Roughly three years ago, we saw the first per-key RGB lit mechanical keyboards, and the year after, it became a trend. That same year we saw the first RGB-lit motherboard, and this year we’re finding that everything ranging from graphics cards to even SSDs have RGB lighting. Today, Bitfenix is introducing the Aurora, a case built for RGB lighting. Of course, this is not the first RGB-lit PC enclosure out there, but it does appear to be one that pulls it off nicely, even coming with Asus Aura integration.
As far as the layout of the case is concerned, we’re not seeing anything too remarkable, but that’s not a bad thing. The Aurora will house up to E-ATX motherboards, 400mm-long GPUs, 160mm-tall CPU coolers, four 3.5” drives, three 2.5” drives, and up to 220mm-long PSUs. The case doesn’t have any room for optical drives, but that is the tradeoff for a clean-looking front panel–a trend that’s been on the rise ever since NZXT built the H440 roughly two years ago.
To call the Aurora a "water cooling dream case" would be a stretch, but it will allow you to fit two 280mm radiators together with two 140mm fans on each radiator. On top of that, the rear exhaust position comes with a single 120mm fan.
For the lighting, BitFenix included an in-case controller and one LED-lit SSD bracket (the other two do not have lighting). Out of the box, the Aurora doesn’t come with any additional lighting, but buyers can purchase the magnetic Alchemy 2.0 RGB LED strips and hook those up to the controller. In turn, you can connect the controller to an Asus Aura-supporting motherboard to synchronize the lighting and control it through your desktop.
The chassis of the Aurora is made of steel with ABS plastic external panels. Add to that two large slabs of tempered glass as side panels (yes, both sides are made of tempered glass), and you’ll find that the Aurora weighs a hefty 10.58 kg when empty. One could argue that an aluminum chassis would be more appealing and save weight, but steel is cheaper, and it works with the magnetic LED strips. (Magnets don’t stick to aluminum.) The Aurora measures 490 x 215 x 520mm (HxWxD).
Front I/O consists of two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, the usual pair of headphone jacks, power and reset switches, and a button to control the lighting.
The Aurora will be available in both black and white by the end of the month for the fair price of $99. Add to that $19.99 for a 30cm Alchemy 2.0 RGB strip, or $29.99 for a 60cm strip, and you'll have yourself the complete RGB kit.
