A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the Aqirys Aquilla makes a really nice first impression. It is slightly larger overall than your traditional mid-tower chassis, which should bode well for liquid-cooling support, for example. The design for this color variant combines white and gray accents, which doesn't look bad at all, and the front grill adds another splash of uniqueness to the otherwise straight lines and edges of the enclosure.


While the front panel is formed out of plastic, Aqirys has placed a metal cover which does a great job in conveying a bit more quality. Their brand logo has been placed on the top of this white panel with a little opening where you may grip it to pull it off easily. In the rear, the case looks rather traditional in terms of layout, with the PSU mounted on the bottom. That said, the Aqirys Aquilla is quite wide and has a bit of extra height for radiators in the ceiling.


Both side panels of the Aquilla are hinged, which results in a really clean look for the main glass side. These are held in place by magnets, which seems to work better for the main than steel panel, though.


That metal one also sports a vent covered by a white metal mesh dust filter on the inside. The same shaped air vents as in the front would have been nice on this side, but the honeycomb layout should do just fine. Both panels come with black pull tabs which stick out a bit—gray ones would probably be a nicer option visually.


You may pull the metal front cover off to reveal the fans and its fine mesh filter. This should be sufficient for the usual cleaning process of this dust barrier, but if you like to get to the three white 140 mm ARGB fans, pull the whole plastic front frame off, which then allows you to separate that filter from the frame as well.


In the rear, at the bottom, the PSU bay has two sets of mounting holes. As we will see on the next page, the metal shroud does have an air vent, so you could choose which way you want to face the PSU, but the best way will be for it to pull cool air in through the underside of the Aqirys Aquilla. Above that are seven removable, reusable expansion slot covers. It is nice to see that Aqirys has gone the extra mile to ensure all major components within the chassis match the overall color. In the very top is yet another white 140 mm ARGB fans set to push hot air out the back of the chassis, so the Aquilla ships with a very solid four such units right out of the box.


On top, there is a classic metal mesh filter with magnetic strips to keep dirt out of the top of the chassis. It is gray instead of the usual black to fit the color theme of the enclosure, which is a very nice touch. Looking at the I/O, however, it seems extremely outdated by today's standards as it provides two USB 2.0 and a single USB 3.0 port alongside the usual audio plugs. This is unfortunately a pretty big no-go these days; the Aqirys Aquilla should at least ditch the 2.0 ones for two USB 3.0 and maybe even push the envelope with a USB-C variant as a cherry on top. On the upside, while there is a built-in ARGB button, Aqirys put the reset one next to the power button.


On the underside, a metal-mesh cover lines the whole length of the case. This one is classic black and mounted in the simplest possible way, unfortunately. Aqirys should have really made it so that it can be pulled out from underneath the chassis, ideally towards the side for easy access and cleaning.