Gigabyte Aurora case and WC kit

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2005/08/04/gigabyte_aurora_case/1.html

 

Oh no, another MB and graphics maker in the case arena!

Very interesting WCing solution, not the best but for the cash not bad!

 

The 'Discuss this Article' link in the article doesn't come here.
Fixed. Thanks.

 

wow

 

Honestly, the case looks pretty nice. Seems pretty functional to with the side input jacks and such. It doesn't seem like i'd be good for modding though (the whole mesh thing on the side panel) but still nice. Any temps from the complete WC system?

 

Very nice looking except for the bulge at the bottom of the bezel (nice alliteration there!)!!

 

"Over time this will, no doubt, need to be cleaned for dust over time."


Great article though, case looks great

 

A very nice case that, me likes

One thing with case reviews that I like to see is a largish 'side on' view of the case with all of the components installed, as it helps give a better idea of how much space there is and how easy cable management will be (having 5 hard drives in my main PC means space and easy cable management is a serious consideration when it comes to cases, though admittedly 5 hard drives is probably higher than average) than just a picture of an empty case .

On some occasions I understand you guys may not have the time, inclination or enough hardware to properly build a full system into every case you're given ...but when you do so it would be nice to see.

 

Nice case. I love it.

 

a full sized tower with external radiator :|

 

I like the little projection onto the floor on front of the case. I think that's pretty clever.

 

Niiiiiiiiice photos

 

Will, that's actually a good point. I try to do full installations in all my case reviews and take a LOT of pictures so why not have pics of the system in action (other than the angled shots I provided) to give you some idea of layout. The only thing is, I'm not going to install 5 hard drives as I don't have them . I'll be sure to include those type of shots in the future

 

I didn't do any formal load testing but my AMD 3700 SanDiego ran consistantly at 34C (ambient temps of 37) with normal activity. After hours of BF2, temps never rose more than a few degrees. And that was with the fan pot turned all the way down on the radiator fan so it was silent. From about half power to full power, the fan makes a significant amount of noise due to it's location.

I actually consider the 3D Aurora a great candiate for modding. It's not like a lot of other "pre-mod" cases where they do too much to the case and don't leave much for alteration. The side vent could easily be removed/replaced with a window or something, although it would affect the cooling qualities of the case.

 

thats what i was thinking.....i was thing of getting the case...ripping off the side vent and replacing it with plexi...and painting the whole thing black...

also does anyone know if all the pannels come off the case???

 

Which panels? Both of the side panels come off. The panel with the vent is secured with the latch handle and thumbscrews. The side panel on the motherboard side is secured by just thumbscrews. The vent parts are plastic so it could easily be removed. You could damage it in the process but it could be removed.

The top panel would probably involve drilling rivets. Hope that helps

 

yeah....thats good to hear....i would be worried to be drilling at rivets.is it hard??..and also could they be replaced with bolts insted of rivets to make that whole process of putting it back together??

 

that case really makes me want to upgrade....

It looks gorgeous.. functional.. robust...impressive.. bah i could go on forever..

GREAT review man! kudos on that..

 

Rivets are easy enough to drill out. And, yes, you could replace them with bolts or screws should you choose. Rivets are very easy to replace afterward as well though.

 

Good review, It would be a nice case if the front bezel wasn't so strange and bulbous. The little gromets for the water cooling tubing is great. Although I wonder if it's big enough for me to fit some 1/2" tubing with insulation through.

The water cooling system looks nice and pactical though. For the money, it's a pretty good deal. I'd rather build my own though.