We present Aero Cool’s proudest new edition to their performance B grand range, the XPredator. The XPredator is a case designed to be “user friendly” and give gamers great expandability and versatility. Aero Cool are saying “THE XPREDATOR CASE IS AS CLOSE AS IT GETS TO A DREAM CASE!!!” I us at HardwareLOOK have to say, we agree with them, you will not desire another case for a very long time if you make the XPredator you gamers choice case. Packing tones of features on this chassis means you will be sure to love it. Let’s take a look at the XPredator...
Specification
Cooling System
Features
- High Performance "Super Tower" for gamers and enthusiasts.
- Solidly constructed chassis - The chassis is solidly constructed with 0.8mm and 1.0mm SECC Japanese steel.
- Unique and Attractive Internal Colour Combination - The standard XPredator model comes with "All Black' interior. The XPredator "Evil Black" edition is beautifully finished in Black/Orange combination - ie. the PCI covers, MB Plate and screw-less kits are high-lighted in Orange colour to make the case UNIQUE and stands out from the others.
- High-End Graphic Card Support (up to 330mm) - Supports Longer high-end VGA cards up to 330mm.
- High Expandability and Supports E-ATX and the latest XL-ATX MB such as Gigabyte's latest GA-X58A-UD9 Motherboard - Supports 6 x 5.25" external devices, 6 x HDDs (either SSD or 3.5" HDDs or 2.5" HDDs) and 1 x 3.5" external device (with the converter provided) such as a Floppy drive or a Card Reader.
- Ease of Installation - The XPredator case includes an array of advance features to enhance every stage of build. New innovative 5.25", 3.5" and PCI slot screw less designs make installing and swapping components an effortless process.
- Easy Access Top I/O Ports w/ USB3.0 support - 3 sets of USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0 Super Speed USB, Audio/Mic (AC 97 + HD audio) and E-SATA ports are located on the top panel for easy access.
- Smart Cable Routing and Management - Cable routing holes are pre-drilled on the MB plate so users can hide cables and wires behind the MB tray. These pre-drilled holes are also protected by high quality rubber to prevent damages to the cables.
- Dust Protection - Includes removable bottom PSU dust filters to prevent dust entering your computer.
- Mesh PCI cover - Includes Metal Mesh PCI covers for better ventilation.
- Bottom PSU position - the bottom PSU location enables PSUs to suck in cold air and provide better air flow for your system.
- Water-cooling Support - Quad water-cooling holes are pre-drilled to support water-cooling systems.
- High End Cooler Support and Assembly - CPU hole is pre-drilled on the MB plate for simple cooler assembly and removable. The chassis can also support High End coolers up to 190mm in height.
- Beautifully finished Transparent "Grey" Side Window with the option to install 4 x 12cm or 14cm fans !!
- Superb Airflow and Performance - The XPredator case comes with 1 x 23cm Quad Orange LED front in-take fan, 1 x 23cm top exhaust fan, 1 x 12/14cm back exhaust fan (optional), 1 x 12/14cm bottom in-take fan (optional) and 4 x 12cm/14cm or 1 x 18/20cm in-take side panel fans (optional). In addition, 2 sets of fan controllers are provided to control these fans.
- Rubber grommets for HDDs, case feet and PSU dampens vibration during system operation.
XPredator Externals
The XPredator is a great looking case and takes on a slightly different look than the usual gaming tower. I like it, most cases are starting to get then same and sometimes there is just not that much you can change about them, but the XPredator gives a nice refreshing look. The orange and black go really well together and this case massively reminds me of an orange Bugatti Veyron, in fact they should have called it Veyron.
Front
The whole front of the case is black mesh covered, car grills like. The front has 6 x 5.25" (External) / 6 x HDDs (internal) / 1 x 3.5" (External). On the side are the awesome looking orange mesh sections that are just for show. The four sections above and below the orange mesh are closed plastic and are only there for aesthetics, they are not open vents. The PSG (Performance Gaming Series) badge has been placed onto the front also, which is in their Black Label range. Behind this Aero Cool B grade badge are foam dust covers and then a 1 x 23cm Quad Orange LED front in-take fan, that helps to cool down your HDD drives.
Side
The side has a massive cool transparent window, which can be fitted with 4 x 12cm/14cm or 1 x 18/20cm in-take side panel fans (optional). This case really does give some supreme airflow.
Back
The back can be fitting with a 1 x 12/14cm fan (optional). It features three air vents and count them ten SLI slots for PCI and PCI-e devices. The XPredator also has four aperture water cooling outlets.
Top
The top of the XPredator is really cool, the shells on the top feature a optional open/close venting system so the 23cm fan under it can exhaust the air even quicker. Also at the top is a anti-slip pad, for putting things on, such as your USB flash drives.
I/O Panel
1 x USB 3.0 / 3 x USB 2.0 / e-SATA / Mic & headphone (AC97 & HD audio)
A nice addition is the panel is the two fan controllers that control 6 fans simultaneously with a tiny amount of wattage at on 20w maximum.
Predator Internals
We have got a super easy guide here for you to quickly locate what is
what. This case is brilliant, it is big well designed inside and out
and really is the ultimate gaming case for enthusiast gamers. Here a
quote of what Aero Cool themselves say about the XPredator: “The
XPREDATOR is as close as it gets to a Dream Case”
The XPredator is made of Japanese steel and is available in two
editions, the XPredator Black Edition, and the XPredator “Evil Black”
edition, which is what we have here. The different is the standard Black
Edition has all black interior and this Evil Black is combined with
orange. This Evil Black edition is completely screw-less and has PCI
covers. This chassis is ready to support SSD 2.5” drives. It is also
been built ready for the largest of motherboard and graphics cards, you
will have no problems with any hardware in trying to fit it in here. It
even supports the latest XL-ATX motherboards such as Gigabytes most
recent X58-UD9 board, with four 330mm GPU support length.
Bottom
The bottom has four feet raising the case 3cm off the ground. The bottom has a dust cover for the PSU ventilation.
Conclusion
If you buy the XPredator you will not be in search of a new case for many, many years as this case is very large and has great expansion capabilities. The XPredator maximises in airflow ability, that’s if you buy a load of 12cm fans for all the optional fan expansions. The case looks fantast with the black and orange colour scheme. As I mentioned before, the Aero Cool XPredator enclosure is the orange Bugatti Veyron on cases. With easy installation and all of the features and expansion opportunities, this case offers you for £125/$197 this case is definitely worth a buy. You may think that £125/$197 is quite a lot of money, but remember with this case you really will only have to spend it once and you will be able to have this case and upgrade hardware for so many years to come.source:www.hardwarelook.com
