Case and Cooling

ABS has made Gigabyte's 3D Aurora 570 the face of its flagship gaming system. Available in black or silver, it sports a brushed aluminum exterior with blue plastic surrounding the front I/O ports. Blue LEDs adorn said front panel, the power button, and the three case fans. There’s even an LED that projects the ABS logo onto the surface of your desk. Shiny!

The robust drive bay door and the side panel each have locking mechanisms to keep nosy passersby at bay, emanating a sort of "look, but don't touch" vibe. It weighs just less than 20 pounds empty; consequently, its paneling isn’t extraordinarily sturdy at about a millimeter thick. You won't find a traditional acrylic window on the 3D Aurora. In its stead is a steel-mesh grille. Not as eye-catching, but internal lighting shines through and it acts as decent ventilation. On the topic of ventilation, there is none at the top of the case. The power supply is entrusted with getting rid of that hot, rising air.



The inside of this ATX case is very roomy. Of course, it's got to be to fit all the goodies ABS has packed in there. Measuring in at 8 x 20.5 x 22.4 inches, there is room for five 5.25" drives and seven 3.5" drives, two of which can be external. Plastic locking mechanisms on the drive bays and screw-less hard drive rails provide for tool-less installation across the board. Two 120mm fans are placed at the rear for exhaust, an element that Gigabyte claims to have pioneered. The third fan is placed on the front of the case, blowing air from outside across the hard drives. The entirety of the upper portion of the case is free of obstructions, ensuring that the larger high-end power supplies fit easily, and a removable support bar holds them in place.


A definite advantage of buying a prebuilt computer is the professional cable routing. They spend a lot of time and energy making sure that it looks pretty when you take off the side panel to show your friends. It also does wonders for air flow. They do such good job that some cables just don't want to move anywhere. For instance, the SATA cables come zip-tied to adhesive anchors on the hard drives themselves; this makes drive removal or replacement a real chore. Other than that, ABS' cable management puts the average rag-tag bunch of twist-ties to shame. Just be sure to remember how everything goes when you have to dig in there for upgrading.


The CPU is cooled by the 3D Aurora's companion cooling solution, the Galaxy II. Two mounting holes above the fan grates and rubber-lined outlets for tubing on the backside of the case obviously accommodate Gigabyte's only horse in the liquid-cooling race. The 2-in-1 reservoir/pump sits inside the case, sandwiched between the video cards and hard drive cage, and the radiator hangs on the outside rear. The latter, in addition to receiving airflow from the upper-rear 120mm case fan, has a 120mm fan built-in. This fan is adjustable from 1200 to 2600 RPM via an exterior knob installed into an expansion slot. The temperature difference between low speed and high speed is about ten percent, but be warned: The radiator fan on the highest setting is the loudest component of a setup that includes two stock-cooled 8800 Ultras. There is an additional 80mm fan that clips onto the CPU water block, but it makes very little impact on the temperature of the processor. Its only practical function is cosmetic, as the water block isn't much to look at. The blue LEDs are a plus, matching the coolant and the other lighting scattered throughout the system.