Rosewill Cullinan Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Rosewill's Cullinan mid-tower case goes under the spotlight. And while it may be a clone of another case, it does enough to stand out.

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Manufacturer: Rosewill
14 minutes & 1 second read time
TweakTown's Rating: 97%
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The Bottom Line

Rosewill's Cullinan may be a cloned chassis, but it delivers a sexier aesthetic appeal than the original, and is also more refined in its feature set. All you need to decide is which size fans and which color LEDs suit you more.

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

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For those who are not aware of how Rosewill came to be, let us lay down the ground work for you to wrap your head around. Newegg has seen many products on their shelves, and any smart company can see what products make money, and why not try for a piece of that pie, rather than getting a small percentage of each product sold. That led to the development of their in-house company Rosewill. Over the years, we have seen a pattern of taking some of the better products on the market and making them their own. Some of these products are direct copies without any changes other than names, while others do offer some minor changes in features, but at the heart of it all, these are cloned products. The primary goal with Rosewill, at least from what we were told long ago, is that while these may be copies of someone else's ideas, the previous trend is to try to offer said products with less cost involved as well.

This brings us to the steel and glass chassis we got our grubby little mitts on now. While there is no doubt in our minds that this is a clone of the AI Crystal from Anidees, which we just reviewed previously to this chassis. Having the original so fresh in our mind, we will have no issues pointing out what is the same in this design, and what features have been changed along the way, to give this mid-tower chassis from Rosewill an identity all of its own. The AI Crystal comes highly recommended from us, so as long as Rosewill didn't throw a wrench into the works, it is hard for us to see where they could go wrong in this deal.

Today we bring you the Rosewill Cullinan, a mid-tower chassis which sports tempered glass not only on the sides but the entire front panel as well. There are indeed some minor changes in what we will soon see, and as we had hoped, Rosewill did not mess with anything major. This means that you are essentially getting the Anidees chassis, but we do have to say that Rosewill may have one-upped them with their version. While the changes are subtle in the Cullinan, we feel what Rosewill has done to elevate the design are all things worthy of attending to in the first place, and somehow, they even made the Cullinan more aesthetically appealing too.

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The Rosewill Cullinan is a mid-tower chassis, made mostly of steel, has bits made of plastic here and there, but most notably, it has three tempered glass panels which are tinted to obstruct the view slightly. If you are looking for something other than a black chassis, keep looking, as that is the only color choice for this case. It does not ship with a power supply but can house either a Micro-ATX, ATX, XL-ATX, or E-ATX motherboard. We find not one optical bay in this design, but there is room for three 2.5" drives and two 3.5" drives, which use a different tray in the HDD rack. The last of the chassis expansion can be found in the back with the seven expansion slots it offers. At the top of the chassis there is the I/O panel, and in it are a pair of USB 3.0 ports, the same in USB 2.0 ports, HD Audio jacks, and sports the same fan controls as the AI Crystal too.

Cooling is handled by three 120mm blue LED fans which run down the front of the chassis working as the intake to the chassis. There is another matching fan pre-installed in the back of the case as well. The top of the chassis can also house a trio of 120mm fans, or two 140mm fans, but no fans are installed there out of the box. Additionally, both the front and the rear of the chassis can have the fans swapped out for 140mm fans as well. There is sufficient water cooling support as well. 360mm radiators can go in the front or at the top of this case, you can have a single radiator in the back, and you also have the option for 280mm radiators as well.

Nearing the bottom of the list, we see the 8.54-inch width, the 19.57-inch height, and the 18.78-inch depth. This is also where we find the 23.59-pound empty weight of this chassis. The lowest section makes mention that the motherboard used inside should be USB 3.0 ready, or you will lose the use of the ports in the front I/O panel. It also mentions the tempered nature of the glass panels, says the front I/O contents again, and mentions the fan speed control and its advanced cooling system.

The Cullinan will be ready to be sold at the end of September, but we have had the pricing mentioned in our emails back and forth to Rosewill. The MSRP has been set at $179.99 for this chassis, some $30 more than what we saw with the AI Crystal. However, it was also told in the emails that the Cullinan will have a day one release price of $149.99, in direct competition with the Anidees version. While we do not see the changes made to the design in the Cullinan worth the MSRP, we do feel that the changes Rosewill achieved in the release of the Cullinan mid-tower chassis, raises the bar to what we saw from Anidees. If we thought that chassis was well worth the price, you should be getting the hint that the Rosewill Cullinan is worthy too, as it delivers more within the same price as the AI Crystal.

Chad's Chassis Test System Specifications

Packaging

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The packaging is plain, no doubt about that fact. There is a large rendering of the front panel off to the left of this front panel, leaving the right side for Rosewill to put their name and logo at the top, and the Cullinan name more near the center. We also see that this chassis is made in China, just below the box with no real information in it.

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Five icons run across the top of this side panel, noting which way is up, not to let it get rained on, that it is fragile, maybe that it needs two hands to carry it, and possibly that it is not intended to be trash. The lower section offers the case name, its weight, as well as the Rosewill website address.

