DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F PC Case Review

DeepCool was founded in 1996, with its headquarters in Beijing, with a focus on providing the best and most personalized thermal solutions for customers around the world. When it comes to enthusiast-grade PC components, DeepCool is a well-established and recognized brand that is gaining more popularity.

The company is focused on providing better thermal solutions in the form of air and liquid coolers. Their Captain Ex is a high-end AIO CPU Cooler that has form and function in a single package. The company offers PC Chassis, Power supplies, Case Fans, Laptop Coolers, desks for PC, and Lighting solutions.

Gamer Storm is the brand of DeepCool under which enthusiast-grade PC Components are offered to the market. Tri-Stellar, Quad-Stellar, Genome/II, and New Ark 90 are some of the popular and highly customizable PC Chassis in the market.

Today, we are reviewing the DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F PC Case.

The salient features of MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F include:

• 3*CF 120 RGB fans and 1*RGB LED strip pre-installed and synced
• Included ADD-RGB system controllable by either case button or motherboard and compatible with other brands’ ADD-RGB products.
• Large mid-tower case supporting up to E-ATX (330mm) motherboard.
• 228mm wide tower compartment with 30mm clearance for cable management
• Easy-to-install front and side panels
• Quick-mounting radiator/fan holders pre-installed at the front
• Supports installation of 120/140/240/280/360/420mm radiator liquid cooling system at the front, 120/140/240/280/360mm radiator liquid cooling system at the top, 120mm radiator liquid cooling system at the rear
• Removable tempered glass PSU-HDD top cover, offering top-notch ambient lighting.
• Magnetic dust filters at the top, insert-in dust filters at the bottom, and front

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The chassis is shipped inside a standard brown color cardboard box.

If you are wondering why such a long name and what does it indicate, it means that this edition of MATREXX 70 includes 3x CF120 A-RGB fans on the front side.

The chassis is in a transparent cover and tucked between two white color Styrofoam pads.

Contents

Following are included in the box:

• Plentiful Zip Ties
• 1x container of the screws
• User Guide
• 1x Proprietary connector to standard 5V female A-RGB connectors cable
• 1x Proprietary connector to standard 5V male A-RGB connector cable

Closer Look

Here is what DeepCool is saying about the chassis, “MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is a new-concept chassis specially designed for the enjoyment of DIY. By adopting numerous novel structural designs, its architecture yields convenience and flexibility in PC building. Meanwhile 3 * RGB fans and 1* RGB LED strip are included to provide top-notch lighting effects. MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is ready to give you a boost of the gaming ambience.”

The DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is a spacious mid-tower case available in black and white colors. It has a dimension of 483x228x492mm. It is made of steel, plastic and tempered glass. The chassis has a net weight of 9.39Kg.

Let’s start by taking a closer look at the exterior of the chassis.

Exterior

We have a tempered glass panel on the front side which is fixed on the front plastic frame. We can spot the 3x 120mm A-RGB CF120 fans behind the tinted glass. The fans have translucent blades for some vivid visuals.

One can take out the front glass panel with a press of a single button. I really appreciate this simple yet overlooked feature which comes in handy. The bottom portion of the panel is connected to the case frame and the top is locked by a spring buckle. This has allowed the DeepCool to provide a single button. Pressing which the front panel of MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F can be released to “dismounting ready” state with just one touch.

We can see the 3x CF120 ARGB fans clearly after removing the front panel. There are two cutouts on the right frame through which the cables are routed. The fans are installed on the rail mount system. The fan/radiator bracket is removable for which 6x screws need to be removed.

The above picture shows the OPEN button located on the top left panel. Once the “OPEN” button is pressed, the front panel will be released and held at a 5°angel. You can simply pull it out then.

The above picture shows the front panel released and held after pressing the button. I appreciate the safety aspect of the design.

The above picture shows the inner of the case from the front. The case has a width of 228mm which is less than what we have seen on the GAMDIAS APOLLO E2 Elite. Having more width gives more offset for better RAM height clearance on the top. But that is compensated by increasing the height and length of the case.

Now we are focused on the fan/radiator bracket. One thing that was missing from this bracket is the magnetic dust filter which was rather placed on the top. You can spot two tapes. These are supposed to hold the dust filter in its place. Seems like they could not be put to their job! Quality Control needs to up their game.

