INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Full towers may take quite a bit of space on your floor or desk but if you happen to own or want to purchase either an E-ATX or an XL-ATX sized mainboard (or if you want to mount more than one large radiator inside) then these are pretty much the only PC cases with enough interior space to properly support them (and of course all the hardware components you will accompany them with). Unfortunately, as mentioned many times already in our past reviews since for the majority of the consumer base even mid-towers are more than enough manufacturers focus almost the entirety of their resources in the development of those instead. This is why whenever a full tower gets released into the market (and doesn't happen to fall under our radar) we do our best to check it out and so with us today we have the latest full tower PC case by Aerocool named the Tor Pro 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 strive 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/

   Aerocool released 6 new PC cases recently including the Tor Pro RGB full tower (available in either black or white) which also happens to be not only the largest of them all but also the top of the line model since it comes ready with two tempered glass panels (side/front), four 140mm Edge Addressable RGB fans (compatible with Asus Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light and Gigabyte Fusion RGB), 10 port RGB control hub (low/high speed settings), magnetic air-filter placed at the bottom, 9 PCI expansion slots and a USB 3.1 type C I/O port. Its spacious interior however is probably just as important and so inside the Tor Pro RGB you can mount up to E-ATX sized mainboards, up to twelve fans (12x120mm/9x140mm) and/or 4 radiators (480/360/280/240mm), two 3.5" and/or four 2.5" drives, 189mm tall CPU coolers, very long power supply units (depends largely on the how many fans you will choose to mount in that section of the case) and 383mm long graphics cards. So, although great on paper it's time for us to move forward with our review and see just what you can really expect from the brand new Tor Pro RGB Full Tower by Aerocool.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two partial product drawings are placed at the front of the box right beneath the company logo.

 

 

The case variant is selected on the left side of the box while on the right side we find the features list in 12 languages.

 

 

Another product drawing is printed at the rear of the box right next to the specifications table.

 

 

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

 

 

Along with the Tor Pro RGB full tower you will also get an RGB remove control, RGB header adapter, 10 cable ties, small bag with screws and standoffs and the user's manual.

 

 

THE TOR PRO EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 566mm tall, 473mm long and 249.5mm wide Tor Pro RGB may not be the largest full tower to ever pass from our lab but it's still larger than any mid-tower that comes to mind.

 

 

Moving on the left side we find a large tempered glass panel held in place via 4 thumbscrews (however these are short screws so pay extra attention when removing them so you don't drop the panel by mistake).

 

 

Aerocool has also used a tempered glass panel for the fascia which looks great largely thanks to the three visible 140mm fans.

 

 

The I/O is located at the top of the fascia and here we find a USB 3.1 Type-C port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphones 3.5mm ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, LED button, reset button, activity LEDs and the power on/off button.

 

 

You can remove the fascia to access the 140mm fans just by pulling it from the hole located at its base.

 

 

These three 140mm Edge RGB addressable fans can be replaced with four 120mm fans and can be paired with a 240/280/360/480mm radiator.

 

 

Moving at the rear of the Tor Pro we find yet another 140mm Edge RGB fan, enough room for even a 240/280mm radiator, the PSU area (located at the top) and the 9 PCI expansion slots.

 

 

The right side panel has a perforated area at the top which unfortunately doesn't feature an air-filter.

 

 

A large magnetic air-filter on the other hand is located at the base of the tower.

 

 

THE TOR PRO INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again the Tor Pro may not be the most spacious full tower we've seen but it should be more than enough for most people.

 

 

At the front there's enough room for 240/280/360/480mm radiators regardless of thickness (this is also where we recommend mounting one).

 

 

You can mount yet another 240/280mm radiator on the perforated section of the PSU area.

 

 

The mainboard tray has 8 openings for cable routing and of course a very large opening underneath the CPU area.

 

 

For good or bad Aerocool decided to go with regular screws for all 9 PCI expansion slots.

 

 

There's another fan/radiator area at the bottom of the tower where you can use a 240/280mm radiator (52mm thick max) with up to 3x120mm and/or 2x140mm fans.

 

 

Turning the case around we see four vertical drive trays (2x2.5" - 2x2.5"/3.5"), the 10 port RGB control hub and the PSU area.

 

 

All four drive trays are made out of aluminum and are indeed very sturdy.

 

 

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.

Even if you mount a rather large PSU in the Tor Pro there's still enough room for a 240mm radiator with fans.

 

 

With enough room for even E-ATX mainboards the ATX model we use leaves lots of room around it.

 

 

At the front you can mount 240/280/360/480mm radiators (we used an 280mm one for this review which can also be placed at the top and bottom areas as well).

 

 

You can also use CPU air coolers up to 189mm tall.

 

 

Of course, with enough room for graphics cards up to 383mm long you should be able to fit most cards even if you decide to go with a thick front radiator.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   It’s been many years since we last had a full tower by Aerocool in our lab so when they announced their latest tower line, we immediately requested the Tor Pro. Of course, as a full tower the Tor Pro has enough room for pretty much anything you could ever think about throwing inside including up to E-ATX sized mainboards, twelve fans (12x120mm/9x140mm) and/or 4 radiators (480/360/280/240mm), two 3.5" and/or four 2.5" drives, 189mm tall CPU coolers, very long power supply units and 383mm long graphics cards. Still interior space is not the only selling point of the brand-new Tor Pro since it does extremely well in the looks department not only thanks to its two tempered glass panels but also because of the 4 preinstalled 140mm Edge RGB Addressable fans which look rather impressive (the 10 port RGB controller certainly helps). Not all is perfect of course and so the lack of top mounting spots for a radiator and/or fans was something that did surprise us. Of course, airflow is not really a concern especially since aside the four preinstalled 140mm fans (which alone produce good airflow levels) you have the ability to mount extra fans both in the PSU area and the rear mounting area but still we see no reason as to why the top should be the way it is.

   Since Aerocool released the Tor Pro roughly a month ago availability is still not that great so although we were unable to find the Tor Pro sold anywhere in the USA it’s currently available in the EU for a price of 109Euros (Amazon.co.uk). Considering that just the four 140mm Edge RGB Addressable fans (also remote controlled) would probably cost half of that amount if not more (so far not sold by Aerocool) we think that Aerocool has priced the Tor Pro extremely well. Overall the Tor Pro delivers both in looks and interior space and although it’s far from the perfect PC case it’s very good and clearly good enough for our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Looks (Tempered Glass Side & Front Panels / 4 Edge 140mm RGB RC Fans)
- Spacious Interior (383mm Long Graphics Cards / 189mm Tall CPU Coolers / Long PSUs)
- Room for Up To 12 Fans or Four 240/280/360/480mm Radiators
- Bottom Magnetic Air Filter
- 10 Port RGB Controller
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- USA Availability (Current)
- No Top Fan / Radiator Mounting Area