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While the back panel is identical to the front panel, it does give us time to mention something overlooked the first time. In the rendering, we do see the Rosewill name at the bottom of the front bezel. However, it is not that easy to be seen, as it is painted on the inside of the tinted glass panel.

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Every last bit shown here is identical to what the opposing thin side panel had shown us.

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Our pre-release sample was shipped with additional dense foam packing at either end of the chassis, as well as down the sides, but this is a view of what the retail packaging will consist of. There is no plastic clinging to the glass panels like what Anidees did, but there is a plastic liner surrounding the entire chassis. The last measure of protection is the use of dense foam at the top and bottom of the Cullinan, to let it arrive as ours did, in great shape.

Rosewill Cullinan Mid-Tower Chassis

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The front of the Cullinan consists of a dark tinted tempered glass panel set inside of a thin plastic bezel which surrounds it. The fan at the top is slightly visible, and the same for the Rosewill name at the bottom of the glass.

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The front I/O panel delivered a fan controller at the left, followed by the HD Audio ports and the ringed power button. The ringed reset button offer HDD activity around it, and off to the right are the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports.

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The top of the chassis is made of steel, and the majority of it has been inset to allow for fan mounting. On top of that area, there is a magnetic dust filter in place at this time.

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Along the front edge, many slits allow air into the chassis and the intake fans behind the glass. The side panel is made entirely of tinted tempered glass as the sticker suggests. Four thumbscrews hold this panel onto the chassis, and the lines are square and tight around it.

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At the top, we find a pair of knockouts for external water cooling. We then see the rear I/O area and exhaust fan location. Following that, we next run into the seven externally secured expansion slots, and the large area at the bottom to house a PSU.

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The right side of the chassis is just like the left side. There is ventilation along the front edge, and we see the sticker and four thumbscrews found on the side glass panel.

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Even when it comes to the bottom of the Cullinan, it is identical to the AI Crystal design. Chunky feet with rubber pads offer support for the mid-tower, and there is a dust filter found under the PSU. While most things use rivets to be held into place, one wall of the HDD cage is removable via screws, and we also find grommets to mount an HDD right to the floor from here.

Inside the Cullinan

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Things begin to differ from this point onward. First of all, we can see the Rosewill name painted on the inside of the bezel. The other thing is that behind the magnetic dust filter, we find 120mm fans mounted there, and rather than white LEDs, Rosewill opts for blue LEDs in these fans.

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Initially, upon first glance, everything from this view seems identical to the AI Crustal, and for the most part, you are correct. Minor changes include black framed fans this time, and the lack of a company name on the side of the PSU cover which is running along the bottom.

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The trio of fans installed in the front is made with black frames and clear blades. This helps the fans to blend into the chassis, while at the same time, it allows the blue LEDs to reflect in the clear blades. Off to the left slightly, we find the same cable cover the AI Crystal offered, which tidies up the look of the 24-pin and SATA cables.

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With the magnetic dust filter slid to the side, we see large honeycomb mesh used for the top to breathe through. There is room for three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans, and all holes are slotted to allow adjustments for various radiator spacing.

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The same motherboard tray is used in this design. We still see fifteen tie points, the oddly shaped access hole, multiple holes for wires, and a clearly marked motherboard tray to ease standoff installation.

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The PSU cover is the same as well. There is a slightly rounded bend to the cover, and it still offers the large hole with a grommet in it for GPU wiring and front panel connectivity needs. The only thing that has changed is that Rosewill chose not to put their name here like Anidees did.

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The rear panel of this chassis holds the same fan found in the front. The fan leads are silver and terminate in 3-pin fan connections. All of these plus another fan, can all be controlled via a built-in fan hub connected to the fan speed controller.

Inside the Cullinan Continued

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Behind the motherboard tray, there is 15mm of room for wiring needs. We do find a sticker saying to connect the Molex connection, and once done, each channel on the hub delivers 2.5A maximum. We can also see the hardware in the bottom of the case, tucked into the HDD cage.

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The fan hub is not the same as found in the Crystal AI. Even though the idea and amount of fans have not changed, this version offers a dedicated connection for the power input, leaving the 3-pin connections for fans only.

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Still near the front of the chassis, just now at the bottom, we run into the HDD cage. In this cage, plastic trays which expand to install hard drives are used, rather than the metal trays we saw last time. If using a longer PSU, the wall closest can be removed, and with it and the trays out of the way, there is loads of room for the PSU and wiring.

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Just below the CPU cooler access hole in the motherboard tray, we find three steel trays used to install 2.5" drives. To remove them, you must unscrew the thumbscrews, then lift the trays slightly, and they will then come free of the motherboard tray.

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The PSU needs to be slid in from this side, and when using a modular PSU we recommend connecting the ends to the PSU first. At that point, you will slide in the PSU, rest it upon the four support posts, and screw it in from the back of the chassis.

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Rosewill may have used all of the same cables and connections as Anidees did, but Rosewill made sure to lengthen all of them. The USB 3.0, cable is black, and so is the HD Audio and USB 2.0. The Molex which powers the fan hub is much longer, this time, even the black ribbon of switch and LED connections is made easier to attach due to the extra length.