The bracket has a solid construction and it supports the radiator of up to 360mm. The user can install up to 3x 120mm or 3x 140mm fans on the radiator. Please note that 3x CF120 A-RGB fans are pre-installed. One can simply take out the bracket, install the fans/radiator, and put back the complete assembly in a single go making life easier.

The DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F has a tempered glass panel on the side. The thickness of the panel seems to be 3mm so take care during handling. The panel is light-tinted. The panel is not hinged as it is placed on the bottom mount and secured using two screws on the top. I wish DeepCool has gone for a hinged design here!

There is a vented portion on the front panel on both sides. This is the only area for air intake. It has dust filter inserts as well. This design is clearly air restrictive. The front panel seems to be not fully flushed with the frame of the case.

The glass panel is secured using two large head screws which is rather basic tooling.

We have a standard layout on the rear. There is a cutout for the IO shield of the motherboard. On its right, there is a vented area for the 120mm fan mount. One non-RGB 120mm fan is preinstalled. The fan’s height is adjustable.

We have 7+2 PCIe slots in the horizontal and vertical layout respectively. The slot covers are reusable. These slots are implemented with raised ends outside of the chassis. There is a PCIe cover secured using a 1x screw. You would need to lose the cover to install/remove the PCIe devices.

There is an ATX PSU mount on the bottom.

The above picture shows the PCIe slots after removing the cover.

There is a single large-size removable and non-magnetic dust filter covering the entire length of the case. The black color feet give sufficient lift to the chassis from the bottom for better ventilation.

We have a total vented area on the base of the case. Hence the full-length dust filter makes sense. Though I would note that removing the dust filter while the case is placed closer to the wall would be almost impossible without first displacing the case.

We have 4x button head screws here. These screws are holding the HDD cage. DeepCool has wisely implemented the HDD cage allowing it to be adjustable in two places. One can make more room for the PSU and cables by moving the HDD cage further towards the front or keep the cage in-stock position to have room for front-mounted radiator.

Looking at the top side, there is a vented portion on the left side with a magnetic dust filter. We have 120mm/140mm fan mounts (rail system for placement adjustment) here. The front IO panel is located on the right section.

Looking closely, we will spot that one magnetic bar has actually got lose from the dust filter and is left on the frame of the housing. I was expecting a better job than this!

The rail mount is quite sturdy and we have clearance for 120/140/240/280/360mm radiator on the top and up to 3x 120mm or 3x 140mm fans on the top.

I/O panel is located on the top frame of the chassis. Following connectivity options are on the I/O panel.

• Audio Jacks
• 2x USB 3.0 Ports
• Power Button
• 1x USB 2.0 Port
• LED Button

All these buttons are backlit in blue color. Please note that there is no Reset button as DeepCool has taken out the Reset option in favor of the LED button. In my opinion, this should have been implemented the other way around by adding another button for Reset.

The side panel is made of steel. It is finished in black color. The panel is heavy and has a solid build quality. It has the same placement implementation as is the tempered glass panel.

Interior

Let’s take a look at the interior of the chassis.

The inner frame’s height is 350mm and length is 420mm. We have a spacious layout and have plenty more room to work around. The PSU shroud has a tempered glass cover on it. In addition, we have an ARGB LED strip under the shroud to lighten up the diffused pattern.

I appreciate the DeepCool to taking care of minute details here as we spot 9x standoffs installed out of the box. Recently we have been testing PC cases where 4-6 standoffs are pre-installed and the user is required to install the remaining. One of the manufacturers did not even supply the socket wrench in the accessories to ease the installation! The case can souse mini-ITX, micro-ATX, ATX, and E-ATX size motherboards.

We have a large size cutout to install the CPU cooler conveniently. There is a single large size cutout on the top left to pass the EPS and other cables. There is a considerable space between the left and the second cutout on the top. Then there are two columns each having 2x cutouts in vertical layout on the right side of the motherboard tray. The second column explains the E-ATX size motherboard clearance and compatibility. The IO panel is installed on the front left side and its cables are routed through another cutout on the top.

There is a 55mm gap between the top of the chassis frame and the motherboard’s top. Similarly, there is a displacement of 30mm from the fan/radiator mount to the side of the chassis. This displacement shows the compatibility with respect to the RAM height.

There is no cutout on the motherboard tray at the base since DeepCool has provided that cutout in the glass panel placed on top of the PSU. Smart move!

