Cooltek GT-03

[testman78]

Introduction

Since 2003, Cooltek have been offering high quality products at very competitive prices.Cooltek offers a wide range of products.These include CPU coolers,full ATX cases, and Mini-ITX offerings.Today,i am taking a look at the new GT-03.For the eagle-eyed among you,you'll notice that it looks pretty familiar.It does appear to be the long-lost twin of the Silverstone Raven series.Unlike the aluminium constructed, premium grade Raven series,the Cooltek GT-03 is made from SECC steel and ABS plastics,allowing it to be made and sold at a fraction of the cost of the Silverstone offering.The chassis is obviously very unique in terms of its stance,it's covered in odd angles and shapes that really make it stand out despite its somewhat stealth like body panels.Other than that there is a good number of interesting solutions and installing a high-end graphics card for example is not big deal with this case.Inside the case, there is room for an ATX motherboard, four 3.5" drives, three 2.5" drives, and two 5.25" optical drives.Additionally,CPU coolers can tower up to 152 mm high.



The new chassis measures in at 510mm x 200mm x 460mm and weighs 5.2KG.In total there are four 120 mm fan mount locations, two of which come pre-populated.




Packaging & Contents

Cooltek packs the Coolcube into a brown cardboard box with black print.The front and back of the package shows a simple image of the chassis.



Both sides of the cardboard box share identical bits information in the form of specifications.



The GT-03 is held in place by foam spacers,and a plastic bag has been applied at the factory to protect it from scratches and fingerprints.



You won't get a lot of stuff with the Cooltek GT-03.Included are a very specific number of black screws and some zip ties.




A Closer Look - Outside

Cooltek cases have traditionally been made of aluminum and relatively conservative in design.The GT-03 bucks the trend and aims for a completely different audience,centering its target on the gaming market.Instead of the all aluminum body we're used to seeing from Cooltek,this case sports a plastic and steel outer shell.



In any case the GT-03 is all about making a statement and it dos accomplish this very well indeed.The GT-03 chassis is not the first one that uses SECC steel instead of aluminum,and 5.2 kilos / 11.4 pounds isn't exactly back-breaking, but it still is a bit heavy for this type of case.



Both side panels are shaped identically.There is a punch out, which adds to the look a bit and helps by adding some space to the chassis interior.



As with many cases the top is what sets the overall styling of the case.If the top is flat,sleek and smooth with classical styling the chances are fairly good the rest of the case is going to follow suit and this case is no different.The top of the GT-03 is very angular and it certainly has a unique look and feel to it.Most of the top panel is taken up by an air vent which,while adding to the overall look of the case.You can install here two 120mm fans directly on the case chassis.This area is certainly well ventilated and should have at worst a minor impact on the static pressure need to remove heat.



A sliding cover made of acrylic ensures that the connectors are protected from dust when they are not used.



The front panel is made of plastic.The front presents an uninterrupted,attractive finish.



Opening up the door on the front of the case will reveal 2x 5.25″ drive bays for users who wish to use optical drives or even bay mounted reservoirs for water cooling.We can find also a 3.5 inch bay for the installation of a card reader.Each individual cover can easily be removed.



The lower part comes with a stylish mesh inlay.



On the top of the case is where we will find all of the front IO ports and buttons.On the left side are the power and reset buttons.



Behind them we can find 2x USB2.0,2x USB3.0 and the 2x HD Audio inputs.



Here is the multistage 2-channel fan control.Per channel a 2 fans can be operated and controlled.



Centered in the front part of the case top, an easily accessible docking station for 2.5 and 3.5 inch hard disks is located.



Let me skip right to the rear of the chassis.



The aforementioned bottom-mounted PSU bay in the rear comes with two sets of mounting holes, which gives you the flexibility to install the power supply with the fan either facing up- or down.



Above the bay are the seven motherboard expansion slots.



Near them are two openings through which you could route liquid-cooling tubes out the back of the enclosure.



In the very top is a 120 mm exhaust fan.



The side panels as you can are held in place by four thumb screws towards the rear.



Tipping the chassis on its side,there is a dust filter to protect your PSU from dust and grime on its underside.



It may be removed for easy cleaning.



At the base of the case we see four round feet.




A Closer Look - Inside

Removing the side panel of the case reveals the entirely black painted interior of the case which should complement most component choices aesthetically.



The backside of the motherboard tray offers a decent amount of room for users to store their cables.



The domed side panels of the GT-03 guarantee enough space is available at the rear side of the tray.



Preinstalled stand offs for motherboard.



There are also quite a few places for users to attach zip ties to further help them in their cable routing endeavours.



The motherboard tray also has a nice sized cutout for easier CPU cooler installation and a few cutouts for cable management.



To the front of the case starting from the top are 3x tool-less 5.25″ optical drive bays,under those,is a space for 3x 2.5″ SSDs.The optical drives are secured with practical quick fasteners.



A 3.5 inch bay.



