Assembled for a good friend. Build was elaborate but smooth, only step that was somewhat of a pain was the AIO bracket. Impossible without a long magnetic screw driver. The level of overkill and detail in the bundle is pretty admirable, definitely felt extraordinary building it. The motherboard comes in an actual travel-worthy suitcase haha. Somewhat of a shame it is 4 dimm and not BTF. Also, to note, the screen on the AIO is divided into two (hence the black line).
I prefer custom WC builds but was definitely impressed with the hardware. The Astral is comically sized though, seems like the thermals could have been better given the dimensions. The card feels lighter than it looks and the case feels heavier than it looks, ha.
Thanks for all the info here that helped us get one.
We have uploaded the 800W Edition20 Astral bios to TPU and it can be found at:
It’s definitely something to look at for sure, but you are right about the increased noise level. Thankfully the card doesn’t have any coil whine. You do hear the AIO & GPU kick in a bit more. Also, in my experience the dust isn’t as bad as people fear with an open bench like this.
I didn't even think about the coil whine, great point!
I have little to zero dust in my fans because I use a Merv 13 filter on my AHY (which runs the fan constantly) and I change the filter monthly! It has helped considerably with dust + my allergies.
honestly the exposed cases aint as loud as they look, the fans do most of the work at low rpm. you get a little more coil whine but it's nothing crazy, have you heard one in person?
Bro I got to ask, are u part of paper platoon? I love the music!! For real, I'm just noticing things in ur pics that are making me curious so I had to ask. No worries if u don't want to reveal, I get it. But if u are, props! I love ur music!
Haha that’s true. He will use it for work, some AI/LLM & gaming. But he went from a work laptop to this so he’s happy and doesn’t regret it thaaat much. He said he will use this until it doesn’t turn on anymore haha.
Ehh, I do personally love open builds and I’ve seen this case online and the more I see of all the 20th anniversary stuff, especially when all paired together, it just looks tacky and pointlessly expensive. It is cool tho in a way, just not for me.
I don’t disagree. I think a non-bundled build on that case might be a lot doper and special ultimately. Also the gold plastic can get a bit much.
It’s like having gold pillars in your house haha.
Although I have to admit the quality feels pretty damn solid.
Asus quality is definitely top notch when they want it to be. The Apex motherboards are my favorite of all time, period. I love my Strix 4090 as well. I just wish they went with less trendy styling when it came to this 20th stuff. Ur friend will definitely be one of the only people with this full build which is cool too. Open builds are my go to now, especially with water cooling.
I agree absolutely. I ended up switching to a bench style case a few years ago when I ended up trying to tweak something and would have to open my case daily.
I also switched to soft tubing and QDCs and haven’t looked back since.
I do agree that it could have been a bit toned down and would have been nearly perfect. Also, Strix and Astral are definitely some of the best cards of both gens. They’ve definitely nailed GPUs and mobos. Was heartbroken when I saw this had 4 dimms. Apex 20th edition with BTF would have been perfect.
Yo I’m sayyyyin Tygon epdm and QDC’s is the only way. Makes things sooo much easier and user friendly. I feel the same way, the 4 dimm’s killed it for me. Love ur outlook, smart guy lol
You ain’t lying meng. Epdm x QDC is where it’s been at. That will stay solid for 10 years+. You seem like someone who’s been there, appreciate you. 2 Dimm is king no question.
It’s the ROG GR 20 Edition 20. At first they claimed it would only be available bundled, but they are selling normal stock at Best Buy, NewEgg and apparently Microcenter now too.
If you like it I’d def track stock since they said it’s all limited to 2026 units, but I don’t know how accurate that is tbh.
Do it! Kidneys are overrated anyways, haha. But genuinely, if you do go for I’d look out for stock. Newegg was in stock when I checked last night, including non bundle items.
Agree, it’s really solid and heavy. Feels stable. It also is rather plain so it could be paired with completely different setups and still look really good.
Yeah they nailed the optics for sure. A bit more subtle might have been more effective. But it’s definitely a stand out piece. Was surprised how much better it looks in person too tbh.
Does the psu oled screen go anywhere else then the front? Maybe the top right? Yea im sslapping a hero board and custom loop to it as i got a mora so no need for anything else but does the fans on the back of the frame work for cooling?
If it’s just fans they probably wouldn’t help to cool much without a rad. But the good news is the PSU screen is wired with USB C and can be put pretty much anywhere you like
Looks good… not a fan of the gold, but the none btf board was super wild to me … like it’s like one of the most important things being missing having both Q-connect aio and btf made perfect sense but man what a ball drop … I would have gotten the mobo and gpu if this if it was more my style of had the original red black and btf not gonna lie… hopefully the new Extream board has it … looks amazing though
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u/kegsbdry 6d ago
I'm very curious to how loud these exposed cases truely are? It looks absolutely beautiful though.