As mentioned above there is a cut-to-size tempered glass placed on the PSU area serving as a shroud cover. It is tinted as well and has two mounting holes towards the front. We can see one large head screw on one of the holes. The glass panel is secured to the HDD cage using that screw. Since the HDD cage can be shifted further towards the front, DeepCool has provided a second mounting hole for that matter. So far they are to the point and covering all the details.

We have a diffuser on the shroud in a beautiful yet simple design to light up the ambiance. It definitely adds a subtle look to the build when powered.

There is a non-RGB black color 120mm fan installed on the rear. To my surprise, it has a MOLEX connector as well as a 3-pin power connector. The way they are designed, the cable management of the rear fan is challenging. DeepCool should consider ditching this MOLEX connector altogether or use a separate cable for this connector.

The case has a 7+2 PCIe slot design. The covers are reusable. The covers are vented for proper ventilation through this area. The 2 vertical slots are near to the side panel. There is no riser cable and riser support bracket bundled in the box.

There is roughly a 55mm gap on the PSU shroud upfront. This gap hints at the thickness of the radiator that can be mounted up top. Please note that this gap will reduce should we move the HDD cage upfront.

The above picture shows the tempered glass cover for the PSU bay.

The above picture shows the PSU and HDD cage bay after removing the tempered glass. We can conveniently place the PSU through this area though this should be done before installing the motherboard. The slide mounts for the tempered glass can be seen as well.

The above picture shows the complete bay area with the HDD cage removed.

The above picture shows the close-up of the front fan mount provision. We have a rail mount system which is good. The dust filter was not attached here. We put it there before taking the pictures. The complete bracket is removable as mentioned earlier.

The shroud side cover can be removed as well. The A-RGB LED strip can be seen on the underside of this cover. The strip has 15 LEDs facing the diffuser.

I appreciate the enormous size available to the builder in this case. The modular aspect in this regard is right on the money.

Following is the support for the cooling in this case:

• Up to 3x 120/140mm fans on the front [3x CF120 A-RGB pre-installed]
• 1x 120mm fan on the rear (Pre-Installed)
• Up to 3x 120/140mm fans on the top
• Up to 360mm Radiator on the front
• Up to 360mm Radiator on the top

Let’s take a look at the other side of the chassis.

The DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is a mid-tower chassis. The above picture shows the backside after opening for the first time. The cables are tucked and secured on the cable tie points. We have roughly 25mm cable management space.

The above picture shows the side with a bit more clarity. We have a total of 15 cable tie points. The user can install up to 4x 2.5” drives and 2 3.5” drives. There are two 2.5” drive brackets on the back of the motherboard tray. The front-mounted 3x CF120 A-RGB fans are daisy-chained and their A-RGB cables are connected to the onboard A-RGB controller.

The lower section has an HDD cage and a PSU mount. We have the following clearance for the PSU with the cables:

• 240mm in stock configuration
• 270mm with HDD cage moved to its second position
• 415mm without HDD cage

PSU length limitation is specified as 200mm.

The HDD cage has two caddies that are not tool-less. The user can install 2x 3.5” drives or 2x 2.5” in the HDD cage.

We have the following cables coming out of the front IO panel:

• USB 3.0
• USB 2.0
• HD Audio

System panel connectors. I would note that there is no Reset connector that should have been provided.

The IO panel has an RGB controller which is powered by a SATA connector.

The cables of the front-mounted 120mm fans are daisy-chained. The A-RGB cables are using proprietary connectors. The user would need to connect the 4-pin PWM connector to the source so that the front fans can be powered. I appreciate the design as we can control the speed of the fans. The DeepCool has provided support cables that enable the users to connect the A-RGB fans and strip to the standard 5V headers on the motherboard.

I would also note and appreciate the DeepCool’s effort to focus on their Ecosystem as I was able to connect the DeepCool AS500 cooler with the MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F for synchronization of lighting.

The above picture shows the mess of the front fans cables which the user would need to tie up and manage.

Test Build and Experience

We took the wrong start by installing the motherboard first cooler first. I would suggest installing the PSU first and then install the rest of the components. Even you can install the motherboard first but without a CPU cooler.

Next, the PSU was installed. So far we did not record any observation as such worth mentioning.

The HDD cage was put back in and the glass cover was placed on the PSU. I would suggest installing the glass cover at the end to prevent any damage to the glass.

The bottom connectivity of the motherboard has no hindrance and it was a breeze connecting various cables there.

