Thermal Take Level 10 Review

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

All Photos can be found Here full size using Skydrive

Packaging

This case is both big and heavy, it came shipped in a branded ThermalTake shipping box that at first looked like a regular shipping box from say Amazon or Ebay, but it was branded with the ThermalTake and Level 10 names, as well as the notice that there was a PC Chassis inside

Inside that box was the regular black and red " retail " box with the normal icons labels and such, essentially the box that you would see on the shelf. Propped a standard desktop HDD to the box for size comparison, but this thing is heavy, and because of it's dimensions it would be beneficial if two people carried/moved it

The inserts comprised of the standard hard foam. But I was surprised that the case was wrapped in a black cloth-like Thermaltake Branded Level 10 bag. And you can tell they are really playing off on the Designed by BMW as it's on the Shipping box, the Retail box, the Protection bag, and the Accessory box.

Also packaged in the box was a "accessory box", inside this box is everything you will need for the case with the exception of a screwdriver, there is a branded carabiniere clip, Branded Cleaning cloth ( like the kind you get for an iPod or laptop screen ), reusable cable ties, metal standoffs, multiple types of screws, case keys ( that look like vending machine keys ), a Motherboard Like Speaker that connects via leads, and obviously a manual, and the manual is lacking in some areas ( I'll get into farther down).

The caribeener clip is just a standard caribeener clip like you find at walmart or costco and not meant for climbing, it's got a cloth strap attached to it along weith a key ring, more then likely meant for the case keys, but if like me, the weight of the case alone dictates that it's not going anywhere, so it's good for house or car Keys instead.

The case ties are the type that are reusable ( not zip ties ), they are the standard holed down the length for the protrusions around the head of the tie to fit in and lock.

The screws are just screws, 1 type silver with a flat dome head used for drives and stuff. Small black ones with a flush head for outside aesthetic reasons.

The standoffs are what i would call the "good kind" they are the usual hexagonal threads on one end screw hole on the other, not the cheap "A" frame that fold under any pressure.

Motherboard installation and Removable MB Tray

Installing the motherboard was fairly straightforward, there are ALOT of keyholes for various types of Motherboard, and each is labeled on a plastic like insert glued to the tray itself, A for ATX, MA for MiniATX, there are also P, C, and E. The tray itself is removable and is secured to the case via 2 posts on the top and 2 on the bottom, each secured via a tubular thumbscrews ( instead of lightbulb shape like on my LianLi PC60 ), and I don't see those interfering with operation or cabling, but the cables DID interfere with trying to get the thumbscrews on as the Tray fan cables are secured via twisty ties to the tray close to the upper post holes, minor inconvenience and easily fixed and retied.

The tray fans are nice low RPM fans that are quiet big, i use Stock Air cooling on my stuff and the fans didn't interfere at all, ( I read on other reviews that it will interfere with Water-coolers and radiators so its a good thing to keep in mind ). The fans are also modded with red lights that illuminate with power via 2 Molex plugs, 1 for each fan.

Luckily there is more room with the tray and cage i was easily able to finally out my SLI in the mobocracy recommended configuration of top PCIE and bottom PCIE for the motherboard due to additional clearance for Video card fan venting, which is a plus, i was not able to do it with my previous case, although in the manual there are Max card lengths listed for the card to fix as the cage is enclosed separately of anything else. But it fit (2) BFG GTX 280GTX's with room to spare.

There were some minor issues relating to cabling due to the cables having to be fed behind the case , my Power supply cabled feeding the bottom video card was to short, and the upper card was "just long enough", as a result i had to feed the bottom card with adapters/connector changers as thats what i had onhand. Also " just long enough" was the Motherboards P4/Aux connector. And when i say just long enough i mean it, there is very little slack on the power cables with the exception of the Main feed to the motherboard.

Case connectors are 2 Front port USB via harness for each (2 USB for each harness), and a front port Audio with a harness each for HDAudio or AC97 depending on board support. Power panel is just Power,Reset, and Power light, so Front connectors are what i would call minimal. Also there is no Firewire, something I liked on my previous case

Optical bays and installation

The Optical bay while nice and included a built in Psudo-stealth bay, has a decent sized gap between the said bay and the one underneath it, as i only use 1 optical drive I am unable to tell if it's just because of the blanks and will disappear once another drive is installed or not i don't know, but with 1 drive it's an annoyance and looks " unfinished ".

