INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Tempered glass panels paired with RGB illuminated fans and/or LED strips is currently the "hottest" combination in PC cases and so there's a continuous flow of models featuring that combo in the market today. These two features alone however although very important (especially for people who place looks/design high in their list of priorities) don't make or break a PC case and so one also has to take into account build quality, interior space and of course all the other available features. Aerocool has a long and quite successful history in the PC case market (not to mention that they are among the very first manufacturers to use tempered glass with their towers) and since their latest Quartz line of PC cases is very popular among gamers and enthusiasts today we'll be taking a very thorough look at the top of the line Quartz Pro Full Tower.

   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’ we strive to provide innovation in design yet deliver an affordable solution to PC users worldwide. Our most recent success in innovation is our groundbreaking open frame design – the Dream Box – awarded ‘Best Design’ at Computex 2016. For more information on Aerocool, please visit www.aerocool.com.tw.

   As mentioned earlier the Quartz Pro is the top model in the Quartz line of towers right after the Quartz Blue, Red and RGB models. Unlike however the Quartz Blue, Red and RGB Mid-Towers which have as sole difference the type of fans used at the front (red, blue and RGB fan models) since the Quartz Pro is a Full Tower it's considerably larger (206.1x455x408mm / 252mmx554mmx566.7mm) and so aside the two tempered glass panels located at the left and front and its three 120mm RGB LED fans at the front (software controlled via a bundled P7-H1 Hub) it also offers plenty of interior space. To be more specific the Quartz Pro features 12 PCI expansion slots (10 vertical and 2 horizontal) and it has enough interior space for E-ATX sized mainboards, four 3.5" and/or seven 2.5" drives (via two removable drive cages and a vertical drive tray), ten 120mm (or 5x140mm and 3x120mm) and/or three 240/280/360mm radiators (front/top/left), 470mm long graphics cards, 185mm tall CPU coolers and 200mm long power supply units (225mm without one of the two drive cages).

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two product drawings are placed at both the front and rear of the box in which Aerocool ships the Quartz Pro.

 

 

The specifications table is located on the left side while the features list is placed on the right side in 12 languages.

 

 

Typically the tower is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two thick foam spacers.

 

 

Inside the box you will find an aluminum bracket for three fans, P7-H1 hub with its quick start guide, 15 cable ties, 3 cable straps, three small plastic bags with screws and spacers and the user's manual.

 

 

THE QUARTZ PRO EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Quartz Pro measures 554mm in height, 566.7mm in length and 252mm in width while weighing a total of 17.8Kg.

 

 

Once again the entire left side panel is actually a large piece of tempered glass roughly 4mm thick.

 

 

As with most pictures in its range the fascia is perforated on both sides to allow air to reach the intake fans.

 

 

A second tempered glass panel is located at the front of the tower.

 

 

Unlike most cases this time over the front tempered glass panel opens up to reveal two 5.25" drive bays and a large removable air-filter.

 

 

Three 120mm RGB fans are located right after the filter and as expected you can replace these with either two 140mm fans or a 240/360mm radiator.

 

 

The I/O is located at the top of the fascia and includes two USB 2.0 ports, microphone and headphones ports, power on/off and reset buttons, two USB 3.0 ports, activity and power LEDs and a three speed fan controller.

 

 

Just over the 240/360mm radiator area at the top (of course you can also use 3x120mm or 2x140mm fans here) Aerocool has placed a removable magnetic air-filter.

 

 

The right side panel is made out of 1mm thick metal and is perforated at the front.

 

 

Moving at the rear we find a 140mm exhaust fan (without any LEDs), 12 PCI expansion slots (10 horizontal and 2 vertical ones) and the PSU area.

 

 

At the base of the tower we find four long round feet and a removable air-filter underneath the PSU area.

 

 

THE QUARTZ PRO INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside looks the Quartz Pro also does extremely well in terms of interior space.

