A Closer Look - Outside

Taking a look at the chassis itself, the orange DS 200 makes a pretty cool impression. While some may worry about all the plastic resulting in a less than ideal feel and lackluster quality, such fears should quickly disappear after taking a closer look. The DS 200's design is also quite understated, with straight lines and big, round corners.


The orange elements are sourrounded by matte black plastic that also acts as an air vent to the fans in the front and top. The PSU bay is in the bottom of the back, with fairly thick top and bottom plastic covers sandwiching in the enclosure's metal hart. Given the DS 200 belongs to Aerocool's silent series, both side panels are also completely solid.


A small Aerocool logo can be found on the bottom of the front, while the two 5.25" drive bays are all the way in the top.


Turning the chassis around, the PSU bay in the bottom comes with two sets of mounting holes. Above the bay are the seven motherboard expansion slots, each protected by its own metal-mesh cover. You will also find a 120 mm fan set to push hot air out in the top, as well as two circular cutouts through which water-cooling tubes can be routed out the DS 200's back.


As the case is supposed to encapsulate sound by as much as possible, it comes with a solid top panel right out of the box. However, you may remove this panel to replace it with the metal-mesh variant that allows for the airflow fans or a liquid-cooling setup in the ceiling of the DS 200 require. The I/O only includes the usual mix of 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0 and audio plugs, but there is also a built-in fan controller and a display to show you the temperature within.


The enclosure's underside consist of one solid piece of plastic and the PSU bay's dust filter. That protective filter may easily be removed by pulling it out through the back of the chassis, which negates the need to tip the chassis over to do so.