Hardware & Documentation

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In clearly marked bags, all of the screws needed to finish the build are found. There are four screws for HDDs, and a handful of screws to use for 2.5" drives. We are shipped five PSU screws, and thirteen motherboard screws to get everything mounted with.

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Rosewill also sends the Cullinan with ten wire ties, five extra standoffs, and an additional set of four side panel screws. Since the standoffs are pre-installed, and both doors come with screws, these are just in case you lose things or happen to cross thread something along the way.

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Rosewill includes a manual found outside of the inner packaging. The quick user guide is more in depth than what we saw from Anidees and simplifies the process as much as possible.

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While no measurements are given other than for the dimensions of the radiators supported in the front and at the top of the Cullinan, we are still stuck to 63mm of room up top and 60mm in the front, for the sandwich of fans and radiators. 360mm radiators are not the only option either, as a 280mm radiator can also go in either location.

Case Build & Finished Product

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Exactly not one thing has changed when looking at the Cullinan from the front, and we like this a lot. When it gets powered, things do change a bit, but for now, all there is to see is the darkened reflection of the glass panel.

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We did move the rear fan to the top to show off spacing as we installed the AIO in its place. The rest of the build is roomy and clean, everything we expected since we already did this once and saw the results.

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The dust shield was tough to install, and left the metal bowing out away from the case. The card does fit, but it seems we struggled more with this chassis than in the AI Crystal. The PSU fit the best of it all, as it slid right into place and is easy screwed into place from this side.

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Behind the motherboard tray, we were able to make the necessary runs of wiring, with wire tie points in proximity to our needs. Wiring can block the HDD cage, but otherwise, the room at the bottom is plenty to hide everything else you do not want to be seen.

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With the Cullinan back to the way we got it from the box, just now with hardware inside, things to not change that much in appearance. If not for the brightness of the photo booth, you do not see much of anything inside of the chassis, behind the tinted glass side panel.

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Rosewill uses blue LEDs in these fans, much like what a TB Vegas fan will produce, but sadly, only when the fan controller is set to the H mode. We can slightly see the Zotac and Corsair LED lighting behind the panel, and as for the power LED, it is blue, while the HDD activity LED is red.

Final Thoughts

It is not hard at all to tell that this is the Anidees AI Crystal chassis, and we thought highly of it when we saw it. Build quality and all other aspects of chassis design match exactly, so that there are no apparent discrepancies between the two as far as that goes either. The Cullinan is sleek, mysterious, and elegant too. If they are set side by side, only informed individuals will be able to tell them apart, and with the fact that both company names are nearly hidden from view except to the most eagle-eyed individuals, it makes this even harder. However, we do prefer the aesthetics of the Rosewill Cullinan over the AI Crystal, due to fan choice. The bright blue LEDs and pattern presented from the 120mm fans is top notch and shows through the glass much better than we saw in the original design.

Using 120mm fans has its downsides too, however. First off there is slightly less airflow in this design. This means slightly higher temperatures were found inside of the Cullinan, and at the same time while trying to compete thermally, these 120mm fans are slightly louder at 39dB when in H mode. Something we did not care for about this setup has to do with the fans too, but it is something minor. Of course, we knew the fans would turn off is S mode, but unlike the AI Crystal delivering LED lighting in L mode, the Cullinan leaves the LEDs off while the fans spin from the supplied five Volts. We would have much rather had LEDs in both modes.

Other changes that we found include a different fan hub, and an actual power rating being given for this design. We like this very much. We also noticed the HDD trays. This time, they are plastic, do not need hardware, and the tray expands to accept the drive, then squeeze closed around them, simplifying their installation versus the flat steel plates found in the Anidees chassis.

With an MSRP of $179.99, we have no idea what Rosewill is thinking. There is no way a different PCB, smaller fans, and some plastic trays cost them $30 a case to source. Of course, this does allow them to put some marketing spin on things, releasing the chassis at $149.99 upon release, so customers feel they are getting a great deal. However, considering the pricing of the AI Crystal being identical to the release day pricing, Rosewill has their work cut out for them. While we do like the aesthetics more, when powered, in the Cullinan, there will be those that will not support this as it is a copy of the Anidees original.

However, this is nothing new to the market, and upon inception of Rosewill, this is what they do. While we would have expected a lower price to fit whit the company mission statement, you can't always have things your way. In the end, we feel that Rosewill and their Cullinan is the better candidate for our money, as it is slightly more refined and more attractive. If the Anidees AI Crystal tops your list, you do need to consider this chassis as an alternative to a steel mid-tower with a trio of tempered glass panels.

Chad's Chassis Test System Specifications

TweakTown award
Performance 95%
Quality including Design and Build 99%
General Features 99%
Bundle and Packaging 99%
Value for Money 92%
Overall 97%

The Bottom Line: Rosewill's Cullinan may be a cloned chassis, but it delivers a sexier aesthetic appeal than the original, and is also more refined in its feature set. All you need to decide is which size fans and which color LEDs suit you more.

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Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

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