After I consider Azza, the very first thing that involves thoughts is its geometric instances, like the corporate’s Dice and Pyramid strains. It’s secure to say that Azza largely caters to a distinct segment case market, not less than within the US. Nevertheless, the brand new Aero 480 is way much less adventurous in phrases a design, however nonetheless thrilling due to a great deal of mes and 4 PWM ARGB followers for its $110 asking worth.
With its budget-friendly worth and beneficiant seemingly beneficiant characteristic set, can the Aero 480 earn a spot on our Finest PC Instances listing? As all the time, we’ll must run our check suite to learn the way it performs, however first listed below are the case’s specs, direct from Azza.
Specs of the Azza Aero 480
| Kind | ATX Mid-Tower |
| Motherboard | Mini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATX |
| Help | |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 19 x 8.67 x 17.3-inches |
| Max GPU Size | 15.7-inches |
| CPU Cooler Peak | 6.69-inches |
| Exterior Bays | X |
| Inside Bays | 3x 2.5-inch, 1x 3.5-inch or 4x 2.5-inch drives |
| Growth Slots | 7 |
| Entrance I/O | Energy, RGB management, 2x USB 3.0, 1x audio and 1x microphone jack. |
| Different | Mesh Aspect Panel |
| Entrance Followers | 3x 120mm followers |
| Rear Followers | 1x 120mm fan |
| High Followers | None |
| Backside Followers | None |
| Weight | 13.5 kilos (6.12 kg) |
| Guarantee | 1 12 months |
Options of the Azza Aero 480
The Azza Aero 480 is an airflow-focused mid-tower chassis that ignores the tempered glass sidel panel, substituting it as an alternative with a mesh one. I initially assumed that the thermal efficiency with the mesh facet panel could be unbelievable. However as we’ll discover out later in testing, I used to be flawed.
Regardless of the absence of glass, the Aero 480 follows the pattern of the preferred instances in mid-2022, with its mesh entrance and 120mm RGB followers. Azza was very beneficiant with the included followers, as they’re all 4-pin and the RGB is addressable.
The place we see cost-cutting, although, is within the PCIe slot covers; the covers should be damaged off to put in units, and the steel is so skinny that doing so resulted in a warped bracket. Azza: that is 2022, not 2002; PCIe covers shouldn’t be designed this manner, particularly in instances that price over $100.
The IO on the Aero 480 is nothing particular, as you solely get two USB 3.0 Kind-A ports, RGB controller, audio and headphone jack and the facility button. Personally, I’m not bothered by the lackluster IO, as I primarily use my motherboard as an alternative. However a USB-C port could be a pleasant add right here.
Inside Format
The Azza Aero 480 measures up equally to most mid-tower chassis, at 19 x 8.67 x 17.3-inches (HWD). The inside design of the case is a bit bleak. You gained’t discover cable grommets or routing cut-outs behind the motherboard tray. Whereas there’s sufficient room to suit the required quantity of cables behind the motherboard space, some guides could be appreciated, particularly for first-time builders.
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The variety of storage units the Aero 480 can match isn’t notably beneficiant. You may mount 4 2.5-inch drives complete, or two 2.5ers and two 3.5-inch mechanical drives. Given that almost all motherboards now include a number of M.2 slots, this must be sufficient for most individuals, however there’s clearly room for extra storage within the case.
Azza Aero 480 Cooling Choices
The Azza Aero 480 is the primary ATX case I’ve labored with that incorporates a facet panel made fully of mesh. And due to that, I used to be concerned with its cooling capabilities. The entrance of the Aero 480 can match radiators as much as 360mm or as much as 4 120mm followers. On paper, that’s loads– particularly for a mid-tower. The highest of the case is extra conventional, with a capability for 3 120 or two 140mm followers, or as much as a 360mm radiator. The rear solely helps a single 120mm fan/radiator, which is fairly normal.
Your new Geforce RTX 4090 Founder’s Version will match on this case, as the utmost GPU size is 400m (15.7-inches). And a brand new AMD Ryzen 7950X may be cooled by your Noctua NH-D15, as the utmost CPU cooler top is 170mm (6.69-inches).In brief, you shouldn’t run into GPU or CPU cooling clearance points right here until you have got one thing very excessive occurring in your system.
Testing {Hardware}
Our testing {hardware} makes use of Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform. We’re utilizing a Core i7-12700KF, which is being cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. Our graphics card is a Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC. Our motherboard is the MSI Professional Z690-A WIFI.
Acoustic Outcomes for the Azza Aero 480
Our acoustic check consists of three situations: We run the CPU at full load, the CPU and GPU at full load, and an optimized mode. The CPU full load check runs the CPU and case followers at their most velocity. For the CPU and GPU full load acoustic check, we additionally stress the Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC and set the followers at 75% velocity, as a result of in gaming, the followers by no means run at one hundred pc and are far too loud after they do.
For the optimized mode, we run the GPU fan velocity at 30% and the CPU and included case followers on the lowest velocity they’ll spin.
Unsurprisingly, given the profoundly porous nature of this case, the acoustic check outcomes for the Aero 480 weren’t nice. However truthfully, the Aero 480’s loudness isn’t that unhealthy when you think about that there is extra airflow on this chassis than most. Now if solely all that arifly really resulted in drastically decrease temperatures.
Thermal Outcomes for the Azza Aero 480
For the thermal assessments, all case and CPU fan speeds are set to 100%. The Core i7-12700K is ready at a 4.7GHz clock at 1.3v on all efficiency cores to make sure constant energy consumption throughout check situations. Letting the GPU run at 75% fan velocity permits it to keep up its energy goal whereas sticking to at least one set cheap fan velocity, so the temperature is the one variable.
After I acquired the Azza Aero 480, I used to be intrigued by the mesh facet panel as a result of it’s one thing that I haven’t seen earlier than–not less than particularly in a case this massive. Earlier than testing, I hypothesized that the thermals could be nice as a result of the mesh meant extra airflow. Nevertheless, a buddy identified that the mesh might really intrude with the airflow path, whereas a stable materials, like glass or steel, would hold the air shifting by means of the case entrance to again, shifting over the heat-generating elements. Finally, my preliminary thought was flawed, and the Azza Aero 480 produced surprising thermal testing scores, with CPU and common temps touchdown on the upper facet of our comparability instances, reasonably than the decrease finish.
If you happen to’re utilizing an AIO radiator mounted up prime, these temps may be much less of a problem. However on the very least, this proves that extra mesh isn’t all the time for the perfect.
Backside Line
Total, the Azza Aero 480 is a reasonably stable case for its worth of $110. The 4 pre-installed PWM ARGB followers are an astounding inclusion for the worth, however the mesh facet panel is a bit deceiving. And design, notably on the rear growth slot space, feels low-cost and bends simply.
The mesh facet panel on the Azza Aero 480 is is intriguing (if not precisely as efficiency enhancing as you would possibly assume), and the 4 ARGB followers are appreciated, however that’s actually all there may be that’s distinctive or spectacular right here. As soon as once more, Azza has made one other area of interest case, which isn’t a nasty factor. However until you’re particularly searching for a mesh facet panel and many light-up followers, then I’d skip this case. At this worth, there are lots of higher choices, just like the Phanteks Eclipse G360A, which performs and feels higher, prices much less, and likewise comes with numerous RGB.