Raijintek Agos

[testman78]

Introduction

Not everyone has a lot of money to buy the most expensive components. With this in mind the folks at Raijintek have taken a look at the needs of users on a budget and created the Agos.This particular model has been designed for those users looking for a well featured case that is still affordable.I look forward to examining the extent to which this is true and if it truly represents good value for money.The chassis' are available in two different colours, black and white coated, allowing you to choose what style you want.Both of them are made of SPCC with 0.55mm thickness with dimensions of 200 x 460 x 490 mm and overall weight of 5.9 kg.



Unashamedly aimed at the low end of the market,Raijintek has worked hard to tick all of the feature boxes with the Agos.While reviewing a case like this, you have to constantly remind yourself that it's only 50 Euro's.Let's check the spec table and then get into a detailed analysis:




Packaging & Contents


Raijintek packs the Agos into a brown cardboard box with black print. The front of the package shows the chassis, while the rear has another simple image of the Agos internal.



Both sides of the cardboard box share one image of the case ans some basic information.



The Agos is held in place by foam spacers, and a plastic bag has been applied at the factory to protect it from scratches and fingerprints.



You won't get a lot of stuff with the Raijintek Agos. Included are a very specific number of screws,filters for the side and top panels,many reusable zip ties, and a manual.




A Closer Look - Outside


It is clear that the aesthetic design of the Agos has been created for those users who prefer their PC to have an understated visage. It is much less striking than the design of some other cases, and is much more conventional in its form.It is painted entirely in white and has quite an attractive visage.



In terms of build quality, the Agos cannot really be faulted.The construction of the case is comprised of SECC steel and plastic which is what i would expect at this price point.It feels sturdier than most competing cases too.The chassis' have a special automotive intake air design.The Agos main side panel comes with a large opening for two 120mm or two 140mm potential fans.



The left side panel is completely solid and straight.



The front consists of plastic and metal mesh.The front panel of the case is comprised mainly of mesh, which should help facilitate airflow into the system.



Inspect the front closely and you will see the metal mesh.



Raijintek pre-install a 120 mm intake fan in white color behind this grille, however there is room for up to two 120 mm fans to be installed.



Raijintek have made provisions for three external 5.25″ drives.The meshed bay covers are removed by way of catches to both sides, and are easily re-inserted.



All of the I/O ports, which are 1 x USB3.0, 1 x USB2.0, 1 x HD Audio, are located on the right/top side of the front panel.



A quick glance at the top panel of the Agos reveals that Raijintek have designed this case with water cooling in mind.The fan vents in the roof feature mounting points for two 140 mm fans.



This means the case supports one 240 mm radiator and is therefore ideal for those looking to build a water-cooled system.



Moving round to the rear of the case, we find a standard layout.A very usefull hand grip is located on the back.



You will find another Raijintek 120 mm fan at the very top.It is supposed to push air out the back of the case.



Below of that are two rubber-lined grommet holes for the increasingly rarefied external liquid cooling radiator.All two holes are covered up with supplied solid grommets - a cool little touch.



An air vent is behind those grommets.



Apart from that there are 7 PCI slots and a bottom power supply position.



You will find a dust filter that covers the PSU vent and the fan-placement area for an optional cooling unit on the bottom.



It is removable, which makes it easy to clean.



Typically I do not have a foot fetish, but that is the right stuff right there. These are rubber suspended case feet.




A Closer Look - Inside

To access the Agos interior, simply take the side panels off by removing the thumbscrews holding each in place.



Removing the side panel of the Agos reveals an black and white painted interior which should complement most component choices aesthetically.



There is a sizable cut-out section to facilitate the installation of CPU coolers.



The Agos offers a cable management system.There are three grommets covering the cable pass-through areas.



All the cables within the chassis are of the default variety, so you should have no issues connecting these to your motherboard. As you can see, these cables are black to match the interior of the Agos.



There is also a generous amount of room behind the motherboard tray for cable routing, meaning there is plenty of space to tie cables up together.



