Akasa Mirage-62

Mirage-62 – Worth chasing?

Installing the test hardware into the Mirage was an absolute delight, helped in no small part by the outstanding removable motherboard tray. The ability to install your entire core hardware, cards, CPU heat sink and all, outside of the case made a huge difference, and I only wish that all cases were as easy to install into.

The independently removable side and roof panels made installing the PSU and hiding the cables a snap, and the extra room afforded by the extended dimensions meant there was always space to move inside – a refreshing change from the cramped internals of many modern designs.

The only real problem we experienced in installation was the HDD cage system, that can't be removed once a modern graphics card has been installed, and uses a bizarre popper based securing system. We'd have preferred thumb screws, especially when I was first trying to remove the cage and yanked it off straight into the side of the mercifully unharmed graphics card.



In our thermal testing, we were concerned that the Mirage's cooling setup simply wouldn't be able to cope with the high thermal output of our test gear, especially with the new inclusion of the passively cooled Radeon HD 3870. However, the two low speed 120mm fans performed admirably, and the case temperature even under load never rose more than four degrees above ambient, comparable to recent impressive results from the LanCool K7 Metal boned, despite the Mirage having one less 120mm fan.

Under stress, we see the component temperatures start to rise, with noticeably higher CPU and GPU temperatures in the CPU/RAM/GPU stress tests than any case we've tested recently. This was a little disappointing, especially considering the excellent case temperature, and is probably caused by the low CFM of the low RPM exhaust fan. However the disappointingly high component temperatures are offset by the stunningly quiet fans.


The Mirage surprised everyone in the office with its whisper quiet sound levels, and the two 120mm fans perform very well in this respect considering the case temperatures. We really were unable to hear the case over the hum of the office, and while in a perfectly silent room you would know it was there – in our testing environment people were genuinely bending down to the front of the case to check the fan was even on!

Conclusion

Due to the similarities between this and the Eclipse-62, the Mirage was always going to be compared to its sibling, the Eclipse. However, when you look at the case on its own, you realise just what a good piece of kit it really is. Probably the best removable motherboard tray I've ever used, combined with rock solid build quality from the light and durable aluminium frame make a great base for a system build, and while the look of the case could be seen as a little boring, there's plenty of room for customisation.

Although the component temperatures were admittedly a little disappointing, we feel the Mirage more than makes up for this slight stumble with simple brilliant noise levels, and its customisable, spacious and straightforward internal layout. However, I can't help but feel that this update to the Eclipse could, and perhaps should have been so much more than a face lift, especially when you consider the £20 price difference between the two models.

Just because something works well, doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, and despite a few nice additions, and the excellent noise performance, I came away wanting more. In the end, both are very well built and very high quality cases – it'll be down to personal preference whether you pay the extra money for the Mirage and its door.

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• 8/10

• Build Quality
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• 9/10

• Ease of Use
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• 10/10

• Performance
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• 8/10

• Value
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• 7/10

• Overall
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• 8/10

What do these scores mean?