We also then,of course,have room for 4x 3.5 hard drives and again, they feature a tool-less design for easy installation.



As mentioned when you first take the case out of the box you will notice there are some vents on the top to allow for some fans to be installed.



However,you cant install an 240mm radiator there.



As mentioned on the back of the case,there is a pre-installed 120mm fan,some holes for water cooling and 7 x PCI expansions.



Another feature I noticed that was quite nice is there is a bit of added padding where the power supply will go,to help keep the noise of the case to a minimum I would suspect.



Pulling the front cover off will also reveal the 120 mm fan.



2 x 120mm fans can be mounted behind the front cover,increasing the air flow significantly.Having such a push/pull system within the chassis is certainly nice.




Installation and Finished looks

Installing the motherboard within the GT-03 is quite simple.With the preinstalled stand-offs,this is a breeze.



The GT-03 has enough cutouts/options to route cables from the power supply through and to the back of the motherboard tray and back out to the front if need be.



There is also enough room to easily install a 120mm AIO Liquid CPU cooler on the rear of the case.



A special feature of the GT-03 is the option to install fans on top of the chassis under the plastic top cover.This, incompatibilities to motherboard components or CPU-coolers can be excluded.



To do this, the cover can be easily pulled forward, after the case front has been removed – a very elegant and space saving solution.



There was plenty of room left between the end of my MSI 7850 and the SSD cage which can be another area of concern when buying budget cases but as you can see, all was well there.



Each 3.5" hard drive needs to be placed on one of the plastic hard-drive trays.



You will not have to use tools to attach them to the tray.



You will have to use tools to attach 2.5" hard drives to the plastic hard-drive trays.



Once filled,slide the tray into the chassis until it snaps down firmly.



You will still need to use traditional screws to secure the PSU within the GT-03.



Long power supply units can be installed easily.



Installing an optical drive is quite simple and does not require any screws or tools.Simply remove the cover of your choice, slide the drive into place,and use the locks on each side to secure it in place.These hold quite well.You can rest assured that you optical drive will not move around,but while these locks do hold the drive in place,there is also a tiny bit of wiggle room.



All in all, it was a pleasurable experience building inside the GT-03.




Test System and Methology

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z77N
CPU Cooler:Thermalright AXP-200 CPU Cooler
Memory: 16GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1800MHz
Graphics Cards:Msi gtx 670 Twin Frozr
Power Supply:Raidmax Vampire RX-1000GH
Boot Drive: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
OS: Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit



Software:

CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
Prime95 v27.1
Furmark 1.11.0

I am testing the Cooltek GT-03 performance as follows:

Room temperature is kept at 22C throughout my tests.
The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
CPU load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
GPU load temperatures are obtained after running Furmark's Burn-In Test for 15 minutes.
To measure noise levels i disable the CPU fans and GPU fan.


Temperature

These temperatures are pretty good,showcasing the decent thermal performance of the system.




Noise level

We can see that even with the fans at full speed the case remains pretty quiet.The inbuilt fan controller can decrease this down to an inaudible level,though.




Conclusion

The Cooltek GT-03 is a cool-looking chassis,with its edgy and elaborate design.Yes,the whole thing is made of plastic/steel and held in place by plastic clips,but they do feel sturdy enough to withstand a lot of use.It does offer all the basics one would look for in a chassis,with both 2.5" and 3.5" hard-drive trays,the ability to hold long graphics cards without issue.For builders on a budget,it looks nice when fully assembled,has removable dust filter,tool-free assembly and the powder coated interior adds a feeling of visual quality.The USB 3 ports are a good touch and will give you high speed access to suitable peripherals.The inclusion of a fan controller is also welcomed and should be appreciated by those who value acoustics over temperatures.The GT-03 did very well in my thermal testing which is probably due in part to the great ventilation it has to offer.There are vents on the front,top,back and even the bottom of the case to allow for maximum airflow to flow through the case.While it offers room for some water cooling goodies(120mm Aio)it is also setup to be a great air-cooled chassis as well as all the vented areas of course come with mounting holes to install fans.There is also tube holes in the rear of the case for external radiator solutions,which honestly manufacturers could do with getting rid of now since it’s seldom used.If you are looking at using this for air cooling it can house up to 5 x 120mm fans, 2 in the front, 2 in the top and 1 in the back.The spacious design and room behind the motherboard tray to hide PSU cables will also help with the airflow in the case which will of course result in better performance.



While there have certainly been compromises made to cut costs, there aren’t any features missing that we could reasonably expect Cooltek to include at this price point.When all is said and done the Cooltek GT-03 is an all-around decent chassis and is sure to do it’s job and take care of whatever components you put inside.While the look may not be to everyone’s liking,it is worth a look if considering a new chassis.While you may get what you pay for in most cases,there’s a chance that you’re actually getting more than you pay for with the Cooltek GT-03.At a price of 45 Euro, there’s no denying that the Cooltek GT-03 offers very good value for money.