Zoostorm Stormforce 340 Gaming PC Review

A Closer Look

The NZXT S340 chassis evokes a premium feel due to the attractive colour scheme and stellar power supply cover. As a result, the build looks remarkably clean and obscures any trailing cables in a proficient manner. On another note, the colours contrast rather nicely even though the motherboard’s PCB has a brown hue. Once the tinted side panel window is closed, you’re not going to notice these slight differences. On the other hand, I’d recommending adding a magnetic LED strip to create a more ostentatious aesthetic design.

Here we can see the front panel which includes a large power button, two USB 3.0 ports, headphone jack, microphone jack and hard drive LED indicator.

Rather surprisingly, the system comes with a reference model GTX 970 which is fairly unusual given NVIDIA’s focus on custom cooled solutions from various vendors. Some of you might remember the aftermarket GTX 970 cards launched immediately and reference products didn’t enter the retail market in large numbers. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see a reference model and I’m quite fond of the uniform black colour. Please note the GeForce logo does not illuminate.

The 8GB DDR4 2133MHz looks peculiar in a single channel configuration and I would have preferred to see two 4GB modules instead. This is because the B150 chipset supports dual channel configurations and has the potential to leverage extra memory bandwidth. The lack of stylish heatspreaders creates a negative perception especially when you consider that memory kits like the Kingston HyperX Fury or Corsair LPX are relatively cheap. Although, some of these opt for faster speeds which cannot be utilized beyond 2133MHz on the B150 chipset. Of course, the Intel stock cooler is always going to be snarled at by enthusiasts but it’s functional and able to keep thermals low due to Skylake’s efficient thermal performance.

The graphics card’s dual 6-pin PCI connectors are located in a more central position compared to custom variants which make tidy cable management fairly challenging. Nevertheless, Zoostorm has managed to achieve a clean cable run using a tight zip-tie.

The 24-pin ATX connector is held in place perfectly using the tightest possible cable run. As a result, any excess cabling is hidden behind the chassis’ plastic cover or around the rear portion.

Here we can see the M.2 boot SSD which is installed just next to the first PCI-E x1 expansion slot. I’m a huge fan of using M.2 drives because they cut down on clutter and help to form a more professional appearance.

The case’s lack of rubber grommets and fairly limited cable management poses a problem when attempting to achieve an organised finish. As a result, the cabling isn’t brilliant but it’s relatively good when you consider both the chassis design and non-modular power supply. Zoostorm have utilised tight zip-ties and coupled cables together in a logical arrangement. Furthermore, there’s enough space left around the CPU cut-out to easily re-fit the cooler without feeling restricted by a large number of cables concealing the mount point.

Another highlight is the fan cable positioning which feeds around the back to a motherboard header. This means there’s no awkward trailing cables in the front section and maintains a cleaner construction which you’re proud to look at.

The power supply’s excess cables have been hidden rather well and held down around the PSU chamber. Also, notice the use of very strong zip-ties to ensure the large cluster of cables doesn’t come undone over time.

Unfortunately, the SATA cable which runs from the mechanical hard disk protrudes outwards more than I’d like and needs to be flush with the chassis’ frame.