INTRODUCTION

   Small, affordable and good looking, these are the three things most consumers (at least the ones with tight budgets) look for when out to buy a brand new PC case and I don't think the market has ever had these many choices for such consumers to pick from. At the same time however having a sea of PC cases to choose from with similar price tags and characteristics may not be the easiest thing and so this is pretty much where we come in. Personally, I think that PC cases with tempered glass panel(s) and RGB lighting offer the best in terms of looks and that's why they are also the primary focus of our reviews. Aerocool recently added several affordable mid-towers in their product lines and after reviewing the very good Cylon Pro RGB model today with us we have yet another one, the Aero Engine RGB.

   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/.

   As its name clearly reveals the Aero Engine RGB stands out from other similar cases thanks to the turbine-inspired design of its fascia, the 120mm RGB fan located right behind it (14 total lighting modes - 7 flow RGB and 7 static) and of course its tempered glass right side panel. Looks are not the only thing the Aero Engine RGB is good at since it also has enough room for two 3.5" and/or five 2.5" drives, eight 120mm fans (or 5x140mm and 3x120mm - fascia 120mm LED fan not included), 155mm tall CPU coolers, 371mm long graphics cards (with no forward fans installed) and up to 180mm long power supply units. The "package" is completed by a dual-chamber design (partial PSU shroud), top magnetic air-filter and a removable air-filter at the base of the tower. So, could this be the budget-friendly PC case to get?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Aero Engine RGB arrived inside a plain cardboard box that has two 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).

Aerocool has placed the main product features in 12 languages on the left side of the box.

Yet another product drawing is located at the rear of the box alongside the specifications table.

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

Along with the Aero Engine RGB you are also getting 6 cable ties, plastic bag with screws, spacers and standoffs and a paper showcasing the mainboard installation procedure.

THE AERO ENGINE RGB EXTERIOR

The Aero Engine RGB is a compact mid-tower that measures 471mm in height, 447mm in depth and 195mm in width.

As with most similar cases the entire right side panel is made out of tempered glass held in place via 4 thumbscrews.

The plastic fascia with its turbine-inspired design and its 120mm RGB fan is no doubt the main selling point of the Aero Engine RGB.

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 (aside the pre-mounted 120mm RGB LED fan).

The I/O is located right over the fascia and includes the on/off power button, headset and microphone 3.5mm ports, two USB 2.0 ports, single USB 3.0 port, reset button and the power and HDD activity LEDs.

Most of the top area is covered by a magnetic air-filter beneath which you can install again up to three 120/140mm (or a single 240mm even though Aerocool doesn't mention it in their specifications page).

At the rear of the case we find an 120mm exhaust fan area, 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) and a small perforated section right under the left side drive cage.

THE AERO ENGINE RGB INTERIOR

Thanks to the lack of right side drive cages the Aero Engine RGB has sufficient interior space.

Aside the 120mm RGB LED fan mounted on the fascia you can install up to three 120/140mm extra fans here.

An SSD drive mount is placed on the mainboard tray.

Two extra fan mounts (for 120mm fans) are placed on the partial PSU shroud (made out of steel).

The Aero Engine RGB is compatible with Mini ITX, Micro ATX and ATX sized mainboards.

Taking a look from the other side of the case we find one vertical 2.5" drive mount, drive cage with two drive trays, bottom 2.5" drive mount and the PSU area.

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.

Installing a regular ATX sized mainboard still leaves a good amount of room in the case.

155mm may not be enough height for some CPU coolers but there are some good models within that limit.

Instead of fans you can mount an 240mm radiator at the front without any issues (and you can mount fans on it if you place it high enough - however that means less space for a graphics card).

Mounting an 280mm radiator at the top is somewhat hard (memory clearance issues) but you shouldn't have a problem with any 240mm model.

Even if you decide to place a radiator at the front with fans you still should have around 300-310mm left for a long graphics card.

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

   Just like the recently reviewed DA601 Mid-Tower by Antec the main selling point of the Aero Engine RGB Mid-Tower by Aerocool is its front fascia which thanks to the single 120mm RGB LED fan mounted on it vastly improves its looks. Of course, its tempered side panel also adds to its looks but the turbine-inspired fascia is without doubt what sets it apart from similarly priced cases. Interior space on the other hand could be better since being able to mount up to 155mm tall CPU coolers is a number we haven’t seen in a long time. I was also surprised to see that Aerocool doesn’t list any front/top radiators (you should be able to mount an 240mm radiator even on the PSU shroud) in the specifications list but as you can see in this review it’s possible. That being said you can still mount up to five drives, eight fans, 371mm long graphics cards and 180mm long power supply units inside the Aero Engine RGB so not all is bad in that regard.

   Everywhere we looked on the other side of the Atlantic the Aero Engine RGB is not available so currently you can only find it inside the EU for a price tag of 51.11Euros (Amazon.de). This of course is a very fair price for what you’re getting in return and even though the Aero Engine RGB is far from perfect thanks to its fascia, tempered glass side panel and somewhat sufficient interior space we really do think you should give it a chance.

PROS

- Overall Quality
- Looks (Turbine Inspired Fascia With 120mm RGB Fan / Tempered Glass Side Panel)
- Up to 5 Drives & 8 Fans
- 180mm Long PSUs and 371mm Long Graphics Cards
- Top Magnetic Air Filter
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- CPU Cooler Height (Just 155mm)
- No Rear Fan
- Lack Of Radiator Mounts (Officially)