A Closer Look - Inside

To access the interior, simply remove the thumbscrews holding each panel in place. A thick layer of sound-dampening material has been applied to both panels to enhance the chassis' noise-encapsulation properties.


The Aerocool DS 200's all-black interior comes with a fairly traditional layout. There are numerous cable-routing openings on the motherboard tray, and the larger of those come with rubber grommets. A large hole also gives you unobstructed access to the CPU socket's backside, allowing for the easy removable of coolers. While 20 mm behind the motherboard tray are quite enough for a chassis of this type, the panel's sound-dampening material will take up some of that space, though cables will easily squeeze their way against and into such materials nicely.


The hard-drive trays have been spread across three cages. The top and bottom cages are for either 3.5'' or 2.5" drives, while the middle cage can only fit two 2.5" drives. Aerocool also chose to firmly attach the bottom two to the chassis, moving both into the chassis' interior a bit. The top cage, on the other hand, can be removed, which leaves those looking to install a radiator into the front or in need of some additional space for a long graphics card with a good mix of storage bays. Look closely and you will also see a pre-installed 120 mm intake fan in the front.


The two 5.25" drive bays in the top come equipped with a plastic locking mechanism that has proven adequate enough in previous Aerocool case reviews, but you should always have a screw ready to pin the drive down properly.


The Aerocool DS 200's rear is a pretty standard affair: The aforementioned PSU bay is on the very bottom, and the seven expansion-slot covers are held in place by metal thumbscrews. With black blades and colored cables, the 120 mm fan is pretty basic.


The ceiling bears no real surprises. The thick cover would easily support a radiator on top of the metal frame, while the fans push air out from within. Any radiator of up to 280 mm in size should fit, but there is also a mounting possibility for nothing else but a 200 mm fan instead.


To go with the all-black interior, all the cables within the Aerocool DS 200 are sleeved black. Their respective plugs are labeled and of the default variety. On top of these is a temperature diode that delivers its data to the display in the very top. There are also three 3-pin connectors for the embedded fan controller. The latter is rated to deliver up to 25W, which is more than enough for multiple normal fans.