Assembly

Installing a fully sized ATX board is done by traditional means, with the use of spacers and screws. Due to the lack of front drive bays, there is loads of room to work with. Only the bottom and top edges are a bit more difficult to reach, and I had to get a bit creative with how I managed the audio lead's cable, routing it between the board and the motherboard tray.


Installing a 3.5" hard drive requires tools as well. You have to take off the front and its dust filter to get to the screws mounts which are to hold the drive in place. On the upside, as screws are used, the drive will stay in place no matter what.


Installing an SSD is done outside the chassis' confines, thanks to the tray. You may simply place it back into the chassis once it has been filled with the help of NZXT's included screws and the appropriate tool.


Installing a power supply requires the use of the frame so that it and the PSU may be slid into the chassis through the back. This is due to the metal divider - it isn't high enough to install the unit through the side. NZXT also included thumbscrews that do not come off the metal frame, which is a nice little touch.


With everything installed, the NZXT Source 340 makes a great and clean impression. Thanks to the trench, as I call it, all the cables disappear nicely. Most of the cable mess is inside the closed-off compartment as there are not too many mounting possibilities on the motherboard tray itself, which is finde as you won't see any of the cables once the panels have been put back in place.

Finished Looks

With everything in place, the NZXT Source 340's understated design really comes across nicely. The 120 mm tower cooler just barely fit. One of the heat pipe actually scratched the window up as I placed it back onto the chassis. So, while a 120 mm cooler will fit, make sure that its heat pipes don't do the same to your window. To go with the black and white theme, a white LED lights up around the power button as soon as the system is up and running.


The large window lets you see all the major components within the case, while all the cables and connectors in the back should easily be reachable considering the Source 340's pretty standard layout in the area.