| At a first glance it looks like on the inside the 301 is quite spacious, since the part next to the motherboard looks like almost empty. Nevertheless there are a few things we’d like to mention. As we already pointed out, this case is compatible with standard microATX motherboards and considering this it would make sense to offer quite a few slots for HDDs/SSDs. In total there is one 3.5 inch and there are two 2.5 inch slots that can be equipped with drives, which really isn’t much. Nevertheless, compared to the 303, which we’ve also had for testing, the interior layout of the 301 is much better-thought.
The motherboard comes with the usual large opening behind the CPU socket, which allows you to install aftermarket coolers without having to remove the motherboard. Apart from that the tray, has a few openings for routing cables and a plastic cover that helps to hide them all nicely. In the case of the 8-pin EPS pass-through we’ve noticed that the cable needs to be pushed through before the motherboard has been put in place, which is not that ergonomic. The arrangement of the internal components is completely different from any other case. Inside the 301 the power supply is placed in the top, similar to cases from a few years ago. Right next to the PSU there is space for cable management and a drive.
The front offers enough space for a 240 millimeter radiator while the bottom part reveals enough space for another dual radiator to be installed. Nevertheless should you decide to install a 240mm radiator at this spot, you will block PCI Express expansion slots from your motherboard as well as I/O headers at the bottom edge. Depending on the thickness of the radiator Multi-GPU systems won’t be possible anymore, although we believe it to be rather unlikely that a customer, buying an €75 case is going to run a multi GPU system with custom water cooling. |
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