AOpen G325

Josh Collins cracks opens a case.

Poised to attack the small form factor and micro-ATX communities, AOpen’s G325 has a fascia built of smooth, sleek lines and silver, red and black colouring. There’s an optical drive and FDD stealth cover to provide a seamless front. Although the fascia is fabricated completely from plastic, it maintains rigidity and strength.

Not including any fans or fan mounts within the case design is a bold move! All cooling is provided by large ventilation on the side panel and an internal HSF setup, and emphasis is placed on the PSU’s built-in fan. An overclocked chip combined with a high-power graphics card could stress the capabilities of this case.

The G325 has a single 5.25" drive bay, single 3.5" external drive bay and dual 3.5" internal drive bays. For a SFF system, this is the norm. The drive bays are well placed so that the CPU socket area is clear, so a large third-party HSF could be incorporated. No monstrous graphics cards – the 8800 GTX is just too big to fit.

The styling is very dominant and aggressive for the size. The complete steel construction is also quite heavy at 6.38kg.

The dated 400W power supply is a concern. It sports only a 20-pin ATX power connection, a P2 power connection and single SATA power connection. And the cables are not sleeved, twisted or managed at all.