A gaming chassis with room to accomodate XL-ATX compatibility and many more features. Is Strike-X ST the ultimate gaming tower?
Product on Review: Strike–X ST
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Aerocool
Street Price: £185(At time of review)
Aerocool are a keen advocate of the gaming genre – be it gaming cases, gaming PSUs or even gaming peripherals. It was at Computex 2011 that Aerocool announced the Strike-X series of products and today we will be taking a look at one such product that features within the Strike-X range – Strike-X ST.
Strike-X ST is a full tower gaming chassis. Dubbed the “ultimate gaming tower” Aerocool have designed Strike-X ST to have full support for XL-ATX and have enough space to accommodate high-end components. On paper Strike-X ST has all the features but how will it compare against other full towers currently on the market? Let’s find out.
Aerocool’s Strike-X ST Promotional Video
Aerocool’s take on Strike-X ST
Introducing the new Strike-X series from AeroCool – the ultimate gaming equipment for gamers and enthusiasts world-wide! The Strike-X series includes a wide range of gaming equipment from cases to PSUs to fan controllers to speakers, in fact everything the gamer would require will soon be available.The first thing to mention about the AeroCool Strike-X ST Ultimate Gaming Tower Case is that it is big. It stands 635mm tall, 700mm deep and 230mm wide! But there is a reason for this; the case is designed to accommodate any type of computer system. Features such as being able to install virtually any sized motherboard, two PSUs and up to a total of 21 cooling fans make this a chassis for the extreme enthusiast!
Technical Specifications
Case Type Full Tower
Material SECC 0.8mm
Motherboards Micro ATX/ATX/E-ATX/XL-ATX/HPTX
Case Dimensions 635mm (H) x 230mm (W) x 700mm (D)
Drive Bays 4x 5.25″ (Exposed) / 10x 3.5″ HDD or 2.5″ HDD / 1x 3.5″+2.5″ HDD hot swap slot
Expansion Slots 10 Slots
Max length space available for PCI slots 430mm
I/O Ports 2 x USB 3.0 / 2x USB2.0 / Audio+Mic
Fan Specifications
Packaging & First Look
The Strike-X ST is presented in a rather eye-catching box with a flame featured on the front and back. The design depicts the chassis on the front whilst the back has a further two images. The sides feature the technical specifications. Inside the Strike-X ST is covered in a thick plastic sheet and held in place via dual Polyurethane pillars. As packaging goes, these pillars are much preferred as they don’t break or crumble like polystyrene does.
Strike-X ST packaging catches the eye
Taking Strike-X ST out of its packaging we are met with a gamer type of chassis – of that there is no doubt. The prominent side features a large semi-transparent mesh panel giving the ability to fix up to 6x 120mm fans or a single 200mm. Whilst the reverse features a solid side panel with the option to attach a 120mm fan behind the CPU socket for additional cooling.
Strike-X ST has the type of styling that only a certain category of gamers/enthusiasts have a taste for due to its garish, rugged appearance. In its favour are the sheer dimensions of the depth of this chassis – revealing a significant amount of space for bigger components and systems.
Prominent side panel has a large mesh panel
A case primarily for the gamer
Over the page we will explore the outer elements of Strike-X ST.
Exterior
Continuing on our tour of the external features of Strike-X ST we come to the front. Almost the entire front panel is constructed of plastic and has a design modelled on a military type of vehicle like a tank. The lower region has some areas of mesh because the underside features a 200mm red LED intake fan. Towards the top there are 4x 5.25” bay covers – these are removable from the outside of the case.
Around the back there is a space at the bottom for mounting the PSU and above this are up to 10x PCI expansion slot covers – each with airflow cut-outs. To the side of this section are 5x circular rubber grommets to assist with water-cooling tubing. Above this there is a mesh section for the 140 rear exhaust red LED fan. At the very top there is an additional spot for installing another PSU – to the side there are even more circular rubber grommets.
The front and back of Strike-X ST
At the top of Strike-X ST are the front panel controls. Here there is a selection of ports and buttons. Aerocool have included the following:
• 2x USB 3.0 ports (not via motherboard header – cables)
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• Headphone and microphone jack
• Fan control – Side, Top, Front
• HDD docking station – 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives
If you are wondering where the power/reset buttons are, they are on the front panel above. Overall some good features to be had. The knobs here do feel slightly flimsy though and there is disappointment when the USB ports have to route to the motherboard I/O rather than plugging directly into the motherboard header.
