The Raijintek Asterion Classic offers - as the name implies - a classic look and feel in terms of its design. By utilizing glass, steel, and aluminum as a material mix, the chassis feels extremely sturdy and well built. Raijintek has done an excellent job with ensuring that all the different pieces are of high quality with the use of a thick and sturdy steel frame, excellently shaped aluminum top and bottom covers, and a thick front plate. The side panels are also not simply slabs of tempered glass, but have a nice black framing, much like what you would find on car windshields.

All that makes for an amazing first impression, and you may be forgiving when looking at the interior and thinking that it is too simple to really achieve anything. But in perfect German manner, things have been kept solid, simple, and functional. The front and top are able to take up to six 120 mm fans or two 360 mm radiators without such a setup encroaching onto other vital areas within the Asterion Classic.

This brings us to the front-removable bracket, which makes the addition of a fan or the placement of a radiator setup quite easy. However, this is due to the fact that Raijintek has chosen to omit a plastic part which sits between the frame and front panel. While this piece is present on the Asterion Plus, it is simply omitted in the Classic, which is unfortunate. This piece does not only allow the front fans to pull fresh air in through the front of the chassis but also includes a slimline, slot-loading optical drive bay - both quite interesting features. In return, Raijintek would not need to include the fan bracket found in the Classic variant, and thus, I do not think it is a major issue in terms of cost.

Even without this part, the Classic provides a clean and simple assembly process with hard-drive mounting holes for two 2.5" drives behind the motherboard tray. The space on top of the metal shroud has also been utilized nicely by offering two more mounting positions for either two small or a mix of a 2.5" and 3.5" drive. Several openings in the motherboard tray should also allow you to keep the visible cable mess to a minimum. While the total of six drive-mounting possibilities within the Asterion is more than enough, there is still space on the shroud for another 2.5" drive or maybe even a set of pump-mounting holes. In terms of functionality, I only have a real gripe, which are the two dust filters that are screwed firmly in place instead of being easily removable. It would have been nice to see a more user-friendly implementation; however, this should be no deal breaker.

The metal shroud allows you to hide the PSU and two hard drives from view. Both of these elements may be added to the chassis in a simple, functional fashion. Another nice touch are the four USB 3.0 ports in the top, with their addition of secondary USB 2.0 connectors on the cables so that you may use all four of them regardless of the motherboard you own.

Overall, the Raijintek Asterion Classic is an extremely solid and well-constructed chassis. Its clean and simple looks are coupled with simple and very effective assembly methods that result in a clean, functional, and beautiful system once all the parts are in place.