The optical drive cage is "removable", via 4 screws on the backside of the case and is necessary to install or remove drives as the bay does not open a full 90 degrees, but more like 45, also annoying. The cables feed through the back and to the MB enclosure, using a standard length SATA cable distance was not an issue, same with power length. The drives are secured using regular screws, up to 4 each side.

Power supply cage and installation/power cabling

The power supply cage is Non-Removeable, installation was decent to say the least because proximity to the optical cage, the length of my PSU I had to slit it somewhat into the optical bay then fully insert it into the PSU cage, it is secured via normal 4 screws on the back of the PSU, and also held in place via a front "stopper" bracket that is held in place via a screw from the top on a slide-able rail. the cables are fed through a port to the back of the machine which is then freely routed to each bay, there were some length issues with the video cards and P4, but that was the only cabling issues other then trying to close the back panel due to said cables

To fully connect it there is a Molex connector toward the front of the machine used for powering the Light bar that runs around the machine (red), as well as connectors for the fans under each HDD bay (molex). I did not see power connectors for the actual Pre-Wired HDD's (bay 1&2) so I am assuming it is either using the fan feeds or the light bar feed.

Disk Drive Bays and Installation

Each HDD bay is it's own separate enclosure each with a quiet fan/heatsink unit powered through the back of the case, and a light indicating an installed drive triggered by a switch that the HDD rests against when inserted. to trigger it with a laptop size hdd would require certain placement of the drive in the caddy.

The caddys are locked into place via a "bar" on the back that is locked/unlocked via a mechanism on the back panel itself that requires a vending machine like key, the bays will not budge if the bar is not in the right position to allow the slot to move freely, this is only an issue when the panel is off as it is spring loaded and will return to the locked position, which can be considered a good thing depending on how you look at it.

It is required to use the supplied silver screws to secure the HDD's if using the standard screws that come with HDD's the caddy will not fit into place between the bay arms due to the HDD light.

The top 2 bays are pre-wired for hot swapping using a combo Sata/power adapter like those found on laptops. All other bays are neither pre-wired or even come with cables, the person needs to wire the power and data themselves to work, only the lights and fans are wired for the remaining bays.

The cables are routed behind the unit and along the side in a recess and held together with the rest of the cables for the front using twisty ties and "support bars" to keep them out of the way, my only disappointment was that none of the Sata cables are labeled and are bundled together, the 2 drives coupled with the ESATA on the front panel make it confusing if particular about what drive plugs into what SATA Channel on the motherboard itself (I am). Other then the screws there were no issues for drive installation.

Closing it up

The back panel was a pain to get on due to the power supply routing, but that could be due to the thickness of the power supply cables used.

Closing the Motherboard bay has slight issues with the front fan being close to the bay wall and the grill wanted to catch on the edge of the fan requiring readjustment of the fan to get it to close properly.

Closing the PSU bay has issues due to the Modular cables coming out of the PSU, but that was more an issue of the cables being stiff there and not as much with then case itself, I can see an issue if a longer PSU is installed, but like the video card limitation, there is also a limitation to PSU size.

There was 1 MAJOR issue I had with closing the case. The HDD lock mechanism was in the Halfway locked unlocked position. Now because the keys are like vending machine keys, they have protrusions on both the inside and outside to prevent improper insertion and part of the security. Because of this they key would not go in to lock or unlock the mechanism. When the key matched the inner ring, it wouldn't match the outer ring. As a result i had to break off the outer protrusion so it would fit in and i could reset the lock, personally i find this a major flaw both with the QA for being asleep when it was done, and with the case for having vending machine locks, but it was fixed with no effects to the case, and no impact to locking and unlocking of the panel or bays.

Final thoughts

The case runs quiet, and cooler compared to my previous case, so far I'm seeing a difference of 5-10 degrees cooler on the video cards, if this is because of the airflow or extra space compared to previous case, I don't know, but either way its a plus.