The front panel controls for Strike-X ST
Further back on this top panel is a large plastic cover with a mesh section in the middle – on the underside, within the chassis is a 200mm red LED fan. The discerning amongst you will realise this fan is actually further forward than most top case fans inside computer cases.
The top of Strike-X ST
On the underside of Strike-X ST are 4x rubber feet and a large section of mesh for both the PSU and attaching cooling fans. There is a thin plastic filter – but it has no handle and to get it removed you will need to turn the case on its side as pictured.
The underside of Strike-X ST
On the next page we will delve inside Strike-X ST to reveal the internal layout and features.
Interior
As is typical with computer cases nowadays – the side panels are secured via 2 thumbscrews on either side. The prominent side panel with mesh insert does warp slightly and upon moving it around it does have a rattle.
Inside, we are met with a very spacious interior. There are numerous cable management grommets, tool-less design for getting devices in and out, fan hubs around the motherboard tray and the motherboard mounting holes sit slightly lower for the inclusion of a top mounted PSU or water-cooling radiator placement. Strike-X ST supports XL-ATX and E-ATX motherboards.
Spacious internal layout
Behind the motherboard tray numerous cable management grommets
Moving inside for a closer look, the bottom section has an area for mounting the PSU. Sadly there should be 4x rubber pads here but the sample we received only had 3x. Next to the PSU seating area are mounting holes for attaching a 120mm fan. The underside does have a filter sheet but to get at it the case must be turned on its side.
The PSU section at the bottom of Strike-X ST
Further up there are up to 10x PCI expansion slot covers each with ventilation holes for better airflow within Strike-X ST and thumbscrews for easy removal.
Lots of PCI expansion slot covers for multi-GPU configurations
At the top of the chassis Aerocool have included 2x cooling fans. A 140mm rear exhaust red LED fan that spins at an astounding 1500RPM with 33.0dBA. Above this rear exhaust is a placement for top mounting the PSU and this also gives more clearance for water-cooling. At the top, oddly towards the front is a 200mm red LED fan this spins at 800RPM and with the rating 24.4dBA. Usually top fans within cases sit above the CPU cooler to draw air in/out – this fan will be directly above the RAM slots.
Next to the 200mm fan are 2x fan hubs – these are powered via Molex but allow the 3/4pin to be connected. This is a very handy idea, it’s just a shame the colour of the cable is yellow – it ruins the red/black scheme that this chassis makes use of.
LED cooling fans come as standard with Strike-X ST
Over the page we will continue our tour of the internal aspects of Strike-X ST.
Interior (Continued)
Over on the other side the optical drive bays each have a tool-less design mechanism for securing the drive in place. There are 4 bays here and the latch simply needs to be slid to the left – the drive moves into the bay and then the pins meet the drive and the latch slides to the right.
Optical drive bays have tool-less design mechanism
Beneath the optical drive bays is the HDD storage. This is a large cage that contains 10x HDD trays that support 2.5” and 3.5” drives. In the next section we will take a closer look at these trays and installing HDDs.
The HDD cage contains 10 options for 2.5” and 3.5” drives
In the next section we will install our test system inside Strike-X ST.
Installation
A case may look ok from a brief observation but how does it fare with installing kit within its chassis? Since the Strike-X ST is an XL-ATX ready computer case we have installed an XL-ATX system within and as you can see from the pictures below this case deals with such a large setup very well.
Space between the top of the motherboard and the top of the chassis is very generous, as is space for CPU cooler and graphics card – more on this within the next section.
Lots of space, even with XL-ATX
Cable management is good
In order to get a HDD installed inside Strike-X ST the drive must be placed within a provided tray. These plastic trays will accommodate 2.5” and 3.5” drives. Screws simply slot into the bottom of the drive. These trays are actually quite robust for plastic.
HDD storage support for 2.5” and 3.5” drives
On the next page we will consider clearance options within Strike-X ST.
Clearance – CPU, GPU, WC, Cable Management
Clearance inside a chassis is essential to enthusiasts, in this section we will be looking at all areas to reveal just how flexible Strike-X ST really is.
