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Hands-On: Rosewill's Galaxy Budget Cases, Aiolos CPU Cooler, & Giveaway

Posted on July 26, 2013

Following the release of Rosewill's high-end Throne case, the company has announced the launch of a new line of budget-range gaming products for system builders. We were able to get a hands-on with the Galaxy & Aiolos products while in California last week -- the video's below. In addition to this, we're also giving away one of the Galaxy cases and an Aiolos CPU cooler, so drop a comment below to be instantly entered (use a valid email address so we can contact you if you win).

rosewill-galaxy-2

 

The Galaxy cases ship in three SKUs, but the frame and structure are identical, so you're really just picking between different paneling for aesthetic purposes. Here's a spec break-down:

Rosewill Galaxy Case Specs

SKUsGalaxy-01, -02, -03
Form FactormATX / ATX Mid-Tower
Expansion Slots3x5.25" bays
4x3.5" internal bays
1x2.5" internal bay
7xExpansion Slots 
Front IO1xUSB3.0 (w/ header)
2xUSB2.0
2x3.5mm Audio 
Cooling1x120mm Front w/ blue LED
1x120mm Rear
1x120mm Top 
Optional 1x120/140mm side 
Dimensions7.28" x 16.26" x 15.55" WHD
10lbs 
MSRP~$50

 

Shipping with 3x120mm fans pre-installed at $50, the most direct competition to the case would be Corsair's 200R, Antec's GX700, or CM's Elite 430. Rosewill hopes to relive the glory days of their Challenger case -- one of the top-rated cases on Newegg -- and has done so by upping the features and cooling options slightly.

rosewill-galaxy-1

I can't help but have a hard time getting excited about a $50 case; for the price, the Galaxy products definitely look and feel like $50 cases. They've got a couple fans, a very tiny amount of cable management depth (you likely won't be fitting 24-pin power back there, but the other cables will fit fine), and a decent external presentation. If you're building a "Cheap Bastard's" build (in the style of GN), then I'd probably point you toward these pretty quickly. Again, the 200R and GX700 are fierce competition, so it's tough to say for sure which wins out without having tested all of them against one another.

As for the new iteration of the Aiolos CPU cooler -- the Rosewill Aiolos Plus -- it's definitely on-par with other $30-range aftermarket coolers. Currently priced at $30, the unit is built with 4x6mm heatpipes and uses a Direct Contact coldplate, theoretically making for more efficient thermal transfer to the heatpipes. The fan mount uses rubberized grips (similar to the AR01) rather than the shoddy plastic rails that Cooler Master uses, so that's always a plus, though the fan itself is largely plain (18~60CFM:19~31dBA). It'll be tough to dethrone SilverStone's Argon AR01 CPU cooler, which is purpose-built for the 115X socket size, but the Aiolos Plus definitely has the right construction to take a shot at the podium.

rosewill-aiolos1

Rosewill Aiolos Plus Specs

CompatibilityLGA775, LGA115X, LGA1366, LGA2011
AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1
Fan Spec1x120mm fan
600~2000RPM PWM
18~60CFM
19~31dBA 
Heatpipe Spec4x6mm copper heatpipes
Direct Contact 
Dimensions120x86.7x160mm WDH
MSRP~$30

 

Giveaway Information - Win a Budget Gaming Case or CPU Cooler 

As part of our visitation at Rosewill HQ in Industry, we were given the opportunity to give away one Galaxy case and one Aiolos Plus CPU cooler. We're restricting this giveaway to the US & Canada, but beyond that, things are pretty simple: Drop a quick comment below and tell us about your current gaming rig or your next PC build project. No need to be super in-depth with this one. We'll select two winners on August 4th. Be sure to let us know if you'd prefer a case or a cooler.

Have fun and best of luck!

- Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.