MSI GUNGNIR 110R Mid-Tower Case Review

MSI is one of the biggest and one of the best when it comes to PC gaming hardware. They have a huge range of motherboards, graphics cards, CPU coolers, and so much more beyond. However, today, I’ll be focusing on their latest PC case, the MSI GUNGNIR 110R. If you were reading eTeknix last year, you might remember I reviewed the MSI GUNGNIR 100 Mid-Tower, and rather liked it. Obviously, the 110R is the next case in this series, offering a new design that will add even more RGB and tempered glass into an already winning formula.

MSI GUNGNIR 110R

The latest case from MSI certainly comes well equipped, and so it should, as they’re targeting the ever-demanding PC gaming market! You can install up to six system fans in this case. However, you’ll be glad to hear it comes with three ARGB fans in the front, and one in the back, so you’ll be getting great airflow as standard. There’s even a built-in ARGB LED controller, so you can hook up your fans (up to 6) and control them with ease, even if your motherboard doesn’t support ARGB hardware. If that’s not enough, you get tempered glass on the front and side, a selection of dust filters, cable grommets, a built-in PSU shroud and more!

Features

• THE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE – Excel with the MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series, the epitome of high standards in a mid-tower chassis. Designed with versatility, constructed from high-quality materials, and born for performance. Choose eminence and embrace excellence.
• BEAUTIFUL CRAFTSMANSHIP – The MPG GUNGNIR 110R is designed with a memorable high-performance look to impress at first sight. A sleek front glass panel offers a dazzling view of the interior lighting that highlights the quality of the parts in the rest of the system.
• BETTER TOGETHER – Synergize MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series with an MSI motherboard including bridging a USB Type-C port for convenient access. Establish a complete MSI gaming ecosystem with a graphics card and liquid cooling.
• INSTA-LIGHT LOOP BUTTON – Quickly control the fan colour and lighting effects with Insta-Light Loop at the touch of a button. Click through the profiles at ease and choose a favourite.
• TEMPERED GLASS WINDOW – MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series reveals your arsenal with a tempered glass side panel. Arm the system with MSI’s liquid cooler, motherboard, and graphics card for the ultimate display of power and performance.
• MAGNETIC DUST FILTER – A magnetic filter sits on the top vents keeping dust from falling inside while being easily removed for cleaning.
• OPTIMIZED AIRFLOW – MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series is well equipped to provide the most effective airflow for system cooling. The MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series comes with 4 fans and is capable of 6.

What MSI Had to Say

“The MPG series brings out the best in gamers by allowing full expression in colour with advanced RGB lighting control and synchronization. Experiment on another level of personalization with a front LED strip that provides convenient in-game and real-time notifications. With the MPG series, transform your equipment into the centre of attention and top leaderboards in style.” – MSI

Specifications

Exterior

First impressions go a long way, and the GUNGNIR 110R makes a great one! There’s a pair of tempered glass panels on this case, one taking up half of the front and one on the left side. The one on the left is attached by screws at the rear, so the view is unobstructed by mounting hardware. It also has a black trim on the interior, ensuring the edges look nice and smart, and hide any unsightly parts of the case.

Towards the front, you can see there’s a range of ventilation cut into the side of the panel. The front panel is very angular, with the glass cut to a unique shape, giving it a much more dynamic look.

There’s an air gap in the middle, ensuring airflow can pass to the fans. However, there’s also a lot of ventilation at the top and bottom of the panel, so it’s a lot more open that it first appears.

The right side panel is just a blank panel, nothing crazy, buy it gets the job done and looks presentable.

Around the back, you’ll find all of the expansion slot covers are reusable and ventilated. There are none of those nasty snap-off covers here!

Up on the top, you’ll find a massive dust filter, stopping any crud from dropping into the top of the case. Of course, this huge opening allows for a lot of passive heat exhaust, or active exhaust if you put some fans/radiators in the top of the case.

The front I/O panel spans the entire width of the case. From left to right we have the power and rest buttons, LED indicator, USB Type-C, a pair of USB 3 ports, audio jacks, and the ARGB control button.

The feet on this case are really funky, with a wedge shape that provides excellent ground clearance. However, there’s even ventilation cut into them, allowing airflow to the PSU and the built-in dust filter.

Interior

With the side panel removed, we can finally see that lovely interior. It’s super clean and crisp looking in here, and it’s clear that MSI has put some thought into it. There’s a huge cut-out behind the motherboard, allowing for easy CPU cooler installations. There are some larger cut-outs towards the top, allowing for easy cable routing.

However, the more visible routing holes to the right side of the motherboard all come with built-in grommets. I like how they alternate their direction too, just to keep things looking interesting.

Furthermore, cable management shouldn’t be too difficult, as this lovely PSU shroud will help you hide all your cable horrors out of sight. Of course, a shroud is pretty much a standard feature these days, but it’s still always a welcome thing to see.

There are three gorgeous ARGB 120mm fans pre-installed in the front, and they’re all pre-wired to the built-in hub, so they’re ready to rock! Of course, there’s a large dust filter there too, ensuring the airflow is kept nice and clean.

