Final Thoughts
As I mentioned in the beginning of this review ASUS’s ProArt line has been expanding quite a bit since they introduced ProArt monitors. With the release of ProArt motherboards and graphics cards it was only a matter of time before we saw a ProArt case. The ProArt PA602 is not the first PC case from ASUS, but their first ProArt case. ProArt products are designed for digital creators and that is what this case is all about. No crazy RGB lighting, proper airflow, and many other features you would want as a digital creator. On top of that the color scheme and design of this case is going to match up quite nicely with ASUS’s ProArt parts and they even have newly released 420mm ProArt AiO cooler that will go into this case no problem.
Beyond just looking great this case is really made for digital creators with demanding systems. Inside you have room for E-ATX motherboards, graphics cards as long as 450mm, up to 9 hard drives, room for radiators up to 420mm, and three included fans, two of which are the massive 200mm fans on the front of the case. The front bezel of the case is designed to allow proper airflow into the case and ASUS has installed air defectors inside the case to direct the air in the proper direction. There is even ventilation on the glass side panel. The fans are connected to a fan hub / controller and there is room on the controller to add three more fans. This controller allows you to run your fans at “auto” or PWM mode or full speed, which is great if you are doing something quite intensive and you can just press the switch on the top of the case to get the best cooling possible. Using the fans in auto mode they are not all that loud either.
Installing hardware in this case is quite easy, although there are some quirks. It was a bit weird to have to remove the entire power supply cover to install our power supply instead of installing it from the backside or rear of the case. It was also not apparent at first that the top cooling bracket on the case was fully removable. When it came to the 3.5-inch storage bays and brackets there does not appear to be any vibration dampening installed or grommets that you install when you are installing your drives. Now if you are only doing 2.5-inch storage this won’t be a problem, but it is weird to not have them in a case like this especially. Beyond that though I really like the three massive cable channels and velcro straps, which really helped organize our cables.
You have removable filters on the front and bottom of the case which are easily accessible. One thing that is really cool is that the front filter has an IR sensor that will let you know when you need to clean the filter. I can see this being very helpful, especially in workplaces where this system might by shoved under a desk. The wheels on the back of the case are a nice little addition, but the case really only moves well on a hard floor, it did not move all that well on the carpet we have here in the office.
I think for a creator-focused case ASUS has done a great job here. Creators need a lot of storage, so support for up to 9 hard drives out of the box is a definitely nice to see. Creators are likely running high-end hardware so one you have room for it here, but on top of that you have adequate cooling out of the box, with room for even more cooling. Finally you may want some good connectivity to transfer files to portable drives for clients and this is one of the few cases that has a USB 3.2 gen 2×2 Type-C port on the top of the case that is easily accessible. I really hope to see more ProArt cases from ASUS in the future as we were really impressed with this one. ASUS did tell use that they will be releasing a wood version of the PA602 in both a dark and light finish. Expect to see that sometime in Q2 / Q3 of this year.
Right now you can pick this case up at our favorite online retailer for $268.16. Overall ThinkComputers gives the ASUS ProArt PA602 Case a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award!
Pros:
– Massive case with lots of room inside
– Three included fans 2 of which are 200mm intakes
– Fan controller with room to add 3 more fans
– Support for a 420mm radiator in the top of the case
– Support for up to 9 hard drives
– Cable routing made easy with routing channels and velcro straps
– Air deflectors
– IR sensor for the front fan filter
– Great thermal performance
Cons:
– No vibration dampening on the 3.5-inch hard drive mounts
– Have to remove the PSU cover to install your power supply
– No apparent that the top cooling bracket is removable from the case