The light bar running along the outer edge is not uniform though, while a minor qualm, it's not really noticeable unless in low light. Also the glow of the fans in the motherboard enclosure is a nice touch, it would have been nice to have a color option along all the lights, or the ability to change said color, as if red is not your thing, your out of luck.

I do recommend this case, despite the small flaws I ace said above, it is still a good case, feels sturdy, but heavy as sin and large.

Personally i don't like it's $850 price tag, but if it wasn't on sale for $650 I would not have bought it. I loved the case in pre-renders, and it would have been nice for color options regarding the case itself and lights. But the $850 normal price is why I haven't bought it until now.

So my recommendation is along the lines of situational, i recommend it, but not for $850.

[Lannister]

Great, and different, looking case, but a touch on the expensive side.

I love this smaller handmade "inspired by" Level 11 case HERE. Stunning.

[Doli]

Damn that is a big case.

[FiB3R]

Great post, crazy case, but even down to $650 that's a lot of money.

Got any wide shots of it open?

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

Great post, crazy case, but even down to $650 that's a lot of money.

Got any wide shots of it open?

Unfortunatly i don't, meant to take one though, I'll find one

[evoman91]

What are your temperatures like?

[FiB3R]

That's the money shot right there :drool:

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

What are your temperatures like?

With the Antec case it was about 60's range idle hitting 80's during games , now idle it's low 50's, haven't played games yet as i completed the build around 3am last night and had to sleep for work

Idle Video cards are currently, 42"C and 45"C, processor is bouncing 36-40"C

[Razorwing]

That is crazy big. :laugh:

[treemonster]

what was the model of the antec case you were using before?

other wise an interesting but ultimately overpriced case. there are much better cases technically speaking for far far less.

this would stand out a lan party, but it seems too heavy to be really ok for that sort of thing. and chicks you brought home would not appreciate it. XD

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Attack of the Show reviewed this case too, said it was excellent, apart from the pricing. It looks like a hella wicked case thou, looks massive like my current Armor + tower. :)

[+Warwagon MVC]

Those sata bays make me want to juice my drawers.

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

what was the model of the antec case you were using before?

Antec P182

And before that a LianLi PC60

[treemonster]

Antec P182

And before that a LianLi PC60

i know antec makes some decent cases and i've hear good things about lianli but niehter of those are good cases for air flow. no wonder you saw significant temp drops.

[TEX4S]

Thanks for the review man. Looks awesome - and it looks like the tilting due to component weight is not an issue -

Enjoy !

[Motoko.]

Excellent review I really like this case but I wouldn't spend no more than $300 for it.

The sacrifices we make..

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

That. Case. Is. Sick. Gimmie gimmie gimmie :D

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Excellent review. The case really looks great. Shame about the high price though.

Oh, and congratulations for making it to the front page with the review. (Y)

[ajua]

This case is really gorgeous...

However, people like me that open the case and change components too often would find it difficult to operate on.

For those that don't get into their case that much, it would be awesome to have on a living room as an HTPC / Home Server.

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

This case is really gorgeous...

However, people like me that open the case and change components too often would find it difficult to operate on.

For those that don't get into their case that much, it would be awesome to have on a living room as an HTPC / Home Server.

Actually quite the opposite, by turning a key on the back, each bay can be opened with full access, especially the motherboard compartment, and because the cables run behind the board i can see it being quite easy to swap components

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Grats on your review making it to front page (Y)

I still want this case thou, my god its frackin sexy

[Mouettus]

i know antec makes some decent cases and i've hear good things about lianli but niehter of those are good cases for air flow. no wonder you saw significant temp drops.

Do you even know what you are talking about!?

[DavidM]

Nice review and damn sexy case, and props for getting the review on the front page as well!

If you don't mind my asking what's the total cost for your entire set up? I wish I could justify spending the cash for the dual video cards.... :(

[jnelsoninjax]

That is one cool looking case, the only issue I see is the top mounted PSU. I have never liked the top mount for the PSU, but I guess it would be a small sacrifice to make for everything else!

[tehmemories]

This case is a beast, and it looks wicked cool. If it wasn't so expensive I would consider it.