Thermaltake Core X2

[Whaler_99]

Well here I am folks, back with another review and this time it is of Thermaltake's Core X2 mATX Cube case.

 

Case Choice

 

So, why did I go with this case? I had some initial criteria in mind, primarily being I needed a case with a LOT of rad support. I build custom water cooled systems and I game and Fold 7/24. Folding alone generates a LOT of heat into a loop. This causes a few problems (that I won't go into here) but essentially I needed a lot of rad coverage. More rad coverage means I can better dump waste heat and run fans at lower speeds, meaning quieter system.

 

After looking at options I decided on this case for two main reasons. First off I can fit 3 x 360mm rads in it along with another 240mm rad. Second, it won't break the bank.

 

Initial Thoughts

 

So, pulling the case out, I like it. I wasn't prepared for the size. This is one HUGE mATX cube case. Although only mATX it is close in size to my sons Air 540 case, a ATX cube case. Hence why you can cram so many rads in here.

 

Very clean looks, nice color match on the black between the metal and plastic. It's all a nice flat/mat finish, so no worries about finger prints showing up. And that window to show off everything. One great feature, the side panels can be swapped to either side. And the I/O panel can also be swapped to match. Nice detail!

 

 

 

Opening Up

 

Taking off the side and top panel was nice and easy and include captive thumbs screws. Very nice to see, seems to be becoming somewhat of a standard on some cases.

 

Looking at the inside, we can see SSD mounts, the various drop in mounts for the top and side rads/fans, drive cages and more. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the drop in mounts for assembling a rad together with the fans. In some cases, trying to hold everything together while you get that first screw mounted can be a nightmare. Not so with this.

 

3 ssd mounts and 4 x 3.5/2.5 is some pretty hefty drive support in a mATX case. Of course though, it's a very large case. And a removable motherboard tray. Also, for the 3.5 drive cages, if you don't need them, you can remove the cage itself to give you more room for other things.

 

  

 

 

 

Continuing on....

 

Most everything in the case is held on with thumb screws or screws. Only the main frame itself it riveted together. So a large majority of the case can be pulled out. But, a caution, those thumb screws are all in tight, you will need a screw driver to get them out. And as has been mentioned by others, yes, it is pretty easy to strip them. They are not the most sturdy of metal, so when re-installing, leave them thumb tight and you shouldn't have any issues. I haven't stripped any yet.

 

Let's chat about filters shall well. Thermaltake went all out on this case. There is literally a filter for most any main intake or exhaust area. On the main panels we have magnetic dust filters and on the front panel and the bottom we have mesh held on with various tabs bent over. Now, I applaud Thermaltake for the inclusion of all the dust filters. We see a lot of manufactures skimping on this. But my one complaint is simply the ease of access. For the side, top and front panel you have to take them off to get access. And for the bottom ones, ya, you can reach under and literally pull them out, but you aren't getting them back on without pretty much tipping over the case. Yes, I know, some economies here... easily removable filters would increase cost, design complications, etc. But hey, it's one of those things. I love the filters, just wish they were a bit easier to get at.

 

 

 

On to another section that needs attention, the front panel. As noted, the 3 x 5.25 drive trays are each individually removable. Nice! The blanking covers on the front panel have a mesh on them to stop dust. Also, some of the top and side where air can also filter in through negative pressure is also mesh covered, although not removable. Thermaltake seems to really understand that with the amount of fans you can run in this thing, you will be moving a LOT of air, hence a lot of dust. Nice to see the attention to detail. 

Now, those blanking covers can only really be removed from the interior. They are held on really solid and have a unique install method, that is pretty straight forward. On thing I noticed, and you will see in the pics, is some of the tabs on the front helping to keep mesh in place. There are some really jagged edges you need to be careful of when handling. A bit of quality control needed here?

 

  

 

 

 

Here is a shot of the removable bottom piece. Basically a few screws and it pops out. This is for when you "stack" this with another unit. Good lord man, the sheer size!

 

 

Some shots here of the removable side mounted fan/rad mount. One note on this, it can only be mounted on the left side, when looking at the front. I noticed that the "mounting" holes are on the other side. Awesome I thought, as I wanted to run the rad on that side. Sure enough, the mount fits. But then you notice, the PSU. You cannot move the PSU to the other side. With the mount installed on the right side, even with no fans or anything, the PSU won't fit. Seems kind of weird to me that they have the mounts for it, but you cannot actually use it. Or have a movable mounting plate for the PSU so you can relocate it to the other side... Oh well, I make do...

 

  

 

Oh yes, this peice that I had to tweet Thermaltake on what it was for, as I had no clue and was not in the instructions. It actually comes sitting in the packing foam. Weird. But, if you remove all the 5.25 bays and want to install a 360 rad or fans in the front, you screw this on to be able to mount things. And the front panel cables... all nice and black EXCEPT the blasted audio connector. <sigh>

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Overall I am really impressed with this case. The quality is great, some nice attention to detail. Some nice extra's to see on this case. A few minor things to be aware of, but overall, for the price, this is well worth it.

 

A few final pics of me installing rads in the top - this was really nice. So far the case has been really nice to work on. 

