With the latest addition to the popular Arcadia series, Raijintek aims to set new standards in the budget case sector. Thanks to a side panel made of real glass, a generous mesh front and a price of less than €40, the signs are not bad that this goal will be achieved. Read on to find out how the Arcadia III performs in everyday use.
In the price segment south of the €40 mark, the air is getting very thin if you’re looking for a decent case. Sure, there are the odd Chinese cracker that comes with RGB disco even in this price range, but real glass is almost only found in mini cases, which then usually have massive deficits in terms of space or airflow. In short: In this price range, you can hardly get any usable cases and should keep your expectations correspondingly low. Or should you?
Not if Raijintek has its way! The guys have often wowed us with price-performance bangers and what they have achieved with the Arcadia III makes me seriously wonder whether there is any profit to be made. The latest iteration of the Arcadia is much closer to its recently tested big brother(Ponos Ultra MS4 in review) and also outshines its direct predecessor(Arcadia II as the case of a budget build) in all respects. But for now, enough advance praise, now we want to see something!
Unboxing
Like its siblings, the Arcadia III comes in the familiar cardboard box with a simple imprint.
You have to take a closer look! The design language is strongly based on the Ponos and the differences in detail only become apparent at second glance.
The open mesh front ensures good airflow and directly solves one of the biggest criticisms of its predecessor, which for its part still came to the customer with a completely closed front panel and insufficient air intakes on the side.
The front can be completely removed with a firm tug to retrofit AIOs or case fans.
As with the Ponos, the integrated dust filter cannot simply be removed, which leads to slightly higher maintenance costs.
At the top, we find a magnetic dust filter for the Exhaust fans and a slightly slimmed-down front I/O – instead of 2 x USB 3.0 and 1 x USB-C, the Arcadia has 2 x USB 2.0 and 1 x USB 3.0 ports.
And while we’re on the subject of dust filters, we also look directly under the case and find a removable filter for the power supply unit. Not a luxury solution, but it does the job.
The right-hand side panel is an ordinary sheet steel panel, no glass, no mesh.
There is no extravagance behind it either; the focus here is on cost-effective functionality. This has worked very well – everything you need is on board.
In addition to the two mounts for 2.5″ drives behind the mainboard, we also find the relocatable HDD cage familiar from the Ponos under the PSU cover.
The felt feet for the power supply unit are also included in the Arcadia III.
The barely more than 2 cm of space for cable management is a little tight, but as long as you don’t want to build an RGB fairground booth or plan an extreme hardware configuration, you can definitely work with it, as will be shown in the build report.
Finally, let’s take a look inside the main chamber of the Arcadia III. A 4mm-thick glass plate provides deep insights and is not comparable to the relatively small “peephole” made of cheap acrylic glass that was used in the Arcadia II.
The glass side panel is attached using simple and effective means: Insert and screw tight.
Slightly more compact in width and depth than the Ponos Ultra, the Arcadia III still provides plenty of space.
The coating is clean and even and the peephole for the expensive power supply unit is also present here.
Of course, the red pencil also has to be used somewhere to enable a price of under €40. This is achieved here, for example, by using the slot bezels for breaking out, which should be used with caution.
The very simple and non-PWM controllable case fan, which to my astonishment turned out to be NOT deafeningly loud, is the only fan that the case has to offer as standard.
There are some cable grommets punched into the sheet metal above the board and some space has also been left between the board and the lid to install a radiator.
Finally, the enclosed accessories:
Raijintek Arcadia III, Glasfenster (0R20B00224)
 | Auf Lager, 1-2 Werktage | 58,05 €*Stand: 16.02.25 13:57 |
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