A Closer Look - Inside

Before we dive into the insides of the chassis, there are the glass panels. Raijintek has done a great job with these as they are lined with a black frame to cover the metal frame for that ultimate clean look. The tint is pretty dark though, so you may have a hard time showing off all your cool components in a dark environment. The interior of the Asterion is actually quite simple, but pretty effective. There are no drive bays above the shroud, and the motherboard tray is one flat solid piece that spans the entire length of the chassis. The overall build quality of the chassis is excellent, which is great to see. There are no plastic parts as even the shroud is made out of the same material as the chassis frame.


You will get around 20 mm of space behind the motherboard tray, which should be enough to route cables nicely. There are some hooks to attach zip ties to around the grommet-covered openings, but the right side lacks them. Raijintek allows you to install two 2.5" drives here with the use of rubber-lined screws, making for a hassle- and tool-free assembly.


The metal mesh shroud is not simply a cover, but comes with three sets of mounting holes for you to install a 2.5" and 3.5" drive or opt for two 2.5" drives instead.


There is plenty of space in front of the shroud for a radiator setup. This area is also the one that looks very different depending on which variant of the chassis you have chosen. If you go for the Plus, the front is flat, the fans are placed directly on to the frame, and a plastic part is sandwiched between the frame and front panel which also holds a slimline slot-loading drive bay. With the Classic, there is no such plastic piece. Raijintek has instead given the fans some space to allow for proper air flow - especially as they do not have access to fresh air. You may remove the whole contraption, which should also make radiator assembly much easier.


The only other noteworthy element in the front are the two 2.5/3.5" drive trays underneath the shroud. This brings the total number of installable drives to six, which is more than enough for most scenarios.


In the rear, starting in the bottom, there is the PSU bay. Two large rubber standoffs keep the PSU level and eliminate any vibrations before they are passed onto the chassis frame. Above that are the aforementioned eight expansion slots. Raijintek has engineered them with the screws on the outside of the chassis frame, which are in turn covered by a metal piece held in place by two screws. The white LED-ring-equipped 120 mm fan in the very top is set to push hot air out the back of the Asterion.


Taking a quick peek at the ceiling of the chassis reveals a simple but quite effective implementation which allows for two 140 mm or three 120 mm fans to be installed. You may also place a 360 mm radiator in the top as there is plenty of space to do so. The metal mesh cover can be pushed out from the inside, revealing quite the intricate bending structure considering we are looking at aluminum.


All the cables within the Raijintek Asterion are sleeved black and of the standard variety, with the exception of the USB cables. Each of the USB 3.0 leads also comes with a USB 2.0 plug, which means you can connect the entire set of I/O regardless of how old your motherboard is - a nice touch.