✨ We've just launched our NEW website design!

Learn More Here
Cases

Xigmatek Aquila Micro-ATX Chassis Review

Introduction


BG_02

It’s rare we see a Xigmatek chassis roll through the eTeknix office, but it’s certainly always a pleasure when one does. Xigmatek has a good reputation for creating uniquely designed chassis, with good build quality and competitive prices and it looks like they’re above to tick all those boxes once agin. The Aquila is a Micro-ATX cube type chassis, perfect for those who want a big system in a small box; perfect for LAN gaming, a HTPC setup or for those who are just short on space.

Cube style chassis are a big hit right now and virtually every major manufacturer has launched a new product in this category over the last couple of years. The biggest, or should that be the smallest, innovation in this part of the market is that the smaller chassis have been crammed full of high-end features that make them very competitive when compared to their mid-tower and even full-tower counterparts; a smaller chassis no longer means smaller performance.

The Aquila comes loaded with all the features you could need for a good gaming chassis. You’ll find USB 3.0 support, room for a Mini-ITX or micro-ATX motherboard, a full-size ATX PSU and graphics cards of up to 330mm; more than enough room for many of the biggest cards on the market.

Screenshot 2014-12-24 17.12.57

The chassis has a really funky design that means that chassis is slightly raised at the front. The cube form factor is kept nice and level by the sloped handles on the top and bottom of the chassis. The side panel has a tall window that gives you a view of much of the chassis interior.

DSC_9371

The right side of the chassis is a similar design to the left, this time of course, skipping the window panel; both side panels are held in place by a pair of thumb screws.

DSC_9372

The chassis has a very bold design from the front, with the thick borders on the left and right side formed from the upper and lower supports, giving the chassis the appearance of being suspended between them. There’s a single 5.25″ drive bay at the top and the rest of the front panel is ventilated to allow air flow to any front mounted fans.

DSC_9373

Around the back, you’ll find a pre-installed 120mm fan, although the mount will support a 140mm. On the right you’ll find four expansion slots, perfect for those running a multi-GPU setup. There’s a PSU mount at the bottom, with options for regular or inverted mounting, and there’s also a little extra ventilation in the bottom left corner; this is just behind the dedicated 2.5″ drive mounts on the interior of the chassis.

DSC_9376

There’s a full-length lift-up dust filter and cover on the top panel, this is to provide airflow to any top mounted cooling such as radiators.

DSC_9377

On the top of the chassis, you will find a power button. The button is quite large and contrasts nicely with the black panels of the chassis.

DSC_9374

There’s a dust filter for the PSU mount, with benefits from excellent ground clearance thanks to the chassis full-length feet.

DSC_9378

1 2 3 4Next page

Peter Donnell

As a child in my 40's, I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!

Related Articles

Back to top button
Close

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker!   eTeknix prides itself on supplying the most accurate and informative PC and tech related news and reviews and this is made possible by advertisements but be rest assured that we will never serve pop ups, self playing audio ads or any form of ad that tracks your information as your data security is as important to us as it is to you.   If you want to help support us further you can over on our Patreon!   Thank you for visiting eTeknix