Aerocool Mechatron Ultimate Gaming Series Chassis Review

Aerocool are working hard to raise their profile in Europe and we have reviewed a handful of their products recently, including the Aerocool Strike-X 800W PSU. Today we are looking at the Aerocool Mechatron which is part of the PGS B range of Chassis which stands for 'Performance Gaming System Black'. This is also known as 'the Ultimate Gaming Series'. Specifications Ideal "mid tower" case for gamers and PC enthusiasts. All black chassis interior. Solidly constructed chassis with 0.6mm SECC Japanese steel. Support CPU cooler max. height up to 175mm. Supports longer high-end cards up to 330mm. Supports 3 x 5.25" (External) + 3 x 2.5" HDD (Internal) and 4 x 3.5" HDD (Internal). Supports 2 x USB 3.0 or 2 x USB 2.0 and Audio/Mic ports are easily accessible from top panel. Pre-drilled holes for cable management with high-end rubber protection. Pre-drilled CPU on MB plate for ease of CPU assembly. Includes washable and easily removable (with magnet) PSU filter. Includes water-cooling holes to support water-cooling system. Includes anti-vibration pads to absorb shock and vibration from PSU and HDDs. Supports up to 8 fans: Front - 2 x 12 or 2 x 14 or 1 x 20cm fans(1 x 20cm Red LED fan included - Black Edition) Top - 2 x 12 or 2 x 14 or 1 x 18 or 1 x 20cm fans (Optional) Bottom - 1 x 12 or 1 x 14 cm (Optional) Left- 2 x 12 or 2 x 14 or 1 x 20cm fans (Optional) Rear- 1 x 12 cm fan (1 x 12cm Black fan included) The Aerocool packaging is certainly unique and will stand out in a store. It features three product pictures and two large wasp-like creatures. The artwork actually reminded me of the Sega 'Lost Planet' game. The back of the box is a similar design but lists the features in the bottom left corner. The packaging consists of two large Styrofoam blocks protecting either end of the chassis. The bundled accessories include a 3.5" bezel (to fit a 5.25" bay) as well as a User Manual a PSU L-bracket, some 3.5" HDD adapter's and an array of screws. On the left-hand side we can fit 2 x 120 mm fans, or 2 x 140 mm fans or a 200 mm fan. There is also a transparent window so you can see key components, although installing any fans will restrict this view considerably. We can see the front has quite a 'chunky' design, and is in fact wider than the rest of the case. They have clearly had some fun designing the front of this chassis. The bottom sticks out a few inches, which allows for a 200 mm fan to be installed behind. While it has a unique look we don't think it is particularly pleasing to the eye, although I'm sure it will appeal to a gaming audience. The top of the chassis has a raised plastic area, which features 2 x USB 3.0 ports, Headphone and Microphone sockets as well as a Power Switch and a Reset Switch. Behind this is a grill which is where either: a 2 x 140 mm fans, 2 x 120 mm fans or another 200 mm fan could be fitted. Potentially allowing you to fit 3 x 200 mm fans in this chassis. There isn't however enough space to fit a 240mm radiator (at least with any fans fitted). The right-hand side has no fan positions, but this view does emphasise the extra plastic bezel on the front and top of the chassis. The rear of the chassis features a 120 mm exhaust fan, as well as having 7 PCI slots and three watercooling holes. This is when we started to notice a few similarities to the BitFenix Ghost Chassis. The bottom of the chassis does feature a dust filter which is held in place by magnets, so can be removed quite easily. The inside view shows more similarities to that of the BitFenix Ghost. There are 4 x 3.5" bays, and 3 x 2.5" bays, although the 2.5" bays can be converted to 3.5" bays by unscrewing the left-hand side and moving it further to the left before securing it in place. The Aerocool Mechatron also features 3 x 5.25" bays, each with a simple tool-less mounting system. The rear of the chassis features a 120 mm Aerocool branded exhaust fan. From the right-hand side of the chassis we can see the large CPU cut-out and cable routing holes. Taking off the front of the chassis (which unfortunately has two cables connected to the front, but these can be pulled through), we can see the large red 200 mm Aerocool fan. First off we installed a Seasonic Platinum Rated 1000W Fully Modular power supply. We then installed a Motherboard and CPU bundle. There is plenty of space around the m-ATX board for installation. Aerocool have included 3 x 2.5" trays and 4 x 3.5" trays. It is just a case of clipping an SSD/HDD into them - by flexing the one side of the tray so the pins can lock into each side in turn. You can then just slide the trays into the bays. We also then installed a test system graphics card, a XFX Radeon 5450HD. There is clearly plenty of space for the larger high-end graphics cards. Finally we connected