Computer Shopper - UK (2019-10)

32 OCTOBER 2019|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 380

FORANYONEWHOprefers aless showy PC

case,the MPG Gungnir 100 might be more

suitable than most of MSI’s other chassis

designs. These include the MAGVampiric

series, which look like some kind of missile silo

blast doors, and the MPG Sekira 500X, which

is “inspired by the Axe of Perun”.

Here,there’s not even ahint of the highest

god of the Slavic pantheon, though it does

have some more conventional flair in the form

of addressable RGB lighting and afull-size

tempered glass side window.It’s something of

amish-mash of different materials: besides

the glass, the main chassis is made of steel,

while the topand front panels are plain black

plastic. It’s not adeal breaker,but there is abit

of flex on the toppanel, something to which

fully metal cases aren’t as susceptible.

FANCLUB

There’sexcellent cooling support, especially in

terms of what’s included from the off.Aswell

as one 120mm exhaust fanatthe rear,three

120mm intake fans come pre-installed at the

front. Straight away, then, you’ve got acyclical

airflow that will help spread cold air through

the full height of the internal chamber.

Even better is the wealth of upgrade

options. The front panel can hold up to three

140mm fans instead of the three included

120mm fans, and watercooler radiators up to

420mm will fit, even if it is atight squeeze.A

360mm radiator (and accompanying fans) will

sit with abit more space.The top, meanwhile,

doesn’t have any pre-installed fans but can

VERDICT

Despitebeingabitsimpleinplaces,thisisanicelyspacious

casewithextensivecoolingandcablemanagementsupport

MID-TOWER PC CASE

hold another three 120mm fans, or two

140mm fans. Radiator support follows this,

so you can have 360mm or 280mm units

up top. Just be aware that, again, using the

largest possible radiator will leave little

room forrouting cables.

Lastly,there’s the single rear fan

mount, which can take a140mm fanand

radiator if you ever want to switch out the

included fan. All in all, the MPG Gungnir

100 is alot more accommodating than

most mid-towers forstuffing it full of fans

and radiators, although some concerns

remain about the cooling setup more

generally.From astrictly convenience

standpoint, it would have been nice to

have had some removable dust filters for

the front and topfan mounts, but more

practically disappointing is how the only

intake vents are thin slots cut intothe sides.

Amore open design would have allowed cold

air to be sucked in more efficiently.

Luckily,having four fans (instead of one or

two) is abig help,and this isn’t the only wayin

which the case thinks big. It has some enviable

component clearances: graphics cards up to

400mm will fit, and CPU coolers can be a

relatively towering 170mm tall. It can also hold

the three most common motherboard sizes –

Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX–aswell as EATX

boards, but only if they’re 272mm across.

HOLDTIGHT

The MPG Gungnir 100 is well equipped for

cable management, too. All of the routing

holes intothe main chamber are

adequately sized and fitted with

rubber grommets, which helpfully

hold wires in place when building

and re-fitting components.

The main cable channel on the

rear of the motherboard trayalso

uses our preferred fastening tool:

Velcro straps, which can be easily

re-used. These alone keep things

looking tidy,but MSI has gone

even further by installing a

removable metal cover that hides

both the cables and straps.

If this case has adefining

feature,it’s how it handles RGB

lighting. Not so much in sheer

volume: there are only acouple of

thin lighting strips at the topand

bottom of the front panel, and

the rear fanisthe only other

illuminated component. However,

they’re all connected to adedicated RGB

controller hub,sotheycan all link up to the

motherboard at once,and sync with other

MSI Mystic Light-compatible hardware in your

PC build. Youcan also add up to five more

addressable RGB devices to the same hub,

such as additional fans or LED strips. It’s an

impressively comprehensive approach that

helps prevent mismatched colours and

enables deeper personalisation.

SHORTSTACK

If only storagesupport was given as much

focus. It’s fine,just nothing special: there are

two 3.5in trays under the PSU shroud, both of

which can alternatively hold a2.5in drive,while

two dedicated 2.5in mounts can attach to

either the side of the rear chamber or on top

of the shroud. This will be fine formost home

and gaming PC builds, but if you anticipate

needing multiple hard disks, you should get a

case with alarger storage cage.

The MPG Gungnir 100 is amix of premium

flourishes and more humdrum specs, but the

advantages easily outnumber the annoyances.

Even with the small airflow vents and plastic

panels, there’s alot of building potential and

extra features here,even for£90.

JamesArcher

MSI MPGGungnir100

★★★★★

£90•From http://www.overclockers.co.uk

SPECIFICATIONS

CASETYPEMid-tower•MOTHERBOARDCOMPATIBILITY

Mini-ITX,microATX,ATX,EATX•SUPPLIEDFANS4x

120mm•MAX3.5inDRIVEBAYS (^2) • MAX2.5inDRIVE
BAYS (^4) • DIMENSIONS525x227x510mm•WEIGHT7kg•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.msi.com•
PARTCODEMPGGungnir100