Coolermaster Elite 311 Plus RC-311P-TWN2 PC Chassis Review

1. Introduction
2. Packaging and Specifications
3. External Impressions
4. Internal Impressions Part 1
5. Internal Impressions Part 2
6. Installation Experience and Conclusion

One thing I observed in the instruction manual sheet is that in the illustration all the 5.25″ bays and the 3.5″ HDD bays have a tool-less clip. To refresh, you get 1 clip for 5.25″ bay and 2 more for the HDD bay. For the rest you need to use screws.

At first I found it strange because the benefit of buying a “plus” version is that you get a certain “premium” in a low cost case- the very least you would expect all the bays to have the tool-less clip. The illustrations show it- also you will see below of the picture that it says “tool-free kit for “Elite 311plus” only. Its a brand new case. Either there is one more version of Elite 311 Plus- or its simply bad luck.
Also, the non transparent window version has a sidepanel fan mount- maybe a 120mm fan mount- but this transparent sidepanel version doesn’t.

Before I continue, this is the test rig that I am using. I would like to thank Kingston Taiwan, Gigabyte India and Western Digital India for providing hardware required to evaluate other hardware.

The plastic tool-less clip is of much better quality compared to the plastic front panel. They feel as if the almost the same material Bitfenix used for Merc Alpha’s front panel. I wish the secure pins were of metal (I think the purple tool-less clip on Elite 33x series had that), but hard drive’s mounting holes didn’t shave off any plastic from the pins like how it happened on Zebronics Bijli 2. So it shouldn’t be an issue if you’re using heavier hard drives- especially something like the Velociraptor.For the rest, you’ll need to use the #6-32 screws. Only thing you need to keep in mind is that sliding in the HDD at first is bit too tight at first installation. Its best if you slide it in slowly unless you want to scratch the sides of the HDD bays and the drives.

You’ll need to use one of the rubber grommets on the rear I/O for the USB 3.0 cable. The length of the cable is generous enough even if you are using a USB 3.0 PCIe slot in one of the 7 slots.

Other than the 24 pin power cable, 5x SATA cables and 2x SATA Power cables and the 8 pin EPS connector (couldn’t be routed to the back due to the absence of a cable management hole in the usual top left corner of the motherboard tray), I was able to route a 6+2 PCIe pin and a Molex connector all the way. You should be able to route another 6+2 pin PCIE cable easily. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to secure the right side panel all thanks the thickness of the 24 pin motherboard power connector- as expected.

The clutter at the back of the HDD bay is much better than expected all thanks to the holes provided between the tray and the HDD bay. Although some manufactures leave that entire strip empty, having that particular cable management frame in a way was better because it kept the cables in place- and I was able to use it to cable tie the standard length SATA cables that usually come with the motherboards.

Coming to the conclusion, this case is simply an elite series with couple of 1ups. Difference between the plus and non plus version is the front 120mm fan and the tool-less clamps. Flipkart sells Elite 311 Plus for a very high Rs. 3,402/- whereas Elite 311 for Rs. 2394. But Flipkart is selling the same 311 with blue frame on the front panel for Rs. 2,190/-. I would prefer buying a non-plus 311 and then buy a 120/140mm fan for the front if you’re fine with the fact that it comes with only 2 USB 2.0 ports. Between the Elite 311 Plus and Corsair 300R- is it worth putting an extra grand and grabbing 300R all the way? You’ll know once the review is up. You can shortlist this case, but take a good look at what Bitfenix Merc Alpha, Coolermaster Elite 431 and NZXT Gamma has to offer.

The case comes with 1 year Warranty Period.

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