Aerocool Strike X-Cube Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 14.01.15
Strike X-Cube is the latest case from Aerocool, which in this case features a compact form factor as well as space for mATX as well as miniITX motherboards. Despite its compact dimensions, there is actually enough space for small high-end gaming systems and therefore it might be a case that offers some rather interesting options. Apart from the fact, that there is space for high-end graphics cards you'll also be able to install an all-in-on watercooler.
Today,
we will be checking out one of the latest PC cases from Aerocool, the mini cube
Strike X-Cube.
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Preview
Specifications
| Model |
AerocoolStrikeX-Cube |
| Case Type |
Cube case |
| Dimensions |
380mm (H) x 280mm (W) x 350mm (D) |
| Material |
SGCC, plastic |
| Color |
Black |
| 5.25'' drive
bay |
1 |
| 3.5'' drive bay |
3 |
| 2.5'' drive bay |
5 |
| Expansion
slots |
4 |
| Form factors |
Micro ATX, Mini-ITX |
| Cooling |
Front: 1x200mm (Included)
Top: 2x 120/140mm
Rear: 2x 140mm (One Included)
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Bundle
Overview |
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| The Aerocool Strike X-Cube bundle is pretty straight-forward. The actual box is made out of cardboard with all the basic informations printed on it. Inside, we found the
Strike X-Cube wrapped up in a plastic bag, and safely placed inside two big pieces of styrofoam, so that even the roughest shipping can't break it. Along with the case itself, the bundle also includes an instruction manual, which is always helpful, and few other things
like the plastic bag with enough screws needed to assemble your system and
a couple of zip-ties which should help you get a better cable management.
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Product overview
Overview |
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The Aerocool
Strike X-Cube is a cube-style case characterized by a unique aggressive appearance. The front panel provides a 5.25" slot
for optical drives or fan controllers. Both side panels are pretty simple,
as the left features a large window, while the right one has a small mesh located near to the PSU area.
The front I/O panel on the Strike X-Cube features two USB 3.0 ports, a fan controller and standard 3.5mm audio jacks. The top part of the Strike X-Cube case features a huge "X" shape made
from red mesh. The build quality is quite good and
both the front and the top panels are made from red mesh material. |
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Installation
Overview |
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The Aerocool Strike X-Cube is compatible with micro-ATX and mini-ITX
motherboards. The motherboard itself is placed in a horizontal position, therefore, there should not be any big problems with the installation of the components since the tray is
actually removable. The tray itself features three cut-outs for cable managment with rubber grommets. The case
features two levels, where the bottom layer is for the PSU and SSDs/HDDs, which can be mounted without any tools thanks to tool-less 3.5/2.5-inch
system. The second level features a space for the motherboard with a large
cut-out for backplate mounting. For our system we chose to use
the ASUS Maximus V Gene motherboard with graphics cards of various length. After placing the motherboard in its seat we
had some wiring problems with longer graphics cards, since the part of
the graphics card where you need to plug in PCI-Express power connectors was completely covered by the 2.5-inch
cage. Thankfully, that same cage is removable so it was not a big issue.
As far as the power supply is concerned, we used a standard sized PSU without any issues since the space dedicated is more than enough.
The
Aerocool Strike X-Cube is compatible with graphics card with maximum length of 320mm and CPU cooler
with up to 162mm height (or 187mm without top fans). Despite rather
decent height limitations of the CPU cooler and the removable tray, we had some issues with our CPU cooler, since once
the CPU cooler is mounted when the actual tray is removed, it was
impossible to put the tray back inside the case. We did not even use a
tall cooler as we decided to go with a 160mm one, but the heatpipes collided with
the upper chassis. However, we have solved the problem by mounting the
CPU cooler when the tray was actually inside the case.
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Ventilation options
Overview |
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| The
cooling part of the Aerocool Strike X-Cube is decent as it offers various cooling
options. The package includes two fans, 200mm and 140mm one, both with 3-pin
connectors. Overall, the case is able to accommodate two 120/140 mm fans
at the top and one at the rear. In addition to those mounting places,
the Strike X-Cube can also house a 200mm at the front. As you could have
guessed, this means there should be enough room for a 240mm liquid
cooling radiator at the top. |
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[pagebreak]
Conclusion
| General |
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+ |
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| Aerocool's Strike X-Cube is a rather unique
cube-style PC case with support for micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboard and
is designed for those who like somewhat different design approach or are
looking for a new modding project, since the Strike X-Cube is available in different colors. Unlike what you might think, the Strike X-Cube is not a small case
at all, and with the right precautions, you should be able to install high-end video cards. The build quality is pretty good and the materials are pleasant to
the touch. |
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- Bundle
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| Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics |
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+ |
- |
| The Strike X-Cube is made of SGCC
steel and ABS plastic painted black and
these are definitely quality materials, both internally and externally. Although the side panels are quite light and thin, which is never a good sign, we did not observe any sharp edges. As for the
hardware mounting process, we found some problems during the installation of
longer graphics cards as well as some problems with the removable
motherboard tray. During the installation, we struggled to correctly insert our tray inside the case because the heatpipes of our cooler were too high despite the complete dimension
were only 160mm. However, we managed to install everything but without using
the removable tray feature. We can certainly appreciate the rubber grommets placed inside the chassis as well as the thumb screws but we would like to see more of
such solutions used on the Strike X-Cube. |
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- Build quality
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- Compatibility between removable tray and coolers
- Not entirely tool-less |
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| Design |
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| Of course, the design is always a matter of taste. In our opinion,
the Aerocool Strike X-Cube follows stylistic choices that might not appeal to many
users. The design is aimed at aggressive modders which will surely know both how to appreciate and to mod this PC case. Regarding the cooling, there are two 200 and 140 mm
fans which are pre-installed and there is space for
additional two 120/140mm fans at the top. Aerocool has also thought of those who love quiet cases since it has added a small fan controller
at the top part of the Strike X-Cube. |
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- Design
- Water cooling solutions
- Fan controller
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| Recommendation |
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+ |
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| The price of the Aerocool Strike X-Cube on Geizhals is about €81.89 and it is available
in different colors. In our opinion, the overall quality is good, however, there are some aspects that could
and should be improved. The price is in line with other products in the same genre and we recommend this model to modders and
those looking for a rather unique PC case design. |
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Gaming-PC
- Modding |
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| Rating |
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The
Aerocool Strike X-Cube gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. |
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