Thermaltake Aguila Mid Tower Case

Exterior

Starting at the front of the case, you'll notice the front mesh bezel.  This is a very nice looking part of the case.  It's very simple, but stylish at the same time.  The bezel hinges on the left side, but the front door can be removed and hinged to the right as well.  This works out for me, because of where I have my case sitting.  It secures by using a small magnetic strip on the side, and is very easy to open.  It feels sturdy but certainly not robust.

Opening the front bezel, you will notice the power button, reset button, and activity lights at the top.  I like the placement of this panel, it is easily accessible no matter where you put your case.  Directly adjacent to the power buttons is the first of two exposed 3.5" bay.

     

Directly under the top panel is four exposed 5.25" drive bays, one exposed 3.5" bay, and a large mesh covered 120mm fan to pull air in directly over the HDD cage.  This should provide more than adequate cooling for the hard drives installed in the system.  You'll also notice another exposed 5.25" bay at the bottom.  This is strangely positioned, but I suppose if you need that extra slot, it could come in handy.

  

Moving on to the side of the case, you'll notice the large window.  There's a mesh screen here directly over where the CPU usually sits for some additional airflow.  This is an 80mm slot, so it could also be replaced by an 80mm fan if you so desired.  Another very cool aspect is the way the side panel is removed.  There are two clips near the back of the side panel, and these can be depressed to open the side panel as you would a door.  It then detaches easily while providing a stable hold.  It is the easiest side panel that I've ever removed, not just falling off as some do.  There are also two thumb screws on the rear of the panel for a more secure attachment.

  

Next, we'll move to the top of the case.  Here, you'll find the top mounted access ports.  It's right smack-ass in the middle of the top of the case.  This is an end user subjective preference issue.  I thought it a minor annoyance while on the flip side, Dean prefers top mounted ports.

  

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