everything together. This was relatively easy in this chassis but we would prefer an extra few mm behind the motherboard tray as we struggled to route our large 24-pin power cable exactly where we wanted to. Today’s test system will give us a good idea of how well this case works in terms of thermal and acoustic performance. Processor: AMD Phenom X4 965 Black Edition @ 3.9 GHz. Motherboard: ASUS M4A785TD- M Evo Cooler: Akasa Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler Memory: 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1800MHz Graphics Cards: XFX Radeon 5450 HD (GPU @ 700 MHZ, Memory Clock @ 650 MHz) Power Supply: Seasonic 1000W Platinum Fully Modular Boot Drive: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB OS: Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit Pyle Digital Sound Level Meter PSPL25 In terms of thermal performance we were duly impressed. The HDD and MB temperatures hardly increased so there is clearly good airflow through the chassis. The processor temperature peaked at 55 degrees, which is slightly better than the BitFenix Ghost. Today, to test this chassis we have set our Sound Level Meter one meter away from the case. We then temporarily turned the two Akasa Venom Voodoo fans off, which leaves us with only the included case fans (in the Aerocool Mechatron 1 x 200 mm and 1 x 120 mm) and very little noise from the power supply fan. As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA – High Quality Computer fan 40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA - Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA - MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA - Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA - Threshold of Pain 140dBA - Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA - Instant Perforation of eardrum Unlike the BitFenix Ghost we were able to take an accurate measurement of the sound output level of the Aerocool Mechatron Chassis, indicating the fans are louder. That said, this case clearly benefits from the large 200 mm intake fan at the front. The Aerocool Mechatron is an interesting looking case, which offers a wide array of features for a mid-tower chassis. It has clearly been manufactured in the same factory as the BitFenix Ghost chassis as the main elements of the chassis are identical. There are however several key differences between the two designs. The Aerocool Mechatron has much more potential for cooling as 8 x 120 mm fans could be fitted, compared to the BitFenix Ghost which is only able to fit 6. The front, sides and top of the chassis also allow for more airflow to enter/exit the case due to the grill design. In contrast, the BitFenix Ghost suffers from more restricted airflow, but does boast superior sound suppression thanks to the BitFenix Serenitek Silencing Material on the sides and front of the chassis. The design of the Aerocool Mechatron does make it stand out from the crowd and the company offer white and blue variations. The front and top of the chassis feature some chunky bezels which give it a bit of a character, and also add to the functionality of the case. There is space for a 200 mm fan, and for fitting USB 3.0 and Power and Reset Switches. We do like that Aerocool have opted for a bold and eye catching design, but if you like a more subdued design then the Mechatron Ultimate will not appeal. In terms of overall noise characteristics, the Aerocool performs reasonably well, especially when you compare it to other mid-tower chassis. For instance it is on par with the CM Storm Scout II as both emit around 35 dB. That said, the BitFenix Ghost Chassis is significantly quieter than both of these cases. The thermal performance is a different story with the Aerocool Mechatron chassis producing more airflow than the CM Storm Scout II and BitFenix Ghost. We were certainly impressed that the hard drive temperature only rose by 2 degrees under full system load and the processor peaked at 55 degrees. Overall we are impressed with the design, quality and performance of the Aerocool Mechatron. Overall however I would opt for the BitFenix Ghost which is closely matched in thermal performance, but it almost silent under normal operating conditions. The price is £78.01 from Amazon.co.uk which is pretty much as we expected, although the BitFenix Ghost costs less at £74.99. While the BitFenix Ghost has the edge, the Aerocool Mechatron Ultimate is a good buy and will certainly appeal to a wide audience of gamers. Pros Good thermal performance. Can accommodate 3 x 200 mm fans. Caters for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Well built, and interesting design. Cons BitFenix Ghost is cheaper and quieter. Limited space behind motherboard tray. Kitguru says: Another good case from Aerocool although it faces stiff competition at this price.