Aerocool DS 230 Review

Performance Analysis

Cooling performance from the DS 230 is middling in both instances, although we weren't expecting much more given how insulated it is, the general lack of ventilation and the use of only one fan.


The CPU delta T of 56°C puts the case in line with many others and is 14°C away from the worst result we've seen. The GPU delta T of 54°C, meanwhile, is closer to the bottom of our charts, although there's less variation with this component. These results were obtained with the fan operating at full speed, and it's actually quite loud given that this is a low noise case. Then again, it's designed to be used in PWM mode, so it makes sense for it to have a wide range of operating speeds.

Ultimately, the DS 230 will see your components get hotter than in a number of other cases, but not dangerously so and you get the trade-off of reduced noise – the sound deadening panels definitely helped to dull system noise pretty well. The case has plenty of clearance for CPU coolers and graphics cards, so it makes sense to invest in larger coolers that will themselves operate quietly and help make up for the cooling deficit.

Conclusion

There isn't much that's especially new or exciting with the DS 230 – the minimalist design, PSU cover and PWM fan hub, for example, were all introduced by other manufacturers. That said, the PWM lighting system is a nice touch and a neat way of giving you visual feedback of how hard you're pushing your system and the actual lighting quality is decent too.

Aerocool may not be looking to reinvent the wheel here, but that's not to say the DS 230 is a bad case. In fact, for £75, it's a very capable chassis that's certainly able to reduce your system noise. Niggles here and there like the difficulty accessing the front filter and a few missing finishing touches hold it back from our top award, but it does enough to earn a Recommended badge if you're after low noise and fancy a bit of external lighting to boot.