A synergy of looks and value, the Aero-500 is a great looking cost-effective offering from Aerocool. You might think that the appearance seems familiar, well you are right!
Do you remember my Computex 2015 at Aerocool’s booth, here’s the video.
As you can see the Aero-500 is pretty much an Aero-1000, more like a stripped down version of it. It looks quite similar and at a glance one can pass it off as the Aero-1000 as well.
Starting from the top, the Aero-500 is sleek and simple, the top is metal and it’s part of the casing structure so therefore it is not removable.
Audio ports, USB ports, power buttons and fan controller switches are at the top, along with a magnetic dust filter that’s part of the package.
The 5.25″ bay covers are clip-on types.
As for the front section, the cover is removable and you will be able to house 2 units of 120mm fan for added airflow, fans not included.
At the rear, well it’s nothing out of the ordinary.
The Aero-500 comes with dust filter at the bottom, and 4 rubber feet for sturdy footing.
While the internal space isn’t generous, the Aero-500 is sufficient for most casing setup.
Here’s the 120mm fan placed at the rear, and if you look at the cut-out around the motherboard section you’ll notice that the side panel is very close to the motherboard tray. The top section has sufficient headroom mounting of water cooling radiator.
The Aero-500 comes with plenty of drive cages for those who want to go crazy on storage. The cages are not removable but Aerocool did it right by having a section clear of drive cage to accommodate long graphics card.
At the other side of the panel the Aero-500 comes with a 2.5″ drive mount and the grommet-less cutouts allow quite some cable management.
Unfortunately while my CPU12V cable could reach out, pass through the cut out and reach the motherboard, I am unable to close the panel as the panel design does not allocate space around the corners.
Below are the specs taken from the official product page.
The Verdict
The Aerocool Aero-500 retails at RM 139, it’s a beautiful looking budget casing and would be suitable for many computer setups.
My only complaint is that it doesn’t handle my preferred way of routing CPU12V cable.