 

 

 

I am moving my current rig into this new case, along with expanding my water cooling significantly. Check out my build log for more details. I will have commentary on specifically working with the case as well...

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/451232-new-build-log-whaler-quiets-his-work-area-or-green-machine-update-or-you-pick/

[iamdarkyoshi]

Hmm... Maybe should have gotten this instead of my Arc Mini. If I get a second 390x, I dont think my loop would cut it. Or I should buy pressure rated fans like I am supposed to. Anyway, the case looks pretty sweet!

[JebKerman]

and then there's it's big brother the X9: http://www.thermaltake.com.au/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002562

SWEET WATER-COOLING JESUS (and it stacks)

[Whaler_99]

Hmm... Maybe should have gotten this instead of my Arc Mini. If I get a second 390x, I dont think my loop would cut it. Or I should buy pressure rated fans like I am supposed to. Anyway, the case looks pretty sweet!

 

Some fans with good static pressure will definitely help. Hence all the Noctua's on mine. They ain't cheap, but they are worth it.

 

and then there's it's big brother the X9: http://www.thermaltake.com.au/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002562

 

SWEET WATER-COOLING JESUS (and it stacks)

 

I did look at that, but with E-ATX support and 480 support, it was just TOO huge.

[spwath]

Hmm... Maybe should have gotten this instead of my Arc Mini. If I get a second 390x, I dont think my loop would cut it. Or I should buy pressure rated fans like I am supposed to. Anyway, the case looks pretty sweet!

Or you could have an external rad, like I do

[iamdarkyoshi]

Or you could have an external rad, like I do

the main problem with an external radiator is that the parental units do not want tubes running everywhere.

[spwath]

the main problem with an external radiator is that the parental units do not want tubes running everywhere.

ah. Mine is all contained within an entertainment center

[skkane]

The x9 is huge. I could fit my 2 chihuahuas in and close the sidepanel.

 

 

 

 

[Whaler_99]

So, some issues during my build... more along the lines of clearances...

 

POWER SUPPLY

 

This one was a pain in the #$&. So, I have my pump mounted, doing test leaks, blah blah. Want to slide in the PSU now. Nope. There isn't enough clearance from where the drive cage that is over top of the PSU to slid it in. Hmm... ok, two thumb screws later, drive cage out and PSU popped in. No... wait... now there isn't enough clearance to get the drive cage mounted back in. <sigh> Pull it all out, re-mount the drive cage. Now, there is this little bracket on the base, which goes under the PSU to help support it. Turns out, you have to remove the entire thing, then slid your PSU in from the front end, bloody hard to do when you have your res and pump already mounted. Then, slid that base piece back under, screw it in, screw in PSU. Wow. And I have no clue how you would screw in the back screw on that bracket if you didn't have a modular PSU.

 

DRIVE CAGES

 

So, I am only using the drive cages above the PSU (see notes above, grrr..). Ok, got most of the system hooked up, let's slap in the drives. I go to pull out a sled. It won't come out. Turns out, if you have your 24 pin cable plugged in, along with say a USB header cable, GPU cables, etc., and run them through the cutout directly in front of the motherboard (makes sense right?), there isn't enough clearance to get the drive sleds out. What the hell?? So much for changing drives easily. So, had to disconnect the 24 pin, the 2 GPU power cables and the USB3 header cables, install the drives, and reconnect everything. 

 

Although the case overall is great, it is little things like this that really get to you as you come to the end of a build. Like honestly, why have removable sleds if you can remove them when a system is fully connected?

[iamdarkyoshi]

So, some issues during my build... more along the lines of clearances...

 

POWER SUPPLY

 

This one was a pain in the #$&. So, I have my pump mounted, doing test leaks, blah blah. Want to slide in the PSU now. Nope. There isn't enough clearance from where the drive cage that is over top of the PSU to slid it in. Hmm... ok, two thumb screws later, drive cage out and PSU popped in. No... wait... now there isn't enough clearance to get the drive cage mounted back in. <sigh> Pull it all out, re-mount the drive cage. Now, there is this little bracket on the base, which goes under the PSU to help support it. Turns out, you have to remove the entire thing, then slid your PSU in from the front end, bloody hard to do when you have your res and pump already mounted. Then, slid that base piece back under, screw it in, screw in PSU. Wow. And I have no clue how you would screw in the back screw on that bracket if you didn't have a modular PSU.

 

DRIVE CAGES

 

So, I am only using the drive cages above the PSU (see notes above, grrr..). Ok, got most of the system hooked up, let's slap in the drives. I go to pull out a sled. It won't come out. Turns out, if you have your 24 pin cable plugged in, along with say a USB header cable, GPU cables, etc., and run them through the cutout directly in front of the motherboard (makes sense right?), there isn't enough clearance to get the drive sleds out. What the hell?? So much for changing drives easily. So, had to disconnect the 24 pin, the 2 GPU power cables and the USB3 header cables, install the drives, and reconnect everything. 

 

Although the case overall is great, it is little things like this that really get to you as you come to the end of a build. Like honestly, why have removable sleds if you can remove them when a system is fully connected?

I have seen worse designs before. My original case's front panel audio was just two 1/8in cables you plug into the back of the motherboard...