A Closer Look

At this point, we usually show you the outsides of the chassis, but we will dive into putting the chassis together instead. Given the chassis does not have an outer shell, this will also allow us to take a closer look at the various areas of the Paean as it is being assembled. The first step includes attaching the rubber-lined rods, which extend to the left and right of the massive center plate. You will mount the glass side panels onto these. Raijintek also offers separately available longer rods for those who want to go for larger CPU coolers, for example.

There are several cutouts in the center plate to allow for easy access to the underside of the CPU area, the mounting of liquid-cooling elements, and routing of cables between the two sections.


By installing the expansion-bay bracket, you essentially complete the motherboard side of the Paean. All the other elements are located on the other side to ensure you have every possible freedom to install whichever board and GPU you like.


The fairly large HDD mount on the other side allows for a total of six drives to be installed: three 2.5" and three 3.5" drives. There is plenty of space so that you can route cables behind the drive out of sight - even those you do not use. This is an important bit as the Paean does not allow you to hide cables properly any other way. The PSU frame towards the rear, on the opposite side of the expansion slots, is a simple but effective way for the Paean to hold any traditional ATX unit.


Raijintek includes a separate I/O module, which you may either install on the top edge of the massive metal plate in the center or in the front. It consists of four USB 3.0 ports and the usual audio I/O. A power button is also embedded here, which means you do not have the luxury to omit this box from your build. Raijintek has not included a reset button, but that is not a deal breaker by any means.

While it is great to see a case manufacturer finally ditch USB 2.0, it would have been nice if the module had also included an SD card reader.


All the cables within the Raijintek Paean are of the default variety and come with black sleeving as well as plugs. That is important since it allows you to hide them better and make the final build look cleaner.


The last steps are to place the thick glass side panels on to the rods and to secure them with the large black screws. In essentially six simple steps, you have assembled the whole case, which felt easier than with some IKEA furniture pieces I have built in my lifetime.