Armor Plus Preview

[Quakindude]

Paul, that looks like an eSata port to me.

I love the looks and features. Of course, I can't tell things like smooth, rounded edges to prevent system builders from cutting themselves.

How many fans will actually come with it?

There's a ton of PCI slots, 10 as mentioned in the preview. Why not take either a top slot, or bottom one depending on the mounting of mobo on that tray, and turn it into a simple fan controller panel? All you'd need is 4-6 knobs for fan control. Would be a cheap addition to the case that would show some great forethought and not clutter up the front panel.

What are those two half width front doors made of? How will they swing out for DVD operation? If made of plastic, then a self returning spring on each door with a small mechanism to prevent them from hanging on the CD tray would be a unique feature.

Overall, I love it. Great styling, plenty of room, that mobo tray kicks ass and the LCS system should be very nice if mounting and access is easy enough.

[rivara]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

Paul, that looks like an eSata port to me.

I love the looks and features. Of course, I can't tell things like smooth, rounded edges to prevent system builders from cutting themselves.

How many fans will actually come with it?

There's a ton of PCI slots, 10 as mentioned in the preview. Why not take either a top slot, or bottom one depending on the mounting of mobo on that tray, and turn it into a simple fan controller panel? All you'd need is 4-6 knobs for fan control. Would be a cheap addition to the case that would show some great forethought and not clutter up the front panel.

What are those two half width front doors made of? How will they swing out for DVD operation? If made of plastic, then a self returning spring on each door with a small mechanism to prevent them from hanging on the CD tray would be a unique feature.

Overall, I love it. Great styling, plenty of room, that mobo tray kicks ass and the LCS system should be very nice if mounting and access is easy enough.

Hi,
There will be 3 fans pre-installed inside, two are surrounded HDD cage, one at rear. Another 23cm fans for windowed version.
And if you took the HDD module off ( which situated at bottom of the case ), you could have 8cm extra space for you to install other accessories like PCI fans or even custom liquid cooling system.
The front doors are made by brushed aluminium.

[Dr. V]

Originally Posted by rivara

Hi,
There will be 3 fans pre-installed inside, two are surrounded HDD cage, one at rear. Another 23cm fans for windowed version.
And if you took the HDD module off ( which situated at bottom of the case ), you could have 8cm extra space for you to install other accessories like PCI fans or even custom liquid cooling system.
The front doors are made by brushed aluminium.

Please explain how you know all of this...

LOL I was reading it and I was thinking "what is he some ThermalTake God?"

[gvblake22]

It is very similar to the Xaser VI, but that means I also have the same complaints. Again, too much extra "styling" on the top of the case for my liking. I know looks are completely subjective, but I much prefer the classy styled cases like what Silverstone, Antec, and Lian Li offer. That stuff all on the top of the case really bugs me. I didn't like it on the original Armor, and this is definitely not a step in the right direction. Will there be separate watercooling versions of this case as well (like you mentioned would exist with the Xaser VI)?

Also, I think there is too much stuff inside the case. I think they should capitalize on the fact that most people are never going to have more than three or four HDD's and just make the HDD cage a little smaller to improve airflow from front to rear.

Those bottom mount HDD cages are a great idea, but need better implementation. I would really like to see those two bottom HDD cages be replaced with a simple bracket on either side that secure the HDD with something like THIS that actually secure the drive into the cage. I think having two cages on the bottom of the case with those HDD cooler mounts and then room for two more drives in a smaller, removeable, more traditional HDD cage at the front of the case would be ideal. That way the average user can take advantage of the vibration dampening and passive cooling provided by the bottom mounted HDD cages with their two HDD's and just remove the front HDD cage for better air circulation. Or if they are more of a "power user" (RAID arrays), they can load the front HDD cage back in and fill that up with drives too.

Also, I would like to see less effort made on exterior designs and "features" and more extras included inside the case (like the bottom mounted HDD idea). The Armor is basically known as Tt's version of the CM Stacker and people really like that. The CM Stacker is also getting too "flashy" for my liking, but the original has a great internal layout. Simple, yet effective. I thought the orignal Armor was a step forward from the Stacker because of the internal features; primarily the sideways PSU mount and top-rear mounted HDD cage with 120mm fan. That is a great feature, but could be better placed. Putting those very heavy components at the bottom of the case would have made more sense because the case would be much more stable. I feel like Tt is trying to make a case that does everything, and that never works out. You can either do one thing very well or many things sortof well. Not very often can you ever pull off doing a lot of things very well. Save the little sliding plastic doors and extra plastic molding and concentrate on features that are really going to matter.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by rivara

Hi,
There will be 3 fans pre-installed inside, two are surrounded HDD cage, one at rear. Another 23cm fans for windowed version.
And if you took the HDD module off ( which situated at bottom of the case ), you could have 8cm extra space for you to install other accessories like PCI fans or even custom liquid cooling system.
The front doors are made by brushed aluminium.

Hey man, you have some great info! Do you have some inside info in Thermaltake?

[Pete]

Originally Posted by ST!X

Please explain how you know all of this...

LOL I was reading it and I was thinking "what is he some ThermalTake God?"

Thermaltake god??? Then would that make me the Devil ?

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by TTPete

Thermaltake god??? Then would that make me the Devil ?

No doubt in my mind.

[mormonsniper]

The Armor+ should be available in mid to late November. I called Thermaltake and even the customer service guy had never heard of the Armor+. I think it should be a great case. The removable Mobo tray is nice. I intend on building a new computer and this is the case for me, at least until something better comes along, which I have not seen yet.

Blessings to all,

ms
(yes I am)

[halutzparilla]

rivara and mormonsniper WELCOME TO HARDWARELOGIC....

i still wonder, how much this will cost... i would like to get my hand with this if i get money for a new WC rig, maybe in 2 years...

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by halutzparilla

rivara and mormonsniper WELCOME TO HARDWARELOGIC....

I can say it better...

WELCOME TO HARDWARELOGIC!

Sorry hal...