Bitfenix Aegis Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 31.03.15
With the Aegis, BitFenix has an entirely new case in it's portfolio, which offers space for mATX motherboards. Apart from that it's rather big and the manufacturer must have been thinking quite a lot about adding new features. There is for example a PSU cover, a display, that's been integrated into the front as well as things like a pump bracket for custom watercooling.
Rating |
| |
Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Good
compatibility for watercooling, even custom loops
+ Numerous spots for
fans |
+ Separate compartment for PSU
+ Display |
+ Interior
space |
+ Solid steel |
|
| Cons |
- Only one fan included |
|
- Limited space for PSU |
- Very low
cost lacker, which easily scratches |
- Although
there are quite a few decent features, the price is rather steep |
|
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Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
Aegis |
| Case Type: |
Mid tower |
| Dimensions: |
205mm (W) x 470 mm (H) x 480 mm (D), 6.7Kg |
| Material: |
Steel |
| Color: |
Red |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
0 |
| 3.5": |
4 |
| 2.5": |
4 |
| Expansion
slots: |
4 |
| Form factors: |
mATX, Mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
3x 120 or 2x 140mm |
| Rear: |
1x 120 (included) |
| Top: |
3x 120 or 2x 140mm |
| Bottom: |
1x 120/140mm |
| Side: |
/ |
| Link to the product: |
Bitfenix Aegis |
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Features
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Product overview
Overview |
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| |
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The Bitfenix Aegis is a mid-tower case with a rather generous size and is characterized by a clean and elegant design.
The front panel does not feature any 5.25" slots, in fact, there is only one large panel behind
which you can find two fans and the Bitfenix ICON. The top uses a different style,
as it features a large mesh with the I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports, audio jacks, fan controller and power on / reset buttons. The Bitfenix Aegis is a well-designed case and uses the most common and best solutions
and comes with plenty of dust filters at the bottom and at the top of the case. This
Aegis case is available in several colors: white, black, blue, yellow and red. |
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Installation
Overview |
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The inside
of the Aegis is quite spacious, even though you might think it is not, since there is a big cover at the PSU area. As we already said, the motherboard tray features pre-soldered standoffs, so that you can fix your motherboard without any hassle. There is also a big opening behind the socket, so that you can install aftermarket cooling systems without having to take the whole motherboard off. On the tray, there are five openings for routing cables,
which should not be a problem since there is a lot of space between the motherboard tray and the right panel. The HDDs and SSDs can be installed without any difficulty
with the supplied slides located in the top and lower part of the case. The most interesting aspect of this case is definitely the space dedicated to the power supply and the aforementioned PSU cover.
For our test we used an mATX motherboard with mid-size CPU cooler and a long
graphics card. Despite the length of our Club3D R9 290X we were able to correctly place all the components inside the case. We only
had a few problem with the power supply since the HDD cage is too close to the PSU area and
in order to put all the components in place, we had to removed the HDD
cage.
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Ventilation options
Overview |
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The
cooling part of the Bitfenix Aegis is decent as there are few different spots to install fans. The package includes only one
120mm fan with 3-pin header. Apart from that there is also space for two 120 mm fans at the top and three, of the same size,
at the front. As you could have
guessed, this means there should be enough room for a 240/280mm liquid
cooling radiator at the top and 360mm the front; since there is some good space between plastic and chassis you can also create push-pull configuration. In order to keep
everything simple, Bitfenix placed a couple of supports for tank and pump mounting.
Regarding the size allowed within Aegis case, you can mount CPU cooler with a maximum height of 170mm and graphics card up to 380mm
long. |
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Temperatures
Overview |
|
| |
For testing purposes we're using an ASUS P8Z77-I ITX motherboard, an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, which receives cooling through a be quiet! Dark Rock 3 cooler as well as a Club3D R9 290X royalAce graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. |
|
All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (°C) |
Full (°C) |
|
Intel Core i5-2500K |
33 / 34 / 31 / 33 |
53 / 52 / 55 / 54 |
| Club3D R9 290X royalAce |
35 |
76 |
|
Less is better |
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Conclusion
In conclusion we can say that BitFenix Aegis is a mid-tower
PC case designed for those that aim to have a fresh rig compatible with all-in-one watercooling solutions as well as custom loops. BitFenix decided
to use a glossy plastic finish on this model, rather light and easy to scratch up.
We would have prefered to see a different material treated in a better way in order to add
a bit more value to the overall design of the product.
The available interior space is adeguate for a case compatible with micro-ATX motherboards
and thanks to the extra space available behind every plastic cover, you can build push-pull watercooling setups without removing everything inside the case. Only the area dedicated to the power supply is a little bit under dimensioned and in the case of units of large dimensions it is necessary to remove one HDD cage. Since the cooling seems to be the key point of this case, BitFenix also added a small three-way controller that can handle up to a maximum of four fans. Using the basic equipment of the case,
which includes a 120mm fan at the rear of the chassis, we found that temperatures
are at a reasonable level mostly due to thanks plenty of openings on the Aegis.
The amount of features available is interesting and we appreciate the small
2.8-inch TFT display placed on the front panel of the case, something we already seen on
the Pandora. This feature increases the final cost of the case, however, BitFenix offers two different versions with or without ICON Display. In addition, there are five different colors in order to meet the taste of each user and modder.
The final price of the BitFenix Aegis with ICON display is about 94 euro on the
price search engine Geizhals. In our opinion, the price is slightly higher and we would like to see at least one more fan in the package in order to reach a proper airflow. Overall, this case is a good solution for those who want a product suitable for watercooling solutions
with support fo custom loops thanks to the two pump and reservoir supports available in
the package. The build quality is good but we would like to see a different plastic with higher quality; but since there are quite a few things that could be improved we
give the Bitfenix Aegis
4 out of 5 stars.
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