MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ Review: One Solid Reverse-Connector PC Case

MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ Review: One Solid Reverse-Connector PC Case

With a sturdy steel structure making up most of its 23.5 pounds of heft, the MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ is as weighty as its name is long. (We’ll call it“Velox 300R” from here on out.) Its numerous strengths include dust filters that cover every air inlet, giant 160mm ARGB intake fans connected to a factory-installed controller/hub, and even a logo-emblazoned low-restriction faceplate that will probably help make any dust that collects on the filter behind it slightly less noticeable as the PC waits for its next cleaning. A light tint on the 4mm-thick tempered glass side panel makes the black 120mm exhaust fan harder to spot against the case’s black interior. 

Mounted on four snaps and three guide pins, the faceplate easily pulls away to access the front panel’s plastic-framed nylon-sheet dust filter. Secured with three magnets on each side, the filter pulls easily away from the fans for cleaning.

The MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ with and without front cover

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Though “front-panel” ports and buttons often end up on the top panel of modern cases, the Velox 300R’s placement is somewhat unusual in that it’s a bit farther away from the actual front of the case than on most cases. Lined up along its right edge are a power button with a power-indicator LED window, an LED mode button, a headset (headphone/microphone) combo jack, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, and a Gen 2×2 Type-C port. Unfortunately, there’s no reset button or drive-activity light.

The top panel I/O on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The rear panel features the only Velox 300R vents that aren’t covered in dust filters, though that’s okay; these should probably be viewed as exhaust vents that flow filtered air from those big front-panel fans. We also see the ATX standard’s seven expansion slots, a 120mm exhaust fan screwed onto slots that allow a little vertical adjustment, a power supply mount with two sets of holes to allow inverted mounting, and two vertical vent sections running up the forward and rear portions of the right side panel.

The expansion-slot panel is inset, which simplifies graphics card installation. (In short: There’s no interference between the card bracket and the clearance area above the screws, as there sometimes is with cheaper cases with non-inset panels.) 

The rear of the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

A long dust filter that covers most of the bottom panel slides out the back of the case from beneath the power supply bay.

The PSU filter on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The top panel and two long side panel vents are each covered internally with a perforated metal filter sheet, each of which uses magnetic tape around its periphery to stick to the steel panel.

The top panel of the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The Velox 300R’s top panel is designed to hold a 360mm-format radiator up to 420mm long. (The radiator will have around 57mm of clearance above the motherboard’s top edge.) The Velox 300R’s top panel also includes a second set of mounting slots to enable three 140mm fans to be placed there instead.

From this angle, we can also see that the power supply cover has two 120mm fan mounts, that an adjustable card brace is attached slightly forward of the power supply cover, and that a removable multi-purpose bracket is factory-mounted to the 120mm fan location at the front of the case’s bottom panel. The bracket is drilled to hold a single 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drive, as well as a variety of open-loop liquid-cooling pump/reservoir combos.

The top panel radiator mounts on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Like the multifunction bracket that sits in front of it, the outer three-quarters of the power supply cover is removable. That fact eased the installation and removal of modular cables on our power supply.

The PSU cover on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The Velox 300R’s motherboard tray includes several extra pass-through holes designed to fit the connector locations of MSI’s Project Zero motherboards, but they are not excluded, in any way we can see, from otherwise supporting its largest competitor’s rear-facing-connector design, Asus BTF. A side mount that can hold up to three 120mm fans and/or 360mm-format radiators up to 440mm long is offset an inch behind the motherboard tray, so that a fan up to 38mm thick could fit behind an EATX motherboard if we add the length of the standoffs to that thickness. We wouldn’t call the Velox an EATX case, because it has no mechanical support to hold 13-inch-long boards, but some slightly bigger-than-ATX boards will fit without requiring such supports.

The MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ with side panels removed

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Behind the Velox 300R’s motherboard tray are its ARGB controller/fan hub and two drive trays. (Note that we also pulled the face panel off for our open case photos.) The controller’s hub supports four PWM fans and four ARGB devices.

The MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ with side panels removed

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Removing the plastic plugs above and below the front-face 160mm factory ARGB fans allows us to see that the fan rails running up and down the face are also removable. Had we also removed the factory-fitted 160mm fans themselves, we could have used the extra mounting holes you can see to move the brackets inward to 140mm or 120mm fan spacing. The 480mm of space (height) behind that mount exceeds the length of any 420mm-format radiator we’ve seen, so you could put a really big radiator up front if you so desire. That said, you’ll probably want to keep these oversized fans if you are air cooling; they have a nifty design, with an offset circle of blades inside a larger circle

The front panel brackets on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The drive trays include one dual-2.5-inch tray without 3.5-inch provisions and one with 3.5-inch provisions. Installing a 3.5-inch drive fitted with vibration-damping grommets precludes the use of any 2.5-inch drives in the second tray.

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The drive trays of the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

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