Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 - Beautiful, but flawed.
Written: Dec 09 '06 (Updated Dec 09 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Looks. Quality of build. HD audio on front panel Screw less design.
Cons: Design flaw for cooling of PC if using clear side panel insert.
The Bottom Line: Cannot use clear plastic panel insert without case mode, due to overheating. So dust will be a problem. If you can live with that,...It is a beautiful case.
|
|
|
| mfarris2's Full Review: Gigabyte (GZFA1CAASS) ATX Full Tower Case |
I worked my butt off this summer to put together an ultimate PC. I am not a gamer, but like to have a speedy computer. So I need the right components. And I spent a lot of time picking them out, including this case. So these are my adventures and conclusions regarding this case.
Gigabyte calls this case the "3D Aurora 570."
When my case first arrived I looked the case over very carefully. I found the case to be made with a very high degree of quality. The fit and brushed aluminum finish really did meet a high quality standard. ( I am VERY particular.) I did find the thickness of the aluminum a bit thin on the bottom of the case. And the side panels were not quite as thick as a Lian Li case. But they were sturdy enough for their purpose.
The side panels are easily taken off using the thumb screws on each panel.
The motherboard tray is not removable. However, I had no problem mounting the motherboard as the interior room for a motherboard is tremendous. The motherboard tray was stamped for the standoff mounting positions, of the three different form factors this case supports. (Micro ATX, ATX & Extended ATX) I had the Intel Bad Axe 2 board. And it was only off by one stand off. This case uses the screw in stand offs which I am not to fond of. But stamping into the motherboard tray the location of the standoffs was a nice touch.
The front of the case supports four external 5.25" drives and two 3.5" drives.
To install these drives, you simply twist off the metal backing from the interior of each bay. Then pop off the silver plastic cover on the exterior of your chosen bay.
Then slide in your drive, push forward the locking bar. And then push down the locking tab. (No screws involved)
I love that the hard drives are mounted with the connection end facing outward toward the side panel. Easily visible for connections. Again there are no screws needed for mounting the hard drives. They provide you with plastic adapters you stick into the side of the hard drive. Then just slide the hard drive into the rack until the plastic adapters click into the lock position. (Very nice) There is also a small parts box in the hard drive rack. You can keeps some small parts there if you like. But then you would give up three hard drive bays. So you just remove a couple of screws to remove the box.
The hard drive rack has large holes in it. (About the size of a dime) Attached to the front of the hard drive rack is a silent, filtered 120mm fan. This fan brings in cool air from the front of the case and across your hard drives, into the interior of your case. (More on this later.) One feature I did not care for was the way to access your filter to clean it. You have to open both side panels. Then you have three plastic tabs on each side you must pry back to get the front face panel off. Then you have access to the front fan and it's filter. Lian Li has the snap off and snap on front panel. No side panels need be taken off. No plastic tabs to break.
The front panel connectivity ports consist of 1 firewire, 2 USB 2.0 and HD or standard Audio. (High Def audio was nice.)
The front panel also has a projector. It comes from the factory projecting a couple inches from the front of the case the "3D Aurora" Logo. But you can change that and have it project your own logo.
The back of the case has two 120mm silent fans. These are exhaust fans. These seem perfect for liquid cooling. (More on that later.)
The case has a locking latch, that locks all of expansion cards at one time. This feature I was not to fond of as I had to hold all the cards and covers several times not to have them fall out while trying to install or move other cards. I prefer screwing in each card or cover one at a time.
There are also two holes at the back of the case for the purpose of external liquid cooling.
The left side panel comes with a grill in the panel. But Gigabyte provides you with a clear plastic panel you can change out. There are several screws and a few clips that need to be removed to change from grill to plastic or visa-versa.
I really do like this case,....but I discovered two big problems with this case.
The first problem I ran into with this case was my reason for buying this case in the first place. I planned on liquid cooling. The two 120mm fans at the back of the case appeared perfect for mounting a dual radiator directly onto the fans in the interior of the case. I purchased a radiator from a known vendor. (Danger Den) No odd ball radiator here. The power supply rack was 1/8" to low to allow my radiator to fit. If the main body of the case was just 1/8" taller,...the entire liquid cooling system would be internal and more efficient. (Better to pull air through the radiator than push it.) So I was forced to run hoses out of the case through the two provided holes mentioned earlier and mount the radiator on the back of the case. (Yuk)
The second problem I should of caught before purchasing the case. (Especially since I work with air flow for a living.)
I really wanted to have the clear plastic panel on the side of the case. (Wanted to show off my liquid cooling rig.) So I changed out the screen panel for the clear plastic panel. When I booted up the system,....I started to notice my computer temperature rising. I then realized a fundamental physics problem. When I removed the screen cover and put on the plastic cover,....I sealed the computer. Leaving only a 120mm hole and fan blowing air into the case. (50% blocked by the hard drive rack.) I have two 120mm fans trying to blow air out the back of the case through my radiator. This simply would not work. You cannot blow more air out of a case than the case can take in. This would produce a vacuum and the fans are not strong enough to produce such. So the fans would simply slow down and not produce their rated cfm.
There are only a couple of solutions to this problem. Install another 120mm intake fan. Or go back to the grill side panel that would allow fresh air in. Installing a 120mm fan seemed impractical to myself. The only place fans would fit would be at the top of the case (Ideal for exhaust,....but not such for intake.) Or perhaps a couple of 80mm fans on the side panel itself. I did not want the hassle of having to unplug these every time I went into the case. Also I figure I will have enough dust problems with the grill. Forcing air into the case from the side panel would only accelerate that problem.
I spoke with Gigabyte about this problem. The tech support gentleman was very nice. And I understand they are now aware of this problem. Perhaps future models will address this issue.
My conclusion is this is a beautiful case. More elegant and sophisticated then something gaudy. But the clear plastic window for the side panel will not be practical without some case modding. Cleaning the front fan filter is a real pain.
There are aluminum filters that can be purchased and put around holes drilled into the case. But I believe that would take away from this cases looks.
Due to the fundamental flaw of this case,....I just cannot recommend it.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mfarris2
|
|
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.