Closer Look – Interior and Lighting
Interior is all black. Paint is a bit different than the one used for external parts. Looks quite resistant to scratches.
Inside we can install probably every popular ATX motherboard format what also includes a bit longer motherboards than these full ATX. Of course all smaller can be installed too. Behind the motherboard is a lot of space what helps in cooler installation but also in additional airflow for the socket area.
On the top we can install additional fans or radiator. On the front there is a lot of space for triple radiator so I guess that all watercooling enthusiasts will be happy about this fact.
The DS-230 comes with only one fan but for most builds it’s enough. Enthusiasts will probably replace it to their favourite series or optimized for higher air pressure when they install watercooling.
Inside we can also install two 3.5″ drives or three 2.5″. It’s not much but again, most users don’t need more than two drives nowadays. Also many motherboards support M.2 SSD so in some cases you won’t really need to use drive bays.
PSU is hidden under the cover which you can’t remove. There are additional holes for cables and it should be enough. Under the PSU bay there is mentioned already anti-dust filter.
What is bringing more attention when we open back side of the DS-230 are cables and fan/LED controllers. I won’t hide it’s not designed well. Cables are a mess and it takes some work to make them look good and won’t interfere with other things. Since it was designed to be in these specific places then could at least have single cables which are easy to hide. I know I’m being a bit picky here and you can’t really see that after closing the case but it’s an enthusiast grade product and it simply looks weird.
Besides how it looks like, everything works fine. In the package we can find short manual how to connect everything. On some motherboards can be some problems with PWM control for LED lighting but most should handle this feature. It’s hard to show that on the photos but on the first page of this review are pictures with description what you can expect to see.
Below are LED effects taken in manual and pulse mode. My camera was changing colors a bit while some of the colors are deeper in real.
Final effect is really good but as you can see, from some angles you can count how many LEDs are used for each stripe. I’m again a bit picky as overall effect is great and DS-230 has a unique looks.
There are single things I would change but overall Aerocool DS-230 is really interesting chassis which should satisfy most users. Those who wish to have additional window can buy it separately.