If you wanted, you can install larger fans, more fans, or even a radiator in the front. Plus, there’s a cut-away in the shroud, allowing you to use the full height of the front panel.

You’ll find a single SSD mount on the PSU shroud, allowing you to show off your favourite 2.5″ drive.

There’s another matching ARGB fan in the rear of the case too, giving us four in total, so it’s unlikely you’ll have any airflow issues with this case.

If you look behind the motherboard, you’ll find even more storage space, with an SSD mount on the side, and some 3.5″/2.5″ trays located under the PSU shroud.

There’s a good amount of cable routing space here too, not that you’ll need much with the PSU shroud there to take up the slack.

For any unruly cables, you can use the built-in Velcro straps too, ensuring things are kept neat and tidy.

Finally, the built-in ARGB hub has all four pre-installed fans connected. However, just like the case, there’s room for two more should you expand; or you want to connect a CPU cooler fan!

Complete System

Building a system inside the GUNGNIR 110R was pretty easy, it’s actually a pretty standard case by modern standards, so everything was really straightforward with no weird surprises. It’s spacious, there’s cable routing everywhere, and even little things like the pre-installed motherboard stand-offs, it all just makes for a quick and easy build.

The PSU shroud hides a lot of horrors, especially if you want to opt for a lazy cable routing solution like I do. Plus, I love that you can still see the PSU, and even bring one of the SSDs into the spotlight. The case has a window, you want to show off your hardware, it’s a win win.

I would have moved the SSD left a bit myself, allowing for a vertical cable pass-through in the shroud, but honestly, the cable routing still looks pretty tight here.

There’s excellent clearance in this case, and while the GTX 1080 Ti isn’t the biggest GPU, I don’t think we’ll have issues with anything bigger.

Of course, the case is extremely well lit too, with three ARGB fans in the front providing a wall of light for your hardware. Of course, they deliver lots of lovely air too, so keeping cool while gaming won’t be an issue.

The CPU cooler clearance is pretty decent, although this larger be quiet! cooler pretty much maxed it out, so be sure to measure up before you try putting a D15 in here.

Airflow is excellent though, with three fans pulling in cool air from that front ventilation and filter, and the 120mm fan in the rear providing an exhaust. Of course, heat can vent from the top too, or you can add more fans/radiators there if you desire.

With everything back in place, it’s clear this is one gorgeous looking PC case. The dual windows look fantastic, allowing you to show off the RGB with ease, but it’s more subtle than I expected and not too in your face.

Of course, that ARGB controller and button on the front panel means you just tap the button and you get a new colour/effect. You can pair it with the appropriate cable though and hook it to a compatible motherboard, if you so desire.

The colours are fantastic too, really vibrant and they’re biased to light up the case interior rather than protect too much light out, which I like.

Overall, this is an awesome case for those who want to show off their hardware!

How Much Does it Cost?

The MSI GUNGNIR 110R Mid-Tower PC Case is available right now for just £91.98 on Amazon. That’s a pretty decent price for such a well-equipped mid-tower. Sure, it’s not “cheap” but let’s keep in mind, this is MSI, not some brand you’ve never heard of. It comes with a range of premium features too, such as four ARGB fans as well as a built-in ARGB lighting controller. Buying that stuff separately would quickly rack up a large bill on its own.

Overview

There’s a lot of competition on the market for a mid-tower, especially when spending close to £100. You can go to Antec, DeepCool, Corsair, or just about any brand and get something broadly similar for around the same price, and I’m sure it’ll be pretty fantastic too. It really comes down to the very small details on why you would (or wouldn’t) pick this case. For starters, most modern PC gaming cases are broadly the same on the interior now; PSU shroud, good radiator support, hidden SSD mounts, and dust filters. Of course, MSI score tops there, it’s very well equipped.

Design

The aesthetics are a big part of it for anyone, and MSI score strongly in this area. The dual glass design looks awesome, allowing you to really embrace the RGB lighting on the case interior and from the front panel. However, due to the dust filter, and the angular design, the RGB on the front isn’t too in your face, and that’s just how I like it; it lights up the case, not your house.

There are cable routing holes where you really need them, and it’s nice to see some quality rubber grommets being used too, as many cases seem to have removed them entirely.

I quite like the feet design as well, they span the full width of the case and provide good ground clearance, as well as a unique air intake design for the PSU.

Build Quality

MSI are a premium gaming brand, and this case upholds that reputation. The panels are nice and thick, there’s 4mm tempered glass on the side and front, and there’s even a durable rubber strip on the glass to prevent vibrations. All the screws are of good quality, and everything just fit and locked in place with ease. You can really tell the difference between the cheaper cases that look like this one and the real deal when you start trying to loosen/tighten the screws!

Should I Buy One?

MSI hasn’t really offered any innovation here, it’s stuff we’ve seen before, and well… I’m totally OK with that. The design is excellent, with a cool looking front panel and interior. There’s room for high-end hardware, and it has great cooling and airflow as standard, which is always welcome. The price is very competitive too, and with four ARGB fans all wired up and ready to rock, getting a kick-ass looking gaming PC couldn’t be easier!