A Closer Look - Outside

The Source 340 is very minimalistic. NTXT chose not to put a top cover or any drive bays into the front. Instead, a solid metal panel adorns the front of the chassis, while the interior frame and the top panel are held in black with a finely grained matte finish. Overall, the chassis looks refreshingly different from what we have seen from NZXT in recent years. I dare say it looks really modern with its straight lines and sharp edges.


As I already mentioned, there is absolutely nothing of function in the front. It is completely solid and comes with a shiny white paint job of high quality. The panel in the rear is completely white as well. Our sample came with breakout covers for the motherboard expansion slots, but the retail unit will come with individual, black covers that are held in place by thumbscrews (Editor's Note: we really do not like getting samples that aren't the same as the final product, but NZXT chose not to tell me of this difference when they offered me the chassis for review. Luckily, everything else seems to be of retail quality).


A large window has been placed on the main side panel, which allows you to see every piece of hardware on the motherboard with ease. To go with the look and feel, the opposite side panel is completely flat and solid.


You may pull the front off with a firm tug, which also reveals the dust filter that protects the intake area. It is held in place by magnets, so you should easily be able to pull it off, though its downside is that it does not stay in place well and tends to come off.


The PSU bay in the bottom of the rear comes with two sets of screw holes, so you may install your PSU with the fan facing up or down. As you have to install the unit through the back of the case, the little frame is removable, being held in place by four thumbscrews. Above that are the seven motherboard expansion slots, which you should imagine to be protected by black metal mesh covers instead of the simple break-out kind you see here. A 120 mm exhaust fan set to push hot air out the back of the case has also been included.


NZXT embedded the I/O right into the metal top panel. This approach is not only simple, but look really good as it goes with the rest of the chassis perfectly. The I/O consists of two USB 3.0 and the usual audio plugs. There is actually no reset button, and the power LED is a ring around the button itself. In the rear is another fan-mounting possibility for a 120 mm or 140 mm unit. NZXT also included a 120 mm unit there, which brings the total out of the box up to two.


Four large feet lift the entire chassis off the ground by well over an inch, which improves airflow to the PSU. Its vent is protected by a simple metal mesh dust filter. It would have been nice to see a real filter here as it could have been pulled out through the back of the chassis, which makes cleaning such filters a breeze.