Nexus Thrio 310 PC Case Review

Category: Cases & Hardware Enclosures

Created on Sunday, 08 July 2012 16:22

Written by William K.

Exterior Features:

As you can see, the Thrio 310 is an all-black case, inside and out. The construction is all aluminum with a plastic front panel. The brushed finish has a nice feel to it and leaves no finger prints behind. The right and left sides of the case are the exact same and both have an embossed Nexus logo that looks really nice. The simple logo keeps with the less is more approach that Nexus seems to have employed with the Thrio 310. Both side panels are kept on by two thumbscrews which are great for quick access to the inside of the case and is the first of many tool less features on the Thrio 310.

The front of the Thrio 310 is where we find the three (3) external 5.25” drive bays and their respective covers. The covers are easily removed, but first the front panel must be taken off. The bottom half of the front panel consists of a large metal mesh cover with a built in dust filter (not removable) that protects the two (2) optional 120mm intake fan slots. It would have been nice to see and included intake fan to provide the end user with a more complete initial setup (1 intake fan & 1 exhaust fan).

In the middle of the front panel are the front panel connectors. These are 1 USB 3.0 port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 pair of microphone and headphone jacks, a reset button, power button, and the HDD activity and power LED lights. The inclusion of a USB 3.0 port on a budget case is a great feature as many budget cases still don’t have them. With the influx of USB 3.0 items on the market, it is almost essential to have a USB 3.0 port on your computer to take advantage of the increased speeds. What makes it even better is that it has an internal header so, if your motherboard is USB 3.0 compatible you will not have any unsightly cables sticking out of the rear of your computer. There is no included adapter to go from USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 so, if your motherboard is not USB 3.0 compatible you’re out of luck.

The top of the Thrio 310 is the void of any notable features with the exception of a single 120mm fan grill (for an option fan you can mount inside the case). Unfortunately during my own installation I noticed that my large CPU cooler impeded upon the space that the top fan would occupy, leaving me without the ability to mount a fan here anyway. However, the grill will still help pull some extra air into my CPU cooler regardless.

The rear of the Thrio 310 has all of your basics on it. The top left is where your motherboards IO shield plate goes. To the right of that is the one (1) included 120mm exhaust fan. No information was provided on the fan nor were there any specifications for the fan. However, it is a Nexus silent case fan so I was able to look it up on the Nexus website. It has a fixed RPM of 1000 and an acoustic level of around 18 dBA, and all of this with an airflow of around 37 CFM. Below the fan are two (2) holes for water cooling tubes to pass through. They are rubber grommeted but the size of them is smaller than those found on most cases requiring you to use a smaller water cooling tube. Then there are the seven (7) PCI expansion slots. These are not toolless and you must punch out the metal before installing your PCI cards. Screws are included for installation. To the right of this is a section of mesh for ventilation. Finally, at the bottom is the location for a standard ATX power supply. You can also see the four thumb screws (2 on each side) for holding on the side panels.

The bottom of the Thrio 310 is where you will find the four rubber feet that hold the case up and provide a buffer against vibration noises. You will also find another mesh area where the fan from the power supply can draw in fresh cool air. It is recommended that you install your power supply upside down to take advantage of this cutout.