ASUS A31 Plus: New Panorama Case with BTF Available 11 comments
Image: Asus
The panorama case has been all the rage in recent years. With the A31 Plus, Asus now offers its own “aquarium” with two glass panels. In addition to a generous overview of the integrated hardware, the case with four included ARGB fans, space for 360mm radiators, and rear-facing capabilities should stand out.
The ASUS A31 (Plus) is fully BTF-capable
Naturally, on the product page, ASUS highlights compatibility with the internal BTF standard (back to the future) for the rear of the main board connections. The A31 supports both the “normal” BTF standard and the advanced BTF, in which the graphics card is also powered via a proprietary port on the main board. ASUS offers matching mainboards with Intel‘s Z790 and Z890 chipsets and recently listed a matching board with the B850 chipset at AM5.
Asus promises space for large components
The ASUS A31 (plus) is designed to accommodate self-cooling PCs with generous space for large hardware. The cover offers space for radiators up to 360 mm, which can also be powerful at 80 mm thick (including one fan per radiator). For CPU air coolers, the listed height limit is 165 mm, which is only average compared to the competition. Power supplies can be up to 200 mm long, which also creates enough space for high-end models. Behind the mainboard tray, on which maximum boards can be installed in the ATX standard, ASUS leaves the user 34 mm of space for cable routing.
Graphics cards can be up to 380 mm long—this also includes the larger custom GeForce RTX 5090 case space. However, ASUS doesn’t appear to offer vertical graphics card mounting. The slotted bracket doesn’t allow for rear-facing graphics cards, nor does it have 8-degree baseplates for mounting a riser cable.
ASUS A31 Plus (Image: ASUS) Image 1 of 26
In terms of fan configuration, the ASUS A31 (Plus) allows for the installation of two 140 mm or three 120 mm models in the cover. Three additional 120 mm fans can be accommodated to the right of the motherboard; the housing wall is perforated at this point. The rear accommodates a fan with a 120 mm or 140 mm wide frame. A dust filter is installed in the lid and base of the case.
There’s also a hard drive cage under the sloping lid, which can accommodate two 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drive bays. The front I/O of the case offers two USB 3.0 (Type-A) ports and one Type-C (USB 3.2 GEN 2×2) port, as well as a combined headphone/microphone jack. There’s a cutout for a second USB-C port, but it’s not used.
Only the Plus model is listed in Germany.
While Asus also presents the A31 on its international website without the Plus name as a pure chassis, the German product page only shows the A31 Plus variant already equipped with four ARG fans. The side-mounted fans are an inverted blade design. The EIVP of the housing is given by ASUS at 99.90 euros; it is currently available for exactly this price in black and white. Topics: Asus Housing Source: Asus
Clara is an expert in custom PC building, specialising in innovative cases and cooling solutions.