Raijintek have clearly put some thought into the cable routing holes in the motherboard tray which should enable any user to achieve a tidy build with most configurations.



Raijintek Agos can be a home for up to 3 external 5.25" and 6 internal 3.5" or 6 internal x 2.5" bays.



The internal layout of the case is standardised, with the hard drive bays located on the right hand side, below the external drive bays at the top.There are the three 5.25" drive bays, each equipped with a tool-less lock for quick installation.



Each hard drive bay features a tray which allows you to install either a 2.5" or a 3.5" unit.There are six bays in total which are arranged in modules of two.



The top three bays can be removed to allow extra room for long graphics card or to improve airflow if desired.



Here is the 120mm fan at the back of the case.



You may install a 120 mm fan to the floor of the chassis.


Here you can see the rubber bumpers that support the PSU.




Installation and Finished looks


The chassis' can handle a ATX form factor motherboard, or a Micro-ATX form factor motherboard.Installing the motherboard in the case is pretty simple thanks to the preinstalled stand-offs.



There is plenty of room in the case for long power supplies.



I installed an 3.5" drive.The tray can grip it without needing screws.Installing a 2.5" solid state drive into the system, requiring four screws through the base of the tray.



The case can be used with a cooler with maximum height of 160mm.



I installed my AMD Radeon R9 270X graphics card into the case, which was easily secured into place using the provided thumbscrews.Even though there is plenty of room in this case for large graphics cards(290mm), you can remove some of the drive bays to create more room(410mm) if required.



With plenty of room for radiator mounting if you were to go down the watercooling route, allows you to fully watercool your system. Or alternatively there is also an option to have external watercooling by utilising the rear tubing holes.




Test System and Methology

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme
Motherboard: Asus P9X79
Cpu cooler:Antec h2o 950 v2
Memory: 16GB G.Skill Ares
Graphics Card:2 X GTX 560 Ti Hawk
Power Supply: Seasonic G-Series 650W
Chassis: Raijintek Agos
Monitor: Dell U2311
Boot Drive: Intel SSD 510
Storage Drive: WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD



Software:

CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
Prime95 v27.1
Furmark 1.11.0

I am testing the Agos performance as follows:

Room temperature is kept at 22C throughout my tests.
The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
CPU load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
GPU load temperatures are obtained after running Furmark's Burn-In Test for 15 minutes.
To measure noise levels i disable the CPU fans and GPU fan.


Temperature

These results are pretty impressive, and could probably be improved by adding more fans into the case.




Noise level

This case is quiet, even though the fans can't be speed controlled.Some users may want to install a fan speed reducer at the rear of the case in order to achieve near-silent operation, though.




Conclusion

Overall i am very impressed with the Raijintek Agos.It is very well suited to those enthusiasts who are looking for a practical, well designed chassis.The design of the case is understated and the build quality is quite impressive, considering the price point.I recorded decent thermal and acoustic performance in my tests, making this ideal for those looking to build a cool and quiet overclocked system.A fan controller would have been welcomed as it would provide increased flexibility between cooling performance and noise output.Cable management is generally good for the Agos including the clearance that Raijintek leaves behind the motherboard tray.Raijintek provides plenty of cut-outs in the most appropriate locations.Expansion options for the Agos are very good. There is room to mount up to six 2.5/3.5″ drives, a number that should suffice for the majority of this case's target audience. Three 5.25″ devices can be housed and there is also plenty of clearance for multi-VGA configurations with long cards.My sample's white colour scheme certainly won't appeal to all, but the matte black option is also available.The final piece of good news with this case is the clever way that Raijintek has covered the vents with dust covers top and side.Keeping your new PC clean and tidy has never been so easy.



Even though the Agos is their first pc case that Raijintek brought to market, it's very impressive.For those readers wanting to build a flashy looking system, the Agos is not ideal.But for those who are looking to save some money and aren't too concerned with attracting the eye, the Agos remains a great option.You can buy the Raijintek Agos from Overclockers UK for 39.95 British Pounds inc vat.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/LP/rai...os-arcadia.php