MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ Mid-Tower Chassis Review

TweakTown Rating: 94%

Our Verdict

MSI's MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ offers rear motherboard connector support, three fans, and extensive cooling support for a competitive price. Could this be your next case?

Pros

• Supports three 360mm radiators simultaneously
• Includes three ARGB fans (2x 160mm and 1x 120mm)
• Supports BTF/Back Connect motherboards
• Cable management was great

Cons

• PSU dust filter is only removable via the rear
• Slightly more expensive than the Lian Li Lancool 217

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Following the Lian Li Lancool 217 review, which featured two 170mm fans in front, we now have the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ, equipped with two 160mm ARGB fans for front air intake. The MSRP pricing places the Velox 300R at $149.99, making it about $30 more expensive than the Lancool 217.

So, why don't we do a build inside the MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ and see what we think of it? Let's go.

Packaging

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MSI has used the industry standard of going with a brown cardboard box with all of the branding in black ink on the outside. This side of the exterior cardboard shows an image of the MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ.

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Again, MSI has chosen to follow the rest of the industry and continue with their branding on the reverse side of the exterior of the cardboard box.

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And finally, MSI has also opted to place the case specifications on this side.

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Wrapping up the packaging for the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ, we have black open-cell foam on both the top and bottom to help protect against drops and dings. A clear plastic bag is also placed on the outside to protect against any debris that may find its way inside the packaging.

Outside the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ ATX Mid-Tower Case

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Now, removing all of the shipping materials from the MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ, we get a better look at the exterior. Fitted with tempered glass, steel, and a few plastic parts, the Velox 300R stands pretty sleek.

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The front panel of the Velox 300R is equipped with a square mesh ventilation pattern, which should facilitate good air intake.

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MSI has cut out "MPG" in the front panel, which is a nice way to add some style to an otherwise boring front panel.

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The rear side panel of the Velox 300R has two sections for air ventilation, with the left side having the ability to have a side air intake. Both sections have their magnetic dust filters.

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The rear of the Velox 300R Airflow PZ has a traditional 7 ATX slot layout with the same squared-off ventilation pattern found throughout the rest of the design. Only a single 120mm fan is supported in the rear, with just under 140mm in spare space.

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The bottom of the Velox 300R Airflow PZ shows a full-length dust filter that is removable from the rear, which is kinda a pain in the butt to get to. Four large feet with rubber dampeners help keep the Velox 300R Airflow in place where it belongs.

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The top of the Velox 300R Airflow PZ again has the same squared-off ventilation pattern, albeit with smaller holes. This top panel is also held in place with two thumbscrews from the rear.

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The front I/O is also located on the top panel of the Velox 300R Airflow PZ, starting with a USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, a combo 3.5mm mic and headphone jack, an LED button, and lastly a larger power button.

Inside the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ ATX Mid-Tower Case

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Moving inside the Velox 300R Airflow PZ, we find a very open internal layout that supports BTF or reverse connector motherboards, such as MSI's Z790 Project Zero motherboard, which we will be using later in the review. The Velox 300R Airflow PZ can also accept three 360mm radiators at the same time, which is a feat in itself for a mid-tower ATX case. Also, please take note of the two large front fans that MSI had opted to use, dual 160mm fans that have a special twist on their design, more on those later.

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MSi even has subtle branding found throughout the Velox 300R Airflow PZ. Here, we see a rubber tab on the end of the PSU shroud, which also snaps and locks, allowing for easier cable management.

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And now we come to the rear 120mm fan, which again has an interesting design. MSI claims that with this dual ring blade design, average CPU temps can drop by 1.6 °C and average GPU temps can drop by 1.7 °C.

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The front ARGB 160mm fans, featuring a dual-bladed design, include a speed selector (H, M, L) built into each hub. However, this feature is not integrated into the included rear 120mm fan's design.

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Inside the cardboard box, which contains all the accessories that MSI has included, we find several bags of screws, replacement POGO retention brackets, velcro cable straps, and several black zip ties. Also inside another bag is a sticker and the user manual.

Installation, Testing, Finished Product, and Final Thoughts

Ryan's Test System Specifications

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Building inside the Velox 300R Airflow was a pretty seamless experience. Storage support for the Velox 300R Airflow PZ has open mounting locations for 4 2.5" HDDs or SSDs on the back of the motherboard tray, while a dual 2.5/3.5" cage is mounted in the main compartment near the front. MSI has also included a 4-fan/ARGB controller in the upper right corner. Cable management was also a breeze, having four tie-down points fitted with MSI-branded velcro straps.

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For testing, I used Intel's Core i5 12600K CPU on a Z790 Project Zero motherboard from MSI to test MSI's MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ ATX mid-tower case. Two sticks of Corsair's Dominator Platinum DDR5-7200 RAM were run at DDR5-4800 M/T for memory stability. Zotac's NVIDIA RTX 3090 Trinity GPU was run at its stock power limits and clocks via MSI's Afterburner GPU Overclocking and Monitoring utility for the test GPU. The Intel Core i5 12600K CPU is being cooled by the Pure Rock Pro 3 heatsink from bequiet!, which has two 120mm fans in a dual tower configuration for optimal cooling performance.

For the fan configuration, MSI has configured the Velox 300R Airflow PZ with 2 160mm ARGB fans mounted as the front air intake and another black 120mm fan at the rear fan location. This kind of fan configuration creates a positive case pressure scenario, although the front is somewhat restrictive. Temperatures for the Intel Core i5 12600K rose to a maximum temperature of 74 °C but averaged 63 °C while maintaining a boost clock of around 4.5GHz. Zotac's NVIDIA RTX 3090 Trinity hit a maximum temperature of 79.6 °C but only lowered the average temperature to 79.5 °C. Overall, the temperatures were suitable for the CPU and GPU due to the sufficient cool air from the 2 160mm front intake fans.

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v7.60.7300 for over 1 hour at an ambient temperature of 19 °C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v8.07-5515, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.66, and CPU-Z 2.15.0.x64.

And now that the final build is complete and back together, we can finally see a completed build with the two 160mm ARGB fans all lit up.

Coming to a close on the MSI MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ, which I can honestly say was a step in the right direction for MSI, even with the slightly higher pricing than Lian Li's Lancool 217, but currently it's on sale for $120 through various retailers. The Velox 300R Airflow PZ has a solid foundation for excellent airflow, along with great water cooling support, three included fans (two of which are ARGB), a fan/ARGB controller, and compatibility with rear connector motherboards, which has become a standard in 2025. If you're looking for a rear connector-compatible ATX case, MSI's MPG Velox 300R Airflow PZ might be just what you need.