since there is only 1 of them, that the port/hole on the back is not for water cooling. I'm no expert but I think you need 2.

 

[xxdozer322]

^usb 3.0 cable

 

[TRWOV]

A beautiful case. I'm guessing since there is only 1 of them, that the port/hole on the back is not for water cooling. I'm no expert but I think you need 2.

I guess it's the USB 3.0 cable passtrough.


So this basically is a mATX Elite 310? *snore*

 

[micropage7]

for entry level market it aint bad
maybe if we can put some fans on it
it would be better

 

[Nordic]

Looks nice... No place to hide cables though... You could get the Antec 300 or the HAF 912 at the same price...

The haf 912 is incredible for the price. I did decide to upgrade though, and now it just sits there unused. Any case that is in this price range needs to be as good as the haf 912.

 

[hellrazor]

I'm not a fan of glossy, but that would look horrible in matte.

Eh, 4/10.

for entry level market it aint bad
maybe if we can put some fans on it
it would be better

Is that a haiku?

 

[Mckertis]

Any case that is in this price range needs to be as good as the haf 912.

If only it wasnt so damn huge. 50x50x22...too much. Its funny that way, in 10 years hardware got smaller and colder, yet cases get bigger and bigger. I'm not sure why would anyone actually want to buy these huge coffins without a very specific reason, yet there is very little real selection in mATX cases. And why is it that generally mATX costs more than huge ATX, huh ?

 

[ironwolf]

+1 for the HAF 912! Much better case @ $60 price range IMNSHO.

EDIT: derp derp, this Elite 344 is a uATX case. Coffee hasn't kickstarted my melon yet LOL.

 

[Fourstaff]

If only it wasnt so damn huge. 50x50x22...too much. Its funny that way, in 10 years hardware got smaller and colder, yet cases get bigger and bigger. I'm not sure why would anyone actually want to buy these huge coffins without a very specific reason, yet there is very little real selection in mATX cases. And why is it that generally mATX costs more than huge ATX, huh ?

Smaller market, more innovation going there etcetcetc.

You can find lots of good (and cheap) mATX cases out there, as long as you are willing to look for them. Also, quite a lot of them are well built, much better than full towers for the same price.

 

[m1dg3t]

Not a bad lookin' case, wouldda been nicer with bottom mounted PSU

If I was building in that case I'd be searching for a "push/pull through" PSU as opposed to the common "blow through"... Would'nt want the CPU HSF fighting the PSU for air

My $0.02 anyways

Regarding prices of the mATX/iTX stuff; Supply/Demand.

 

[Frick]

I've had several Elite cases and I'm not a big fan. They're cheap and they are good for what you pay but if possible I would get something from the higher tiers.

 

[tacosRcool]

Kinda expensive

 

[camoxiong]

still look the same as the old one

 

[Mckertis]

You can find lots of good (and cheap) mATX cases out there

No you cant. There are a few, but "lots" is not true. Many of them are just labeled mATX, but are just regular size. Or those weird HTPC cubes that dont really fit anywhere. People love their huge useless coffins.

 

[Frick]

No you cant. There are a few, but "lots" is not true. Many of them are just labeled mATX, but are just regular size. Or those weird HTPC cubes that dont really fit anywhere. People love their huge useless coffins.

I'd say more than a hundred qualify as "lots". And I'm not sure why you don't like cubes, they fit in a lot of places and they have their palce in the market.

 

[Fourstaff]

No you cant. There are a few, but "lots" is not true. Many of them are just labeled mATX, but are just regular size. Or those weird HTPC cubes that dont really fit anywhere. People love their huge useless coffins.

Give me an idea and I will dig up some for you. The most common ones which you can find are:

Silverstone FT series
Thermaltake Armor A30
Lian Li PC 35x series
Fractal Design Core 1000
Fractal Design Arc Mini
NZXT Vulcan

If you are truly looking for small consider mITX, you can get really small.

 

[blibba]

Fractal 1000 all the way for budget builds.

 

[de.das.dude]

Looks nice... No place to hide cables though... You could get the Antec 300 or the HAF 912 at the same price...

you can hide cables in one of the 5.25" bays. this is a top mounted PSU one. you will be surprised how clean things look when the cables are hid like his!

 

[de.das.dude]

Not a bad lookin' case, wouldda been nicer with bottom mounted PSU

If I was building in that case I'd be searching for a "push/pull through" PSU as opposed to the common "blow through"... Would'nt want the CPU HSF fighting the PSU for air

My $0.02 anyways

Regarding prices of the mATX/iTX stuff; Supply/Demand.

the cpu hsf will hardly ever feel out of breath. if one thing it will be the PSU sucking in warm CPU air. <- it willl be like smoking a cigarette

 

[MrMilli]

I guess it's the USB 3.0 cable passtrough.


So this basically is a mATX Elite 310? *snore*

Cooler Master's website specifically states that the USB 3.0 cable is internal.

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6870

 

[brandonwh64]

Thinks that jump out at me is the top mounted PSU which would make it harder for tower coolers to be installed. Also design is OK at best but looks more like a prebuilt case. If I had to go entry level, I would get a white or black NZXT Source 210 which is HALF the price of this case.