First off – the CPU cooler. Here Strike-X ST can accommodate the biggest of CPU coolers including Noctua NH-D14 (pictured) and Thermalright Silver Arrow. These coolers are both 160mm.
Clearance for flagship CPU coolers
The biggest surprise comes with the graphics card clearance. Pictured below is the NVIDIA GTX480 which measures 11” in total length. Here you can see over 5” in clearance between the end of the card and the HDD cage. Strike-X ST will accommodate anything currently on the market.
Very generous graphics card clearance
Many gamers and enthusiasts are turning to water-cooling their system and so manufacturers are catering for this too. Inside Strike-X ST, thanks to the vast amount of space at the top of the chassis can we fit 240 and 360 water-cooling radiators. Inside Strike-X ST we have installed Phobya G Charger 240, as you can see from the picture – there is plenty of space.
Water-cooling clearance is generous too
Behind the motherboard tray there is approximately 2cm of clearance – this again is substantial and allows for the thicker cables to route behind the motherboard tray enabling those with a keen interest in cable management to create a good, clean workspace.
Clearance behind the motherboard tray
With our system now installed – let’s see how the cooling performs inside Strike-X ST, over the page.
Thermal Performance Testing
Typically we would be using the AMD X6 system for case reviews but since the Strike-X ST is such a large chassis we thought it would be a better idea to show its full potential by using an XL-ATX system inside. We’ve only just started to build a list of XL-ATX comparisons so the list of comparable cases for this form factor at the moment isn’t as large as our standard ATX database of results.Inside Strike-X ST there are 3 pre-installed fans positioned in traditional airflow regions – apart from the top fan which has been placed further forward than a typical case would have it aligned. (It isn’t over the CPU cooler).
To discover the thermal performance of the Strike-X ST I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed. Fan controller will be set to high for all fans.
For the purpose of accurate analysis the idle and load temperatures for CPU and GPU will be recorded and the range between idle and load will be calculated to determine how efficient cooling is.
NOTE: Ambient temperature is 20C
System Components
CPU Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard MSI Big Bang Marshal (P67)
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP
Memory 8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis 1600MHz CL9
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Noise
Strike-X ST has quite an airy chassis meaning that the side panels have thin perforated mesh and therefore noise can escape easily. Though the front and top fans can be controlled using the knobs on the front panel the rear exhaust doesn’t have such luxury and with it being rated at 1500RPM the noise of this fan can be clearly heard.
Conclusion
This is our first encounter with Aerocool and therefore the expectations coming into this review were unknown. The Strike X-ST is their latest chassis creation – how does it compare against the competition?
Large computer cases are something of a craze lately with enthusiasts enticed to go bigger and better and Strike-X ST is certainly an offering that is large enough to house high-end equipment inside. It’s dimensions mean that not only is it deep but it’s also tall and will accommodate XL-ATX, E-ATX and even an additional PSU at the top.
Throughout our observations the Strike-X ST revealed some useful features for cable management and proved efficient when installing devices.
At its price of £185 it sadly doesn’t match up to the standards of a full tower when comparing to the likes of even cheaper alternatives such as NZXT Switch 810, Cooler Master HAF-X/Trooper, Corsair 650D/500R and others. It’s build quality and looks leave much to be desired – the side and front panels look and feel cheap and the USB 3.0 ports are still using the now outdated USB cables rather than the motherboard header meaning you will lose two ports on your motherboard I/O.
Overall the Strike-X ST is a roomy computer chassis with good cable management and useful features but it is sadly let down by build quality and ultimately the price. Even considering the super-sized form factor against the calibre of cases at this price-point there are clearly better value for money alternatives.
Pros
+ Large and spacious
+ Good cable management
+ Useful fan hubs on motherboard tray
+ Lots of clearance for water-cooling
Cons
– Build quality should be better for the price
– Looks cheap
– USB 3.0 via USB cables is dated
– Price
– Noisy (rear fan spins at 1500RPM!)
+ Large and spacious
+ Good cable management
+ Useful fan hubs on motherboard tray
+ Lots of clearance for water-cooling
Cons
– Build quality should be better for the price
– Looks cheap
– USB 3.0 via USB cables is dated
– Price
– Noisy (rear fan spins at 1500RPM!)
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net. Thanks to Quiet PC for providing today’s review sample.
