Thermaltake Armor+ Full Tower Case
Thermaltake - Armor Plus Review
When I received this Thermaltake Armor+ case the first thing I noticed was that it was extremely large, and fairly heavy. If you are into case moding and want something that will be very stable and reliable, then this is a case you should definitely look into. If however you frequent lan parties, or want a mobile computer, this beast may slow you down a bit.
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The case has a very classy look to it. While it does not have the rigid lines of something like a lian-li, it strikes a perfect balance between that, and something like the NZXT tempest. Not too flashy, but not boring at all.
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The paint job is beautiful. Not only does it have a deep color and a beautiful finish, but there was not a single scratch to be found anywhere on the case. Even after finishing the build and subjecting the case to a bit of clumsy abuse, it still retained its mirror shine.
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As this case will almost certainly be placed on the ground, Thermaltake positioned the power button on the top, rather than the front, to make access easier. Also on the same panel are four USB ports, a fire wire port, a socket for headphones, a microphone, and a place to plug in an external SATA drive.
The panel just behind the front connection panel slides back to reveal a small storage space. I keep some spare thumb screws and the cap for my USB drive inside.
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The connectors for the front ports have more than enough slack to reach the connections on the motherboard tray. The case is wired for both HD audio, as well as the AC 97 standard.
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For additional storage, the case also includes a 5.25 bay sided storage drawer. It installs just like a DVD drive might into one of the many expansion slots. A loose CD will barely fit into this drawer, however one inside a paper or plastic CD case will not. I currently store all my product manuals inside it.
In order to install a device in one of these bays, you need only slide it in from the front, and it will lock in securely. There are 7 total 5.25 bays, the bottom covers are just for looks, and to act as a grill for the front fan.
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One of my few complaints about this case is the lack of fans it is shipped with. There are, however, three additional places where fans can be installed. Two 140mm fans can be installed as intakes in the bottom, in place of two extra hard drive bays. Another 140mm fan can be attached to the motherboard tray, just behind the primary hard drive bays. This upright fan is particularly nice for multiple GPU setups, where a bottom fan will not hit both cards.
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The case also includes a standard 120mm exhaust fan, and a 140 front fan, as well as a massive 220mm side intake fan.
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While this does make for a large amount of intake fans, the case is very well vented. The front drive bay covers act as a large grill, the covers for the pci expansion slots are perforated as well.
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This case is almost completely tool-free when it comes to component installation. For hard drives, you place the drive in a small plastic frame, and then press one of these plastic clips into the either side as shown.
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After that you simply slide the drive into the bay, and lock it in via the lever on the front.
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Removing the back panel reveals not only the back of the removable motherboard tray, but also the open rear end of the hard drive bay. This makes plugging in your power and SATA cables extremely simple.
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The power supply was very easy to install. You simply slide it in, and then add the front support. This support can be adjusted to any of the holes along the rail, so even a power supply that was 2-3 inches longer (or shorter), would easily fit within.
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As mentioned earlier, this case has a removable motherboard tray. It makes for exceptionally easy installation of your CPU, memory, etc. There is tool free installation for the graphics cards, which consists of a plastic clip in place of the normal screw. While there is a bit of difficulty at times getting these to lock in, they are very secure, despite being plastic. My only real complaint about this motherboard tray is that the upper support strut makes installing the 8 pin ATX connector a bit of a pain.
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One of my favorite things about this entire case is how wide it is. Not only will it fit just about any heat sink you can find, but they can be installed on the tray outside, and slid right in with no interference from the main case. The 220mm side fan comes very close to the heat sink. With the Thermalright Ultra Extreme, at least, it does not press on the heat sink at all when the side panel is installed.
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Wire management with this case is extremely easy. Not only does the back panel come off the case with only the removal of thumb screws, but there are well thought out openings in not only the hard drive bay, but the motherboard tray itself for feeding wiring through.
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My taping is a bit ugly, but you can see how clean and pretty the inside of the case is when installation is complete.
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You can also see the monstrosity that lies behind by side panel. Even though it is a jumbled mess, the side panel easily hooked back on, with no pressure needed.
Price: 7 of 10 frags. While you do get a lot for the money, this, by no means, is a budget or entry level case at $200 - $220 MSRP. Also for this price more fans should come standard.
Design: 9 of 10 frags. The case is extremely well designed. I nitpicked and could only find two very minor things I did not like about it. It was more weight than I wanted in a computer case and the upper support blocking the 8pin connector gave me a little difficulty.
Performance: 8 of 10 frags. This was hard to determine, as I am having an issue with my heat sink, but the cool down from load to idle temps was near instant. This will be updated when my issue is solved. The side fan could also stand to be a little quieter; such a wide fan could probably stand to spin a tiny bit slower, or just have a better bearing.
Wire Management: 10 of 10 frags. With a removable side panel, and plenty of room between it and the motherboard tray, managing your wires becomes extremely easy. Even someone as disorganized as me ended up with a clean case. I did not use them, but the case also came with a huge amount of wire ties, clamps, and the like.
Looks: 9 of 10 frags. It is hard to rate looks, as everyone has their own tastes. This beautiful designed case is not too flashy while also showcasing enough edge to please the vast variety of the enthusiast market.
Overall: 9 of 10 frags. This makes it Clan Team Xtreme approved.
Building a PC with this case was a breeze. It is highly attractive, and highly functional. I strongly recommend it to anyone who does not plan to move their computer around much.
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