MSI has just launched two new mid-tower PC cases, in the form of the MSI MPG Gungnir 300P Airflow and MSI MPG Gungnir 300R Airflow, and the former includes some particularly interesting GPU cooling additions for when using a vertical GPU configuration.
Both cases are aesthetically fairly unremarkable and have typical mid-tower dimensions of 235 x 505 x 510mm (WxDxH), with identical specs too. These include support for E-ATX motherboards (280mm x 305mm), 175mm high CPU coolers, 360mm long graphics cards, and 220mm long PSUs. However, where the 300R is a largely conventional case, the 300P includes some new cooling ideas.
For a start, the case includes a PCIe riser cable as standard, putting immediate emphasis on the idea of mounting your GPU vertically – where it’ll be clearly visible through the case’s side window. Moreover, it includes a standard vertical GPU mounting support to brace the back of the card, and this also doubles as a rear support to hold up the weight of horizontally-mounted graphics cards. MSI has also ensured there’s a sufficient gap between the card and glass side panel to provide good airflow to the card.
What really sets this case apart, though, are extra included fans and their mounting positions. Swap out the default rear PCIe expansion bracket plate for the vertical plate and you get two extra 60mm fan mounts onto which you can attach two included fans. These fans suck air straight out the back of the case from between the graphics card and motherboard, keeping hot air from accumulating in this area.
What’s more, you can add an included 80mm fan to the graphics card support at the front end of the GPU, to help blow more air through this space between the graphics card and the motherboard, helping keep SSDs and other motherboard components cool. It’s such a smart addition in this age of hot-running PCIe 4 and 5 SSDs and outdated PC designs that don’t provide sufficient airflow in general around GPUs.
It’s actually a shame that MSI hasn’t also included ways to mount these fans – especially the two rear 60mm fans – on the back plate when the card is in a horizontal configuration. Many cases suffer from a lack of airflow between the power supply shroud and GPU so pulling some air out of this zone would help a great deal. Then again, this case does have a perforated PSU shroud with fan mounts (that draw air in from vents on the bottom of the non-windowed side panel), so on this particular case, it’s less of a concern.
Elsewhere, the whole 300 series has room for up to ten 120mm fans or six 140mm fans, with three of either size on the front, three 120mm in the roof (two 140mm), and one rear 120mm/140mm placement. There’s also support for dual 360mm radiators simultaneously on the front and top sides, each up to 80mm thick for push/pull configurations.
The 300R includes four 120mm ARGB fans, but the 300P instead has non-RGB fans, including the 80mm and 60mm ones. Both cases also include a full set of removable dust filters on all fan intakes. The 300P is only available in black but the 300R comes in black or white color schemes.
We’re still waiting on US pricing but all three of the Gungnir 300 cases are available from Overclockers UK, with prices sitting at £159.98 for the Gungnir 300R Airflow in white or £149.99 in black, and £149.99 for the Gungnir 300P Airflow.
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