BitFenix Aegis Review

BitFenix Aegis Review

Manufacturer: BitFenix
UK price (as reviewed): £69.95 (inc VAT) or £79.99 (inc VAT) (with programmable display)
US price (as reviewed): TBC

BitFenix is certainly not a company to shy away from trying new things with case design. Sometimes it pays off - the Prodigy for example, and other times it doesn't. These days, there's something of a change afoot in case design and both aesthetics and internal layout are the focus of designers as manufacturers attempt to offer us something other than a bland black box. BitFenix hasn't hit too many nails on the head in the tower case category but the micro-ATX-focussed Aegis is something we've been looking forward to for a while.


The price did raise a few eyebrows - considering what we were told about its water-cooling potential and snazzy colour schemes, £69.99 didn't seem that much. Thankfully, this doesn't translate into poor build quality. The side panels are a bit thin and can be a bit stiff to deal with, but for the most part that was the only issue. Our red sample is just one of numerous colours the case is available in, but be warned - they're pretty lively, although if you like red and black together, for example, or want to colour code the case to the rest of your system or water-cooling loop, they're perfect.


The side panels are painted, but the rest of the coloured part of the chassis is, in this case, vibrant red with a black front plastic fascia. The downside to this is that it attracts dust so readily that we pretty much gave up trying to clean it - every time we wiped it down, the dust just flew back into place. Apologies in advance for any dust-filled photos, but overall it's an attractive case that's not cheap-looking, despite the copious amounts of plastic used. That said, it won't be for everybody but the fact it's available in so many colours should mean that most people will find one to their liking, even if the plastic is glossy and its use is extensive.


The Aegis comes in two flavours, as well as a bunch of colours. Our sample was the more expensive, at £80, as it has a similar programmable display to that in the Pandora. It connects to your motherboard via a USB port and you can upload your own logos too. If this isn't your thing then you can save £10 and pay £70 for the case instead.


There are plenty of vents visible on the outside, with a mesh plus a couple of small vents on the front fascia plus a large removable vent in the roof too. All the Aegis models that we're aware of come with a large side window too plus there are extensive dust filters at the front and underneath the case, dealing with the front fan mounts, the base fan mount and PSU - all are easily accessible.

The front panel is pretty standard and is located on the roof, offering two USB 3 ports, a couple of minijacks and the usual audio ports, power and reset buttons. However, we were very impressed to see a button-toggled fan controller here too, with a light displaying the current one of three fan speeds that correspond to 5V, 7V and 12V, while inside the molex-powered controller is split into four 3-pin connectors - actually not quite enough to deal with the case's full complement of fans but a highly useful addition nonetheless.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 205 x 480 x 470 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Steel, plastic
  
• Available colours Black, white, red, blue, yellow
  
• Weight 6.7kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, stereo, microphone
  
• Drive bays 4 x internal 3.5in, 4 x internal 2.5in
  
• Form factor(s) Micro-ATX, mini-ITX
  
• Cooling 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (fan included), 2 x 140mm or 3 x 120mm front fan mounts, 2 x 140mm or 3 x 120mm roof fan mounts, 1 x 140/120mm bottom fan mount (fans not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 170mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 380mm
  
• Extras Programmable front display (£79.99 model only), 4-channel 3-speed fan controller, dust filters