INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Once upon a time when we were out in the market looking for a PC case what mattered were interior space and features and although these are important nowadays as well there's also the matter of looks. Of course, the introduction of tempered glass and RGB LED strips and fans in the recent years has propelled this to entirely different levels than before and so today the market is filled with such PC cases of all sizes and in virtually every price range. Last year Aerocool released the very affordable Cylon RGB Mid-Tower which although did extremely well in the looks department thanks to its front RGB LED strip as expected for its price range left quite a bit to be desired both in terms of features and airflow levels. Because of that Aerocool took it back to the drawing board and just a year later they released the Cylon Pro RGB Flow Mid-Tower which is what today's review is all about.

   Aerocool is a Taipei-based, global computer components company with an outstanding record in product design and innovation. Driven by the mantra ‘Be Cool, Be Aerocool’, Aerocool strives to provide innovation in design yet deliver an affordable solution to PC users worldwide. For more information on Aerocool, please visit http://www.aerocool.io/.

   The Cylon Pro and the original Cylon may be two different products entirely but they do share some similarities most noticeably the front RGB LED strip which in both models features a total of 13 manually selected lighting modes (6 flow and 7 static modes), the dual chamber design (although the Cylon Pro comes with a full PSU shroud) and the acrylic side panel. However, this is where their similarities end so the brand new Cylon Pro is also available with a tempered glass side panel (which is also what our sample came with), measures 219x491x434mm in size (the Cylon measured 198x459x413mm) and has enough room for two 3.5" and/or four 2.5" drives (compared to the 2x3.5" and/or 5x2.5" of the Cylon), six 120mm fans (or 5x140mm and 1x120mm) and/or two 240mm radiators (the Cylon could accommodate up to seven 120mm fans but no dual/triple radiators), 167mm tall CPU coolers (155mm for the Cylon), 359mm long graphics cards (346mm for the Cylon) and up to 211mm long power supply units (180mm for the Cylon). So, time to get close and personal with the brand new Cylon Pro RGB Flow Mid-Tower by Aerocool.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cylon Pro is packed inside a plain cardboard box that has two partial product drawings at the front right next to the company logo and an RGB sticker.

 

 

On the right side you can see the included side panel type, whether or not the case is bundled with a PSU and of course the color (black or white).

 

 

Printed on the left side are the main product features in 12 languages.

 

 

Yet another product drawing is located at the rear of the box right next to the company logo and the specifications table.

 

 

As expected, the tower is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two foam spacers.

 

 

Along with the Cylon Pro you are also getting a PCI expansion shield, 5 cable ties, two side panel thumb screws and a plastic bag with screws, spacers and standoffs.

 

 

THE CYLON PRO EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cylon Pro is a medium sized mid-tower that measures 491mm in height, 434mm in depth and 219mm in width.

 

 

As with most similar cases the entire right side panel is made out of tempered glass (remember the Cylon Pro is also available with an acrylic side panel).

 

 

The fascia is made entirely out of plastic and has an RGB LED strip at the front which is controlled via a small button located at the top.

 

 

Of course, you can remove the fascia by pulling it from its base to access the interior fan/radiator area.

 

 

Here you can mount up to three 120/140mm fans or a 240mm radiator (you should also be able to mount a 360mm radiator if you remove the HDD cage located at the base of the tower).

 

 

The I/O is located at the top of the tower and includes the on/off power button, power/HDD LEDs, reset button, headset and microphone 3.5mm ports, two USB 2.0 ports and a USB 3.0 port.

 

 

Most of the top area is covered by a magnetic air-filter beneath which you can install again either three 120/140mm fans or a single 240mm radiator.

 

 

At the rear of the case we find an 120mm exhaust fan, 7 PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.

 

 

Turning the case over we find a removable air-filter right under the PSU area (unfortunately not a magnetic one).

 

 

THE CYLON PRO INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the lack of drive cages the Cylon Pro has plenty of interior space.

 

 

The Cylon Pro may not feature any forward fans from the factory but being able to mount up to three 120/140mm ones is not something we see a lot in case of this size.

 

 

From a small opening on the PSU shroud you can see the drive cage located at the base.

 

 

Unlike some other mid-towers, the PSU shroud used in the Cylon Pro (dual-chamber design) is made out of steel.

 

 

You can install ITX, Micro ATX and ATX sized mainboards inside the Cylon Pro.

 

 

Taking a look from the other side of the case we find two vertical 2.5" drive trays (also made out of steel).

 

 

There's also a tall plastic door behind which the Cylon Pro has plenty of room for cable management and the dual 3.5/2.5" drive cage.

 

 

The drive trays inside the cage are made out of plastic and can accommodate 3.5/2.5" drives.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

We started this build from the rear and as you can see there's just enough room for up to 850W-1KW models (unless you remove the drive cage).

 

 

There's plenty of room inside the tower even after we place an ATX sized mainboard.

 

 

With enough room for up to 167mm tall CPU coolers you shouldn't have a problem using any model in the market.

 

 

We mounted an 240mm radiator at the front without any issues (and again a 360mm one should be possible without the drive cage).

 

 

At the top we used a 280mm radiator but as expected there are clearance issues with such a large model (still you may be able to go with low-profile fans).

 

 

Even if you do place a radiator at the front with fans there should still be enough room for 300mm long graphics cards.

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically on top of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one, we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Although the original Cylon RGB Mid-Tower never made it to our reviews we did receive a sample by Aerocool at launch but due to mishandling by the courier company it arrived here in such a state that we couldn’t possibly present it to all of you. Because of that when Aerocool announced the Cylon Pro we felt that we just had to review it and it didn’t take long for a sample to arrive (this time thankfully without issues). Thanks to the tempered glass panel and the front ΡΓΒ LED the Cylon Pro scores very high in terms of looks whereas in terms of build quality it’s certainly many steps over the original Cylon. As for interior space there’s not much we could had asked for that it doesn’t already sport and although space for just 4 drives may not be enough for some consumers most mid-tower nowadays have the same capacity or less. The same applies for hardware components since being able to mount up to 167mm tall CPU coolers, 359mm long graphics cards and 211mm long power supply units means you can fit pretty much anything you may set your eyes on inside the Cylon Pro. Of course, not all is perfect so the use of a plain non-RGB rear fan takes some points off the looks department while the lack of any front fans means that you need to spend more on those right off the bat.

   With a current price tag set at USD62.72 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at 55.90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Cylon Pro RGB Flow Mid-Tower by Aerocool is priced extremely well for what you’re getting. Certainly, it’s far from perfect but Aerocool clearly aims consumers on tight budgets with the Cylon Pro and I seriously doubt anyone expects perfection in that market segment (even more so when PC cases that cost twice as much or more are still far from perfect). Overall however we do think that the Cylon Pro delivers on everything that matters (at least the TG version does) and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Looks (Tempered Glass Side Panels / Front RGB LED Strip)
- Radiator Space (Top / Front 240mm)
- Interior Space (167mm Tall CPU Coolers /  211mm Long PSUs / 359mm Long Graphics Cards)
- Top Magnetic Air Filter
- Cable Management Space
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- No Forward Fans
- “Plain” Rear Fan