Retail Launch: Akasa's Innovative 13-Inch Fanless NUC 13 Pro Computing System

Revolutionary Fish Tank Style MSI Enclosure (MSI CASE) Now Features Compatible Back Plug - Expect Retail Price to Hit $98-$105 Mark

MSI has quietly started to sell itsMAG Pano M100R PZ cases, with retail listings now live in Taiwan. EXPReview alsospotted the black and white (option) cases with fish tank wraparound transparent style and back plug motherboard support for sale in China, at JD.com. Looking at the overseas prices, US customers should expect to pay about $100 for these new PC cases.

Cases using the fish tank style are also sometimes referred to as ‘270-degree glass window’ style cases, and appear to be a trending design. MSI’s promo images make it easy to understand the appeal of such a case, packed with suitably color-coordinated components (see top image). The MSI MAG Pano M100R PZ is available in black or white, and to get you started MSI has kitted out both with four ARGB fans and a controller.

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(Image credit: MSI)

Looks aren’t everything, and under the skin the MAG Pano M100R PZ cases have some worthwhile practical touches. Probably the most important design feature here is hinted at in the name – ‘PZ’. Yes, this is aProject Zero case, and it is compatible with back-plug motherboards from MSI and other brands. These motherboards facilitate easy clean builds, with all the messy cabling easy to hide behind the motherboard tray.

The specs say that the case offers support for “M-ATX (Back-connect supported) / ITX.” People interested in full-size ATX builds with backplug or not will have to look elsewhere. Whatever kind of motherboard you put in, MSI has left 33mm of cable management space behind the tray to hide the wiring.

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The next modern key spec we want to draw attention to is the graphics card support as standard. This system can fit up to 390mm graphics cards, and we are now more sure than ever thatpreventing GPU sag is extremely important . So many of thebest graphics cards are both bulky and heavy.

Other things about the MSI MAG Pano M100R PZ case we’d like to highlight include the included four ARGB fans (3 front, 1 back) and fan controller, plus an easy access USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C connector among the front I/O section.

This is a pretty roomy case for Micro-ATX at 440 x 235 x 405mm / 17.32 x 9.25 x 15.94 inches, so the decent max compatibility figures aren’t a surprise. Full specs can be seen in the datasheet below.

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(Image credit: MSI)

MSI distributors are selling this case in Taiwan now at TWD$3,190 (white ) and TWD$2,990 (black ), which is about USD$100. We don’t have launch details or pricing for Western markets at the time of writing.

The trend for making desktop PC cases more like fish tanks has been noted previously. AtComputex earlier in the year, we sawLian Li dipping its toes in this design,Hyte might be one of the leaders of this trend, and MSI also showed off a MAG Vampiric Project Zero with a 270-degree panoramic glass window – alongside its suitably equipped motherboards.

A few weeks ago we were the guests ofCooler Master and were told by product managers there that fish tank cases are a growth trend they see for 2024, in addition to new cases being compatible with back plug motherboards. It looks like MSI has got in early with its MAG Pano M100R PZ case release.

Hardware Tips

Retail Launch: Akasa's Innovative 13-Inch Fanless NUC 13 Pro Computing System

Revolutionary Fish Tank Style MSI Enclosure (MSI CASE) Now Features Compatible Back Plug - Expect Retail Price to Hit $98-$105 Mark

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