The face of the Elite is very simple, and somewhat deceiving. Only the 5.25″ drive cover on the left is removable – the rest are just for show. In fact, the power supply resides behind the two irremovable covers. It looks somewhat cheap and lackluster when you realize the other covers are fake, but Cooler Master may have designed it this way for the sake of symmetry and uniformity. Just below, there are two USB 2.0 ports along with separate headphone and microphone jacks. It is somewhat disappointing that Cooler Master omitted the USB 3.0 port here, as there is a pre-fabricated location for one. Cooler Master does not offer the same chassis with USB 3.0. Moving to the top, there is a 3.5″ bay that doubles for internal or external drive use with the chassis’ power and reset buttons bordering it to the left and right.

The left and right sides of the chassis are basic as well. On the left, Cooler Master has made it optional to install either a 120, 90, or 80 mm fan. On the right, there is ventilation for a power supply that is to be mounted in the vicinity.

The bottom half of the rear is standard – seven I/O slots, and the rear motherboard I/O cutout. The included slot covers need to break off when you want to install an expansion card, and are not able to be put back into place if you decide to ever remove that particular expansion card. Due to space constraints, Cooler Master opted to use dual 80 mm fans, which are also not included. As for the power supply, since it’s installed towards the front of the chassis, there is simply only the plug in – the power cord routes to the front.

The exterior of the Elite 361 is simple with no extravagant extras. It is already obvious that the build quality and design is of budget standards, but nevertheless, it looks like it can get the job done.

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