Asus jumps on the “fish tank” PC case bandwagon — GT502 Horizon combines a militarized theme with lots of tempered glass

Asus has released a new variant of its GT502 case, dubbed the GT502 Horizon, inspired directly by the O-11 Dynamic from Lian Li. The case builds on the panoramic “fish tank” architecture that has inspired many chassis since the O11, featuring a more rugged theme, support for up to 13 fans, and 360mm rear chamber-mounted radiator support.

The case is a twin brother of the original GT502, which shares the same look and O11-inspired layout. The only change Asus has made is compatibility with a custom ARGB lighting kit that is sold separately. This kit includes two L-shaped lightbars installed at the top and bottom of the front chamber, adding extra RGB lighting to the chassis.

As part of the Asus TUF gaming lineup, the GT502 Horizon has a militarized-themed aesthetic. It features militarized-themed text on multiple panels with a boxy angular design language. The left and front panels are tempered glass side panels, with the front panel being three-quarters tempered glass worth of side panels and the rest featuring a generic panel and front I/O. The case also has two carry handles on the top for easy transportation.

The case supports standard ATX motherboards and smaller CPU cooler heights of up to 163mm, GPU lengths of up to 400mm, and PSU lengths of up to 200mm. Drive support consists of four drive bays featuring support for 2.5″ and 3.5″ form factors. Like the O11, the GT502 Horizon features a dual chamber layout, with the primary components in the front (motherboard, CPU, graphics card, etc.) and the rest of the components in the rear chamber (PSU, storage drives, and some cooling capability).

Cooling consists of four fan racks supporting up to three fans per rack. One rack is mounted at the top, one on the bottom, one on the side, and one in the rear chamber. This gives the chassis support for up to 13 fans, including the 120mm/140mm fan mount at the back of the case. All fan ranks support 120mm fans, but if you’re willing to drop fan counts to two per rack, each rack can support larger 140mm options. Radiators can also be mounted on all four fan ranks.

Where the GT502 really differs from its competitors is its rear chamber multi-purpose fan rack. The rack can be mounted with a 360mm radiator, three 120mm fans (or two 140mm fans), or three hard drives/SSDs. The rear and side mount mounts are installed together, meaning you can have up to six fans mounted in the rear chamber alone.

Ventilation supports the chassis’ exotic cooling capabilities. It features mesh panels for the top, bottom, and right side, with three separate ventilation “boxes” centered around the PSU, drives, and rear fan rack.