The Gigabyte 3d Aurora case shipped in a nicely decorated cardboard box well padded with foam.

Our first impressions of the case were mostly positive. The distinctive look of brushed aluminium is present in full force on the front of the case, so if you like it (as we do) you'll probably like the 3D Aurora. Gigabyte has used other finishes for the rest of the case; the sides and top are powdered aluminium and the back panel is nickel plated steel for strength.

The side panel grill and latch mechanism look great, as does the front door, but we were less enthused about the styling of the intake grill. This bulges outwards (mainly due to the space taken up by the projection mechanism inside) and is bordered by a piece of glowing blue plastic that serves no aesthetic or practical purpose. The rear of the case is nickel plated steel and the twin 120mm fans look like they will provide impressive case ventilation.

The Gigabyte 3D Aurora case is surprisingly heavy for its aluminium construction. On further inspection, a large portion of this weight is in the front bezel, making the case nose-heavy. Once the bezel was removed, the remainder of the case was feather-light as we would expect.

The case is not fully aluminium, as the external drive bays and the casing surrounding them under the bezel are made of plastic. This is hidden by the front door, so aesthetically it shouldn't be an issue.

Upon opening up the case for the first time, we discovered the manual and the rest of the included hardware cunningly stashed into the black plastic 'toolbox' that Gigabyte has screwed into the 3.5" hard drive bays. This handy box can be removed or left in the case as you wish, and provides a convenient way to store mounting hardware (and possibly illicit substances).

The printed manual included with the Gigabyte 3D Aurora is brief but well illustrated. The necessary motherboard mounting hardware is included as well as mounting rails for external drives (tool free), keys for the case locks, a couple SATA power conversion cable and a pair of adhesive cable organizers.

The front door covering the external drive bays is also made of aluminium and has a good solid feel. Gigabyte has used a pair of magnetic latches to provide a closing mechanism, which works much better than the standard mechanical catch. We do slightly question the decision to place one of these magnets adjacent to the first of the 3.5" floppy drive bays though... The last time we checked, built-in data corruption was not a desired feature of most cases.

Like most aluminium cases, the 3D Aurora can be easily flexed and requires internal bracing to avoid warping. Don't sit on it. Also, like most high-end cases, the Aurora does not come with a power supply.