Introduction
Raidmax has just launched a series of mid-tower cases targeted to the female audience, Aura, available in four unique colors: seashell pink, emerald green, polar blue and “really black”. This case has five external 5 ¼” bays, two external 3 ½” bays and three internal 3 ½” bays, coming with two 120-mm fans, one on the left side panel and the other on the rear panel, and screwless mechanisms for fastening disk drives. We reviewed the seashell pink version, check it out.
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Figure 1: Raidmax Aura case.
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Figure 2: Raidmax Aura case.
The fan used on the left panel glows blue when turned on, which in our opinion doesn’t match a case that is pink. The same problem occurs with the emerald green model, which should have a green fan, not a blue one.
This case uses a plastic door – pink, in the case of the reviewed model. The power switch is located on the plastic door and the power LED – which also glows blue when the PC is turned on – is located around this switch. The switch looks like a safe knob.
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Figure 3: Plastic door.
Introduction (Cont’d)
On Figure 4 you can see the front panel from this case, with its five external 5 ¼” bays and two external 3 ½” bays. You can find several air intake holes on the lower section of the front panel, to be used internally by an optional 120-mm fan that can be installed behind them.
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Figure 4: Front panel.
On the front panel you can also find a panel containing two USB ports – installed far apart, so you won’t face any trouble installing two USB devices – mic in and headphones jacks. Since this case has a door, you will need to keep its door opened to use the USB ports, however if the plugs from your headset aren’t too big you can close the door.
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Figure 5: Connectors available on the front panel.
Finally we have the rear panel on Figure 6, which uses the traditional ATX configuration but with a 120-mm fan. The side panels are attached to the case using thumbscrews, which is great.
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Figure 6: Rear panel.
Let’s see how Aura looks like inside.
Inside Aura
On Figure 7 you have an overall look from the interior of this case. Even though you can remove the right side panel, the motherboard tray is permanently attached to the chassis.
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Figure 7: Inside Aura.
This case uses individual screwless mechanisms to fasten daughter boards to the case. On Figure 8 you can see the rear 120-mm fan and these mechanisms. Both fans from this case use a standard 4-pin peripheral power connector, so they must be installed directly on the power supply and not on the motherboard, not allowing you to monitor their speed.
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Figure 8: Rear 120-mm fan and slots with screwless mechanisms to fasten daughter boards.
The Disk Drive Bays
As mentioned, this case has five external 5 ¼” bays, two external 3 ½” bays and three internal 3 ½” bays for hard disk drives. All bays use screwless mechanisms for the installation of disk drives. The mechanism used is really screwless and you don’t need to install any kind of device on your drives. Some “screwless” mechanisms need you to screw rulers to your drives, making them not really “screwless”, making no sense at all.
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Figure 9: 5 ¼” bays.
The screwless mechanism used is completely different from others we’ve seen to date, see Figure 10. For installing 5 ¼” devices such as optical drives, you need to remove both side panels from the case, remove the front plastic cover from the bay you want to use, break the metallic cover found behind the plastic cover, open the two screwless mechanism present (one at each side of the bay), slide in your device and then lock the mechanisms back in place.
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Figure 10: Screwless mechanism.
On Figure 11 you can see the three hard disk drive bays, which are rotated 90º in comparison with the other bays. You can’t remove or rotate these bays. Between the hard disk drive bays and the front panel there is space for you to install an additional 120-mm fan, which doesn’t come with the case.
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Figure 11: Hard disk drive bays.
Main Features
Aura case main specs include:
- Application: ATX and smaller form factors derived from this one.
- Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC).
- Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product.
- Available colors: Seashell pink, polar blue, emerald green and really black.
- Side panel: Transparent with a 120-mm side fan that glows blue.
- Dimensions: 17” x 7 7/8” x 20” (43.2 cm x 20 cm x 50.8 cm) (H x W x D).
- Net Weight: N/A
- Gross Weight: N/A
- Bays: Five external 5 ¼” bays, two external 3 ½” bays and three internal 3 ½” bays.
- Expansion slots: Seven.
- Fans: One 120-mm fan on the rear and one 120-mm fan on the side. Space for one 120-mm fan on the front.
- More Information: http://www.raidmax.com
- Average price in the US*: USD 80.00.
Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
Conclusions
Raidmax Aura is a mid-tower case targeted to the average user that wants a case with a fancy color. Here is a summary of what we found about this case.
Strong Points
- Available in very unique colors, targeted to the female audience.
- Magnetic lock for the front door.
- Good really screwless mechanisms for fastening disk drives to the case.
- Screwless mechanism for fastening daughter boards to the case.
- No sharp edges that could cut our hands or fingers while building the PC.
Weak Points
- Side fan and power LED are blue, not matching the color of the case.
- Fans use standard peripheral power plugs, not allowing you to monitor their speed.
- Paint job could be a lot better; we found painting flaws on several parts of the case.
- Expensive for a mid-tower case which only unique feature is its color.
- While the number of hard disk drive bays (three) is enough for the average user, high-end users should look for a different product.
- Other mid-tower cases provide more features.
In summary, its overall quality could be better and its price could be lower. What really counts against this case is its price, being more expensive than other products that provide a better overall quality, like Antec Three Hundred – even though you probably won’t find cases on the market with the same color selection.
Originally at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/596
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