Zebronics Aviator - Budget Gaming Chassis

Reviewing Zebronics Aviator Gaming Chassis:

The Zebronics Aviator gaming cabinet has been introduced by Top Notch Infotronix. The product page indicates this to be a mid-ATX casing, with a size of 185 x 437 x 466.5 mm (WxHxD). With seven expansion slots and four 120mm fans for cooling, running two graphics cards together for game performance is quite possible.

 First starting of with the specs: 

Case dimension	:	185 x 466.5 x 437 mm (W x D x H)
Motherboard configuration	:	Micro ATX, Mini ATX, ITX
Drive configuration	:	CD-ROM : 4 x 5.25",HDD : 6 x 3.5", FDD : 1
Optional system cooling fans	:	4 x 120 mm fans provided
Expansion slots and ports	:	7
Front panel control	:	Power switch, Reset switch, Power LED, HDD LED, Sleep LED, 2xUSB-2.0, mic in and audio out
Materials	:	0.6 mm SGCC
Side panel	:	Normal with side fan controller
Tool Free	:	yes
Net Weight	:	6.8 Kg
Color	:	Black
Power Supply (If supplied)	:	Optional

Features: 

• Gaming chassis • Outstanding design • Excellent cooling performance • 2 x 120mm blue LED fans on side panel with fan control switch • 120mm fan on the back • Easy swap bay (5.25"and 3.5"bay) • Front panel is made of mesh steel for better cooling • High quality electroplated zinc steel sheet strong and durable

Fascinated with such great features I decided to give this chassis a try. Moreover this chassis was the best option for me. At a budget of around 2k no other brand provides such bang for bucks. Final price of buying it was Rs.2500 (w/o the bundled PSU). Zebronics is the largest Indian manufacturer of Computer peripherals in India. Their products range from memory card reader, LCD cleaner, chassis fan to high end gaming chassis, 7.1ch speakers and almost all computer peripherals. Times are tough all around, it doesn’t matter where you go anywhere on the globe. But in times of diversity we all need to play our parts, consumers buy, retailers sell and manufacturers produce the goods. But of course -- as consumers we are only going to buy what we think is a good investment for our hard earned money. Zebronics Aviator is an attractive gaming chassis sporting a side fan controller panel and mesh front panel that not only gives it superb looks but also keeps the chassis cool. This is what I can say a great budget gaming chassis.

PICS Zebronics Aviator Cover

Top Panel

 

Side Fan and fan controller

Blue Glory in the dark

 

The electroplated zinc steel body is claimed to make it strong and durable. This cabinet is meant to offer optimum cooling of all critical components. The chassis features fan speed control (also called turbo boost control) which can be set on "high" to increase exhaust of heat that builds-up during gaming, or can be lowered while in normal operation (such as simply browsing the web). The interior has a smoked-black color tone.
The front panel consists of a steel mesh to allow air for effective cooling and includes a 120mm blue LED fan, for air intake. The side panel has two 120mm blue LED fans for exhaust with a power on/off button. At the rear is a fan for exhaust, thus circulating air from front to back to cool the system components.
While maintaining a simple layout, the cabinet offers a lot of space and slots to play with. Keeping in mind gamers who constantly tinker with their machines for upgrades and accessories, the Aviator series claims assembler-friendly features. Up to four 5.25-inch drives (optical disc drive bays), and six 3.5-inch drives (hard drive bays) can be accommodated - five of which are internal and one 3.5-inch bay is exposed. A built-in SD/MMC card reader is accessible at the front.

Conclusion

Zebronics Aviator is a sturdy well made chassis with an attractive style about it. It should be appealing to those like me who are entering the custom built computer market or people who are looking for a chassis on a strict budget.
It was missing some features that I personally like to have in a chassis. The main one is wire management, so that all the cables can be hidden out of the way, however with only one ODD installed I was able to tuck all the wires into the three empty drive bays to keep the system somewhat tidy. As there is no proper cable management available, IMO this chassis was made for budget buyers who use local/generic PSUs. If zebronics improves the cable management facility, I bet this will be the best budget gaming chassis.

Overally, I was thoroughly impressed with Zebronics Aviator for its performance and cost.



Pros:
1. Great Looks
2. Superb Design with pure black interior
3. Top USB, MMC and Audio Jack
4. Two HDD racks out of the five can be removed to accomodate longer graphics card
5.  4 x 120mm cabinets (probably 1k RPM) provided
6. Side Fan Controller is a great option, you can switch it on while gaming and switch it off while normal work like browsing the net, chatting, listening to music, watching a movie, and such
7. Has support for water cooling
8. Price

Cons:  
1. Very bad cable management, should be improved
2. Top PSU mounting instead of bottom 
3. Should provide a fan option at the top also. 
4. Front header cables are very thin and are very prone to damage