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The Gamdias Aura GC11 Wood is another budget case new to come out. We've looked at some Gamdias things before, but never made an official review. The important thing to note is that they are a relatively recent brand filling a budget aesthetic niche in the same vein as Okinos or Montech. We've liked the things we've seen from them overall. Recently we needed a good budget case that focused on a black aesthetic with wood accents, to be the signature case of the Classy half of the Double Trouble build. We found this one at the same budget as our Classy choice and decided this was the way to go.
As always, we start with the box. First impressions matter. On the front we get a simple lined graphic of the front intake only. On the back we get a pretty thorough list of the relevant case specs, and we're happy to see this. Letting a prospective buyer simply read the box instead of needing to google specs is more important than you may think. Posting the specs plainly helps users know up front if the case they're considering will fit their GPU, or CPU cooler, or other such needs.
Breaking this bad boy open, the box is a double layered cardboard, but the cardboard feels thin and flimsy, unfortunately. The cheap white styrofoam inside is of the low quality, "hit it too hard and it cracks" type. It's good enough to ship a computer case, but not enough to ship a computer. If you want to ship a fully built computer, consider additional packing materials, as this is not adequate on its own, though it is more than good enough to keep the lightweight empty case safe. As always, the poly bag keeps the case scratch free during shipping.
Opening it up and taking it out of the box, we get the first look at the case. It's definitely got that classy look to it. The symmetrical front panel with the evenly spaced slats look good from multiple different directions. As this one is designed to be a classy, timeless look, it is especially fitting that laying this horizontally and it still looks good. This would be at place in an entertainment center next to some speaker amplifiers and such in either orientation.
The front panel is attached tightly, but comes off with an appropriate amount of force. Accessing the fans right behind it. And... yes, this looks familiar again. Not to bury the lead here, this is yet another PC that's built on the exact same chassis as the Okinos Cypress 5 and the Rosewill GC2 that we've previously reviewed. We don't neet to go that deep into it, see the Rosewill review just linked for the full breakdown. But know this is the exact same case, again, with their own spin on the details.
The side panel itself is a nice strong thick piece of glass with a black painted edge and bonded metal attachments on the top and bottom. This lets it be attached firmly with pressure release clips with no need of screws or bolts. The panel pops off with a bit of pressure and has a convenient tab that sticks out just a bit at the top rear to make it easy to pull properly.
The first thing we pull out of this is the manual. And... it says "Rosewill" on it. It says "GC2" on it. Huh? We double checked. Triple checked. This is the manual that came with the Gamdias GC11 Wood. It has the "Aura" branding on it, in the same Gamdias font. That branding does not appear anywhere on the box or advertising for the Rosewill GC2, but it is on the manual (which is the same manual, but that's okay because it's mostly the same case). Go ahead and check the photos from our review.
It wasn't until writing this paragraph of this review that we noticed they're both following a "GC##" naming pattern. For reference, these both went up for sale at roughly the same time, we ordered these nearly the same time and they were delivered just days apart. This whole thing is getting complicated.
If we look at the top we see the now familiar layout. Large button. Power. Two LED lights, for power and HDD activity. Small button. Reset. USB Type-A port. Stereo speakers out. Mic in. USB Type-A port. USB Type-C port.
Unlike the Rosewill we reviewed more recently, this features a USB Type-C. Unlike the Okinos we reviewed a bit longer ago, the USB Type-C is in a space that would fit a Type-A port, just with filler plastic around it. This also connects to a USB 3.2 19-pin header, instead of the newer USB 3.2 Gen 2 header. Meaning this port will be limited to 5GB/s speeds instead of the 10GB/s speeds supported on the newer header. I suppose it's a good compromise between more modern support and more budget components.
If we look at the top, we see a simple magnetic dust filter here. Again, it's just a simple metal mesh with a magnetic ring around the edge to keep it secured to the frame. It works for its purposes, and that's all well and good.
If we look at the bottom, we see another dust filter just held in by some frame clips, and the adjustable HDD caddy, which, just like both the Cypress 5 and the GC2, comes from the factory in the further back (closer to the power supply) position. It's still nice that this is adjustable to accommodate different build needs.
Really, at this point I'm reviewing the same case over and over again. I genuinely didn't predict this would happen and am a bit... befuddled. I think that's the best word for it. There's not really much more we can say about the case itself, just comparisons to it's equally priced, differently equipped brethren.
If we go around to the back, we find the same unfortunate standard of budget cases, breakaway PCIe brackets. The rear exhaust fan is slightly adjustable and can move up or down by about half an inch, and its cable is pre-routed to the rear of the case. The PCIe cover is flatter with thicker metal than on the Rosewill and more closely matches the Okinos case. Again, the power supply can only be installed in one orientation.
The front panel was easier to remove than on the GC2 and fit much more like the Cypress 5. The front filter is also removable, though this time secured with no less than 20 screws! All of these would need to be removed to individually clean the front mesh. Though, importantly, they can be removed.
Again, we see the same story in the back panel. We've got a good amount of cable management. One of this case's biggest strengths. A thick channel on the left for bulk cables, and lots of tie-downs everywhere to allow multiple different routing plans.
The front I/O is bundled together. The case includes a 4-to-1 PWM splitter so that if you do not have enough fan headers on your motherboard you can still use all the fans. The little baggie is just a mix of screws that would be needed as well as some cable ties. The standard low quality "good" accessory bag.
Looking inside the case we can see our case fans. All 4 of them are plain black. Completely plain, no model numbers or logos or anything. They're just simple plain black fans with a blade profile somewhere between pressure and flow optimized. In a positive pressure setup with 3 intakes and 1 exhaust, if no extra fans are added, it will be a positive pressure environment. Though not as aggressively as pressure optimized fans would accomplish.
Otherwise, inside the case are no surprises. The fans are setup the same as we've seen in the other pseudo-identical cases. Its' got the same standoffs pre-installed. It supports ATX and mATX and ITX motherboards (though ATX would fit the best and look nicest).
Really, we've gone over all of this the same before. There's not much more to say here. It's roomy enough to do a standard build in, but tight enough that you'll want to install the motherboard before any top fans/radiator. You may benefit from removing the rear fan before installing the motherboard, just to make the screws more accessible.
It's another case roughly equivalent to the Rosewill GC2 and the Okinos Cypress 5. But on all the differences that Rosewill cheaped out on, Gamdias kept things to a higher quality standard. Our biggest issue with the Rosewill was the value (or lack thereof) for the customer. Not so here.
All of that brings me to the cost. Just like both of the previously mentioned cases, his PC markets at a retail cost of $60. To be clear, $60 is the same price as both the Okinos Cypress 5 and the Rosewill GC2. The front panel is different, and the side glass panel is different, small details are different. This doesn't have ARGB but the fans are pretty high quality, balanced options. It has not one but two wooden strips. It has higher quality small details like the PCIe cover and screws. It does indeed have USB Type-C support and a very high quality glass side panel
Gamdias took the same base build as before, made a design that was somewhat between the GC2 and the Cypress 5, and made the biggest feature, the design, look classier and timeless. It's not quite as good a value as the Cypress 5, but pretty close and much better than the GC2.
There are no major issues with this case. It's still a pretty good value. A bit tight working space but that's expected on a budget Mid-ATX case. A collection of expected budget caveats such as breakaway PCIe slots and mediocre accessories included. But nothing major or egregious.
If you're interested in buying one for yourself or learning more from the official listing, you can read all about the more technical specs or order your own on Amazon here.
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