Next, the graphics card was installed and the power cables were connected to the components. I would suggest connecting the SATA cables to the motherboard before the graphics card’s installation.

One of the key points is the EPS cable. Since we have installed the cooler out of the case, it restricts the space available to connect the EPS connector. Since we have used a modular PSU, we connected the EPS cable to the motherboard out of the case as well and pass it through the top left cutout during the motherboard’s installation.

We did not do any cable management as we wanted to see if we can close the side panel as it is. The panel closed without any trouble.

The above picture shows the IO panel illumination.

The above is a picture of the test build with a quick power-on test for the POST.

Here are some pics of the build.

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Testing

Following test build has been used for thermal testing:

• ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming
• Intel i9 9900k [Stock, Auto]
• DeepCool AS500
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB 3200MHz CL16 kit
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W PSU

Noctua NT-H1 is used on the CPU IHS. ASUS RealBench 2.56 and MSI KOMBUSTOR 4 are used to stress the CPU and Graphics card. Following configurations have been tested and reported in the graph:

• Stock Configuration [Complete Front Panel installed]
• Complete Front Panel removed

Please note that we can’t regulate the speed of the pre-installed fans. The cooler’s fan was set to run at AUTO PWM. The rest of the settings were on Auto, Stock in the UEFI/BIOS. A stress test of 30 minutes was done with an idle time of 10 minutes. System was powered off between all runs for a minimum of 30 minutes as well.

Let’s take a look at the results.

The ambient temperature was 26°C. We have reported absolute temperatures in the graph. The average of the CPU cores temperature values was taken. The difference of the CPU temperature with and without the front panel is 1.5°C which is within the acceptable margin.

So, in terms of the CPU cooling with an air cooler, the airflow restriction is not that aggressive. For graphics card, the result is the opposite. We are seeing a 6°C delta between both configurations which is on the high side. It was kind of expected given the airflow restricted design on the front.

Conclusion

The DeepCool MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is a mid-tower chassis available in black and white colors. The MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F has a dimension of 483x228x492mm. It is made of steel, plastic, and tempered glass. The chassis has a net weight of 9.39 kg. The chassis supports a motherboard up to E-ATX size with ample provision for the cooling gear and storage.

One of the key highlights is the tempered glass on the side and front panels to showcase your build. Another feature is the provision of 3x CF120 A-RGB fans on the front. The case has an onboard RGB controller. Another salient highlight is the one-button press feature to release the front panel. I absolutely love this idea and would want to see it more in action in the industry. The front side removable fan/radiator bracket for easy installation of the cooling gear.

In terms of filtration, we have a magnetic dust filter on the top, another magnetic dust filter on the front, a non-magnetic full-length dust filter on the bottom, and filter inserts on the front panel. DeepCool has given good coverage for dust filtration in this case. Since we have a glass panel on the front with narrow air intake channels on the sides, the case has an airflow-restricted design despite having 3x powerful fans on the front.

The PCIe slots are in a 7+2 configuration, and the slot covers are reusable. The 2 vertical slots sit closer to the glass panel. There is no riser support bracket or riser cable provided with the case. The front rail and the top mounting rails are not fragile, and I love the flexibility to take out the complete bracket from the front for convenient installation of the fans and radiator.

The user can regulate the speed of the front fans, for which a 1x 4-pin PWM header would be needed. DeepCool is using proprietary connectors for the A-RGB though they have provided support cables with a standard 3-pin 5V A-RGB connector. The user can connect the fans to the supported motherboards or use the onboard, pre-programmed lighting effects.

DeepCool is focused on its Ecosystem, as I was able to connect the lighting on the AS500 cooler with the MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F case. Also, DeepCool has provided the necessary accessories to sync their A-RGB lighting solution with the standard 3-pin A-RGB headers on the motherboards/controllers. This is appreciated though I would still suggest DeepCool bring standard connectivity in their devices for better synchronization and less cable clutter.

Build experience inside the MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F was a walk in the park, and we did not experience any glaring issues. We have tested the chassis using an air cooler and reference design graphics card. Airflow is restricted in this case.

The overall build quality is good, and our first impression of the MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F is positive. We also note that this is not a high-airflow design. The case comes recommended by us.

We are grateful to DeepCool and GAMERZ THE COMPUTER SHOP, for the provision of MATREXX 70 ADD-RGB 3F for the review.