Closer Look: Exterior

The Armor A60 bears a unique look, something which resembles a piece of armor or a type of military vehicle plating. The front of it is an example of this; three protruding triangles are positioned on the bottom, in front of the fan. This allows the fan's LED light to shine through, giving the front of the case an awesome look. Alongside the various ports (including an eSata port), the power and reset buttons sit. I'll examine this in greater detail on the next page.

The back of the case features a bottom-mounted PSU, a fan near the top, as well as four water cooling holes in total (two on top + two on bottom). A USB 3.0 cable runs out one of the top water cooling holes, due to the lack of USB 3.0 headers available.

The right side of the case has a port-hole style window similar to other Thermaltake cases. Below this window is room for another fan surrounded by small ventilation holes. On the right side, the SideClick SATA HDD bay exists.

The other side of the case is nothing special; it's simply a continuation of the black panel.

The top of the case holds a single 230mm fan as well as room for another 120mm fan.

Four small feet are positioned on the bottom of the case, each about 3cm in length. Another fan is able to be installed here as well.

Detailed Exterior Features

Now let's take a closer look at the few features which may be of interest. The majority of Thermaltake's cases seem to have some sort of mesh; this allows airflow while still appearing cool. The top of the front of this case is a perfect example. Covering the drive bays, the meshy texture is positioned here.

Without the front panel on, we can see the bare bones of the exterior of the case. Near the bottom of the front, two case fans are able to be installed.

Audio + mic, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and an eSata port can be seen on the front of the case.

The SideClick harddrive comes with a HDD mount, which slides in and out of the side of the case.

Here's a closer look at the USB 3.0 cable coming out of the back of the case. It may be a nuisance, especially when one wants to use the top water cooling ports for their water cooling setup.

Closer Look: Interior

The entire inside of the Armor A60 is fully black. On the right side of the case we find three 5.25" drive bays, as well as a single floppy disk drive bay and 5 3.5" harddrive cages. Thermaltake has included toolless adapters here for everything (excluding the floppy disk drive), which allows you to easily swap harddrives and optical drives.

As you can see, an optical drive fits nicely inside the 5.25" drive bays.

There's a few centimeters of space between the back of the motherboard tray and the side of the case, which doesn't really allow for that great of cable management. It was difficult, but I was able to achieve a decent amount of organization within the case; however, I was required to use the space behind the drive bays as opposed to the space behind the motherboard. This wasn't really a problem, but with many cables, it could get messy. I would have definitely liked to see a bit more space added on to make cable management easier.

Here's the finished product. As you can see, I was able to achieve decent cable management. Near the bottom of the case, however, it's a bit messy; that's where all the cables from the power supply ran underneath the motherboard.

Detailed Interior Features

Let's take a closer look at the key feature included with the case: the easy-click harddrive. As stated before, this is basically a small hole on the side of the case which allows you to install and remove internal harddrives quickly and easily. Although this may seem like a gimmick to some users, others may find this small feature extremely helpful. If you tend to exchange harddrives often, then you'll be part of the latter group and find yourself using this very often. The harddrive goes into a cage, which allows you to slide it into the case from the side.

After pushing it in, the harddrive clicks into places and Windows will instantly recognize it (if you're running the storage drive in AHCI mode - which lets you use hotswapping capabailites).

There are many fans which are able to be installed inside the case. The 230mm fan included, positioned at the top-back of the case, provides good airflow in order to cool the CPU.

Similar to other Thermaltake cases, a dust cover is included below the bottom-mounted power supply, which simply prevents dust from getting into the PSU.

Thermaltake Armor Final Thoughts

The Thermaltake Armor A60 resembles any other case from Thermaltake: they include fans in the same spots, similar drive bays, and generally a similar design to most of their other recent cases. Essentially the only thing which makes this case unique is it's unique armor-like look as well as the SideClick Drivebay functionality. It seems like Thermaltake is slowly improving their cases with every release; they're adding more features (ie USB 3.0), a refined design, more fans, etc.

I find that, although this is a solid case, it seems just a tad too expensive compared to similar Thermaltake enclosures. If the SideClick functionality seems like a great feature to you, and you can see yourself using it often, then the A60 would indeed be a good purchase. However, that's about it; if you're not going to use it, it might be a good idea to seek out a similar, less-expensive case.

Armor A60 Conclusion

With support for up to 7 fans, you can be sure the components in your case are kept cool. Overall, the performance of this case is great.

The two blue LED fans as well as the armor-like design makes this case's appearance a unique one - however it may not be for everyone. I find the overall aesthetics of the case look very professional yet simplistic, however some may dislike the armor design of the case.

The Armor A60 is made out of SECC, which is what the majority of all modern cases are made out of. The case is relatively heavy, especially with all components installed. At 15.1LB, the weight is pretty noticable.

With all the functionality a case is expected to have - and more - it's hard to give the A60 a bad score in functionality. USB 3.0 is supported, as well as the included SideClick EasySwap feature.

The Armor A60 is currently priced at $89.99. This price is a tad bit expensive for a mid-tower case with only a few added features.

If you're one who finds yourself in dire need of the latest technology (front-panel USB 3.0 in this case), a unique looking case, or a case which allows you to swap harddrives quickly and easily, then the Armor A60 will be a good purchase. It includes all the expected functionality and more - it's only the price which is a bit too steep.

Pros:

+ SideClick functionality
+ Unique appearance
+ SuperSpeed USB 3.0 functionality

Cons:

- High Price
- Heavy Weight

Ratings:

• Performance: 9.00
• Appearance: 8.50
• Construction: 8.00
• Functionality: 9.00
• Value: 7.00

Final Score: 8.3 out of 10.

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