It gives me a great pleasure to introduce to you Cooler Master, Elite 310 case. The Elite 310 is a mid tower computer case which is capable of holding micro and standard ATX motherboards. This particular model comes with 420 Watt power supply, which is always a plus. Elite 310 is a simple case for an every day users which requires the looks and performance from the case. Lets take a closer look as we digest Elite 310 to see what it has "under the hood".

 

 

About the Product

Following information is taken from the Cooler Master website.

Now that we got basic information out of the way, lets take a closer look at Elite 310.

Closer look

Elite 310 front shot		Elite 310 rear shot

Your eyes didn't deceived you. This is a pink case! I am going to have to guess and say that this case is generally oriented towards female users. The only thing that gives it a way is the front of the case. Overall the case comes in soothing white color which helps you relax. I found it very passive. Elite 310 being a black case, would cause different reaction. On the left side of the case there are two additional ventilation holes which you may use as an additional exhaust for your case.

Pretty in pink		Cooler Master logo

The front of the case is very straight forward. There aren't any trap doors or special cool features but we did fount a stylish Cooler Master logo. The front bezel of the case is made out of the ABS plastic which is stronger and much lighter. This helps with reducing the case weight. Being a steel case, Elite 310 would get pretty heavy once you fill it with all of your hard drives and video cards. In my first life, i had a steel case so take my word for it, it will get heavy to move around. But if you are looking for something stationary, this would work.

Power and reset		Front access ports

On the front of the case as you would expect are Power button, Reset button, On LED and Hard Drive activity LED. Nothing special really. On the bottom of the case we found front access ports for USB, earphones and microphone. I am not sure why the firewire port was disabled, but incase you want to add your own firewire port to the front. There is no cover for these ports to if you planning to have this case on the floor, these ports will get dusty.

Power supply		Rear of Elite 310

The power supply fits great in the top rear slot. The Elite 310 has universal mounting holes for the power supply. So you do not have to use the Cooler Master PSU as you can put in a stronger PSU for whatever needs you might have. Both side doors are latched with Cooler Master signature thumb screws which are very useful if you need to get to either side of the case.

Guts		User Manual

As mentioned earlier, the Elite 310 is a steel case which bring us to our next point, bone structure. Elite 310 is very sturdy and it is all due to the bonds in the corners of the case. That's pretty much right there what makes a strong case. Elite 310 also comes with a user manual. If you have never put a computer together, then maybe you should look this trough as it has helpful info on where the motherboard goes and how to mount it properly. Elite 310 also comes with a bag of screws which you will be needing in the installation of motherboard, hard drives and cd drives.

Rear exhaust fan		Hard drive enclosure

Elite 310 comes with one 120mm fan. I am not sure why only one, but one is better than nothing i guess. This is a standard 120mm fan which rotates at 1200 rpm and has sound levels of 17 db. Not too bad for a stock fan if i may add. I am a little disappointed that Cooler Master didn't included one in the front too.

Power supply		Thermal Master 420 W

The Power supply which comes with Elite 310 is a Thermal Master power supply. It generates maximum output of 420 watts. Now a days 420 watts will get you up and running, but don't expect to do any hard core gaming. This power supply comes with molex as well as sata connectors for your hard drives and cd drives.

Miscellaneous connectors		Nice and Clean

Inside of the case we found miscellaneous connectors that lead to the front of the case. These would be attached in to the motherboard connectors. The wires are long enough so you will not have any problems connecting them. The back side of the motherboard tray, wait... no famous motherboard tray? Everything is clear over here. We didn't find any cable management mechanisms or latches.

Plastic feet		Front mesh

On the bottom of the case there are 4 plastic feet. I am not exactly sure why did Cooler Master went with plastic instead of the rubber. These do just find on the carpet or a rug, but put this case on the hardwood floor and ice skating begin. One of the pros in Elite 310 is the stylish mesh which you can see in the front of the case. Trough this mesh we will be pulling air inside of the case for better cooling.

Conclusion

Elite 310 is your basic, standard case. It is very stylish but rather heavy. Weighting close to 16 pounds bare bone, this might be a tough thing to lug around. The case offers great airflow and will keep your motherboard and other internal components cool. You would need to purchase few more fans for better cooling solution if you are going that way. The pink, well its pink. I cant say i love the color but its different. Heh. Elite 310 comes with a 420 watt power supply which is enough to get you running but as we mentioned earlier, don't expect to be doing any heavy gaming on it. One thing i liked alot was the finish of the side doors and the top of the case. I thought the paint job was great. No it doesn't have any racing stripes or dragons, and yes it does has pink trim in the front but its a pretty sweet case for some one who is just starting out building computers. This case goes for about 60$ and it might be a little on the higher price.

 

Some pros we found:

Great polished finish.

Stylish design.

Comes with power supply and 120mm fan.

Some cons we found:

Heavy.

Plastic feet.

No removable motherboard tray.