Thermaltake Tenor Case Review

[onebxr]

As I venture into the world of HTPC I found myself looking for a new case that would blend in with my home theatre setup. There are many cases out there that I had to choose from. Being new to HTPC I really didn’t know what to look for in a case. So I did a lot of reading and a lot of research. Thank (insert Deity you pray to) for Google.
The specs for this case are as follows:



I purchased this case as a refurbished case, I am not a big fan of refurbished cases but I figured coming from Thermaltake it would be in good shape. So I took a chance and it worked out good for me. A link to TT refurb cases is here :
ref-case
Ok on to the review. When I received this case I was kind of hesitant about signing for it due to the nature of the box. The box was beat to hell and back.



I opened the box and the case was like new. It came wrapped in a cheesecloth and was surrounded by Styrofoam.



Thermaltake makes a very sturdy case. This case empty weighs in at about 18 lbs. You Canadians do your own conversion. This case is built like a tank. The only thing I can see having a problem with is the drive bay door.



The bay door in itself is very sturdy it’s the mechanism that opens and closes it that is kind of suspect. This is the only part of the case that I can find that has breaking
potential.

Within this bay door is another opening that is made for an add on, be it a card reader or the optional media lab. This is a 5.25 slot, but you cannot put an optical drive in it due to the fact that the motherboard gets in the way. If you put the x-fi fatality in you can put the expansion connections into this slot.



In side the front bay door you have 2 useable 5.25 slots and 1 vertical 1.44 slot.



On the left side of the case you have your power button your reset button, hard drive activity light and power led.



This case is very understated in that it doesn’t have the name or company name plastered all over it. It has Tenor (upper left) painted on and the TT logo at the very bottom on the right.



Connectivity of this case is pretty standard for front inputs. You have 1 firewire, 2 usb, and a microphone and headphone jack. These are situated on the side of the case. I would rather these be on the front of the case, but hey the case was only 68.00.



On to the rear of the case, you have seven expansion slots, 2 vents for 60mm fans (included) and your power supply opening. Also is the standard I/O panel. I always ask myself why these are included, has anyone ever had a motherboard that these fit? Also on this case is a case alarm. I find this useless, I would have rather had the money spent on another case fan, or maybe an ESata connection. I dont know what you think, but if someone is going to steal the computer do you think they will open it to take alook and see what you have?



If you will also notice that the top of the case is held together with these 3 thumbscrews. The thumbscrews come with the case, this is a big plus, who wants to use a screwdriver?
The top of the case is very sturdy and is easily disassembled. After the 3 thumbscrews are taken out you just slide the top off of the case and you are greeted with the grand canyon of cases.







This case comes with 2 steel supports that run the length of the case, these can be taken off completely with the removal of a couple of screws.



The one with the big hole in it is for support of the case, this hole corresponds with the venting at the top of the case, it sits above the heat sink. The long skinny support is a slot for 2 main hard drives. This is cooled by a 80mm fan that blows right onto the hard drives. There is another hard drive cage for your extra hard drives you throw in. 2 hard drives and a 1.44 floppy or 3 hard drives.



All of the hard drive bays are removable. To recap, you can have a total of 4 hard drives or 5 if you do not go with a 1.44 floppy. I can see this getting pretty warm if you fill every available hard drive slot.

Cooling for this case is done by 3 fans that come included with the case there is 1 80mm fan that is responsible for the hard drives as mentioned earlier.



Also, there are 2 60mm fans at the rear for exhaust.



There is 2 vents at the top of the case 1 for the power supply and 1 for the video card.



This may be the downfall of the case, I am not sure how cool this case will be with all of my components in it and running. My hopes and expectations aren’t very high, lets hope for a surprise.

Stay tuned for part 2

[Jokerswild]

Thats a nice looking case boxer. Let us know how the cooling works out.

[Capper]

Nice review.......I need to post a "How To" for picture taking.....that might be the most obnoxious background I've ever seen

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by Capper

Nice review.......I need to post a "How To" for picture taking.....that might be the most obnoxious background I've ever seen

Yea solid backgrounds work much better.

[Capper]

looks like something from a DR Suess book threw up on your table.

A good rule of thumb is to always use a white background, and to take your pictures in a very well lit area........and Stinger, if you read this, that doesn't mean to take your pictures while well lit.

[Lokie]

HAHA oh man that brings me back to my first review, I had a flamed backround for the antec sonata.

Back on topic, good write up so far, covering all the bases is very important. Can't wait for part 2.

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by Capper

looks like something from a DR Suess book threw up on your table.

A good rule of thumb is to always use a white background, and to take your pictures in a very well lit area........and Stinger, if you read this, that doesn't mean to take your pictures while well lit.

oh yea, very funny capper

[onebxr]

Originally Posted by Capper

looks like something from a DR Suess book threw up on your table.

A good rule of thumb is to always use a white background, and to take your pictures in a very well lit area........and Stinger, if you read this, that doesn't mean to take your pictures while well lit.

Thats the guest bed cover. I am much to lazy to carry my computer down stairs for some picture taking.:)

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by onebxr

Thats the guest bed cover. I am much to lazy to carry my computer down stairs for some picture taking.:)

Hence your reviews are relegated to the bowles of HL.

[onebxr]

At least they got to the bowels, I figured they ould just get DELETED!
I did pretty good no cursing in this one.(pats self on back). I gotta go vacuum!
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