 

 

At the front we find a removable 5.25" drive cage and right beneath it we see the radiator locations (front and left - for the left area you will need to use the bundled bracket).

 

 

The Quartz Pro may not have a PSU area shroud/cover but it does have a long aluminum plate which separates the mainboard area from the PSU area.

 

 

Here we see two removable drive cages (the bases can also be removed) each of which can hold up to two 3.5/2.5" drives.

 

 

The drive trays are made out of aluminum and are very sturdy.

 

 

Removing the right drive cage allows you to mount up to 60mm thick 240/360mm radiators while removing the left drive cage allows you to mount power supply units up to 225mm in length.

 

 

There are 9 rubber grommets on the mainboard tray for cable management purposes and 3 on the metal plate.

 

 

Unfortunately although the vertical PCI expansion slots are secured in place via regular thumbscrews the horizontal ones use regular screws.

 

 

The PSU area can accommodate power supply units up to 200mm in length without removing the left drive cage.

 

 

Taking a look at the right side of the tower we see a vertical aluminum tray, the rear of the two drive cages and the PSU area.

 

 

This aluminum drive tray can be outfitted with three 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.

As you can all see by using a regular ATX sized mainboard almost all of the rubber grommets are still accessible.

 

 

At the top you have two options, either use a thick (up to 56mm) 240/280/360mm radiator for passive cooling or use a thinner (up to 36mm) 240/280/360mm radiator with fans (we used an 56mm 360mm radiator and a 36mm 280mm radiator).

 

 

At the front you can mount up to 40mm thick 240mm long radiators without having to remove the right drive cage.

 

 

Of course if you don’t care about water cooling you can always mount even the tallest CPU air coolers.

 

 

With enough room for 470mm long graphics cards you will never have to worry about that ever again (if you decide to use a radiator on the left side you will still be able to mount graphics cards up to roughly 320mm long).

 

 

Most regular PSUs up to 1KW in output are less than 200mm long so you will probably not have to remove the left drive cage.

 

 

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 ontop 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   The overall design of the Quartz Pro Full Tower by Aerocool may not be unique since we’ve seen numerous similar models to date but as mentioned in the intro page looks alone don’t mean much. So the combination of looks, build quality, available features and interior space effectively makes the Quartz Pro a very interesting and promising full tower. In terms of features the Quartz Pro has plenty including the 5.25” drive bays which is not something we see a lot lately, two removable drive cages, left radiator/fan bracket, vertical GPU PCI expansion slot, air-filters (front/top/bottom), three 120mm RGB LED fans, one 140mm “regular” fan and a bundled P7-H1 RGB hub. Same goes for interior space since you can fit four 3.5" and/or seven 2.5" drives, ten 120mm (or 5x140mm and 3x120mm) and/or three 240/280/360mm radiators (front/top/left), 470mm long graphics cards, 185mm tall CPU coolers and 200mm long power supply units (225mm without one of the two drive cages) inside the Quartz Pro.

   Although after looking around for quite a bit it would seem that the Quartz Pro Full Tower by AeroCool is not yet available in the USA it is available in the EU for a rather balanced price of 164.85Euros (Amazon DE). Now as many of you are certainly aware that price range may be filled with various RGB mid-towers but it’s not filled with full towers like the Quartz Pro and so if interior space is also something you are looking for and you’re not willing to go over 200Euros for a PC case this will probably fit you like a glove which is why we’re giving it our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Looks (Tempered Glass Side & Front Panels / 3 RGB Fans)
- Can Support Up To 10 Fans
- Radiator Space (Top, Left & Front 240/280/360mm)
- Room For 4x3.5" & 3x2.5" Drives
- 2 Removable Drive Cages
- Space For 185mm Tall CPU Coolers, 225mm Long PSUs and 470mm Long Graphics Cards
- Vertical GPU Mount
- P7-H1 RGB Fan Controller

CONS

- USA Availability (Current)
- “Plain” Rear Fan