| Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX Case VF7001BNS |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Olin Coles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 05 November 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermaltake DH101 VF7001BNSBecause of the high definition format war, many in the technology industry have endured an uneasy feeling for the past year. For the better part of 2007, it was anybody's guess at which format would prevail and ascend to be the next home theater standard. While the Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD war has seen battle after battle with very little end in sight, there is a sovereign ally in the wings: high definition broadcast. Not too long ago, Benchmark Reviews featured a Guide: How to shop for your first HDTV in which we revealed that the end of the analog television age was nearing, and HDTV's would be a forced standard in slightly more than one year. We then followed this up with an article on the Sharp AQUOS LC-52D62U 52" 1080P HDTV, where we applied our shopping advice and purchased one of the best and most affordable HDTV's presently produced. Benchmark Reviews even offered an all-inclusive remote control solution with the Logitech Harmony 890 Pro Advanced Universal Remote. But somehow, they all lead to at least one more thing: the Home Theater Personal Computer.
The HDTV is probably the safest entertainment purchase to be made for the home theater, and since there's no sign of a winner in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war it only makes sense to fall back on HD programming. I actually began my efforts to perfect the home theater with inclusion of HD cable and OTA (over the air) broadcasts. However, when the HD programming was discovered to be thin, I moved on to the satellite-based networks. While the programming improves (and customer service declines proportionately) I found myself with a dilemma: do I indulge in HD movies via DVD or do I wait it out in the bunker with a wide variety of programming? The answer was obvious, and although I would love to correctly guess the next winner in the format war, I don't want to be the guy stuck with a virtual Beta-MAX come 2009. So it was time for a new task. It was time for me to set my sights on a real solution to manage the trove of HD broadcast programming I was about to receive. It was time to build a serious HDTV, and the best way I knew how was to go big. Thermaltake produces the DH101 HTPC ATX Case (model VF7001BNS), and although it isn't the discrete and dainty little unit I have seen elsewhere, I can actually put some muscle inside this system and make it more than my next DVD-player replacement. After all, where else can you find the room inside an HTPC support HDMI, gaming-strength video, a digital HDTV tuner, and enough drive capacity to store a wealth of completely illegal broadcast reproductions? The answer, and the focus of this article, are both the same: the Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX Case VF7001BNS. About the company: ThermaltakeFounded in 1999, Thermaltake Technology is the world leader in the supply of thermal management cooling solutions, high-end power supply and chassis for desktop PC and industrial application systems. Building on the strength of its people, products and extensive expertise in Thermal Management, Thermaltake raised the level of excellence on its Award Winning Purepower branded power supply as well as Xaser line of chassis. While mission-critical applications for Enterprises and ultimate video gaming experiences available for gaming enthusiasts all rely on today's cutting-edge PCs to deliver, high-end PC makers relies on Thermaltake to provide the most reliable power supply, the most thermally efficient chassis and cooling solutions.
Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd. started its core business based on our extensive knowledge of PC thermal management during the era where the area of performance CPU cooling was only exclusive for "overclockers" or PC enthusiasts. With the company's initial launch of Orb coolers, it created waves of shocks and appraisals throughout the gaming and overclocking communities. Thermaltake quickly became the name gamers turn to when they need high-end and reliable thermal solutions. With company's core business of CPU cooling still growing at a vast rate, Thermaltake made another grand entry to the PC chassis industry. To date, Thermaltake has always been considered as the pioneering company that revolutionized the PC chassis industry with Xaser series enclosures. The typical and traditional beige and plastic front panel design was outdone by Xaser series chassis's atypical gaming red and aluminum front panel. It was also the first enclosure available to public with Hardcano unit which provided users full control over computer's thermal management system. As a leader in Thermal Management, Thermaltake is the trusted supplier to many computer manufacturers providing Intel Validated and AMD Approved CPU coolers for today's high frequency and mainstream CPUs. At the pace of current technological advancement in multimedia application and multi-core processor, Thermal Management will become an evermore challenging task requiring innovative product design and reliable manufacturing process; a task that has made what Thermaltake is now and future. In 2002, Thermaltake announced the Purepower line of power supply unit for the ever-growing power-hungry PCs. The Purepower PSU series quickly gained recognition with its extensive warranty and high-reliability guaranty. Today, Thermaltake has grown into a world-class company with state-of-the-art testing and R&D facility based in Taiwan along with 60+ engineers and R&D team covering each application segment such as Liquid Cooling, Air Cooling, PC Enclosure and Power Supply for main-stream users, high-end solutions, system integrators and industrial applications; thus achieve Thermaltake 's company motto, " COOLall YOUR LIFE "!
DH101 Features
VF7001BNS Specifications
Thermaltake has introduced the new digital Home Theater PC Chassis, the DH (Digital Home) series. Designed with the latest multimedia module and high quality piano mirror coating front panel, the new Digital Home series shines with elegance and charm! DH101 and DH102 not only comes with high quality external design, but the internal structure and thermal modules further overturned the common impression of limited spacing and ineffective thermal solutions towards home theater PC chassis. The 12cm front fan and the double 6cm rear fan included in the unit saves the chassis from heating concerns. Up to three 3.5" and one 5.25" drive bays is also available for upgrading. The single insert/exit button on the front panel makes disc changing easy for users. DH Series HTPC's are the high quality chassis with delicate body structure and thoughtful internal space designs.
Closer Look: DH101 ExteriorVery recently one of the staff writers here at Benchmark Reviews received an HTPC case from a different manufacturer around the same time as I received this one. Unfortunately, that case was half the height of the Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX Case, and required integrated audio and video, as well as riser cards for any additional hardware. Needless to say, that project was scrapped and my project with the VF7001BNS proved successful in more ways than one.
To begin with, Thermaltake has designed the DH101 to utilize common computer hardware to build an ATX-based HTPC. This means that the VF7001BNS case does not require you to use a low-performance integrated solution motherboard. It also means that you can use standard AGP or PCI-E video cards instead of a PCI-based video card mounted horizontally through an aftermarket riser kit. In fact, if you have the resources, this could easily be the SLi/CrossFire gaming solution with a backbone for home theater programming and storage.
Many of the physical attributes Thermaltake has designed into the DH101 HTPC Case make it appear, or rather fit right in, with surrounding equipment. Some may even mistake the sleek VF7001BNS for an A/V receiver because of the close resemblance and Piano mirror coating with aluminum front panel design. Additionally, the built-in Media LAB module with 10 Hot-Key buttons makes this just as versatile as any receiver has ever been. 
Thermaltake's LCD can display several languages, such as English, German, Russian, Chinese. Since the DH101 HTPC ATX case offers compatible with Windows XP MCE 2005 and Windows Vista, remotes and multimedia keyboards (such as the nMedia MCESKB 2.4GHz Wireless Slim Trackball Keyboard) can be programmed with additional functionality.
The piano black finish of the Aluminum bezel make it easy to match the VF7001BNS with most optical drives available on the current hardware market. Although there are plenty of DVD+/-RW drives available, there weren't any HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Disc combo drives making it to market at the time of the writing.
Thermaltake has equipped the DH101 HTPC case with active cooling in the front and at the back, but you can never have enough ventilation. Located on each side of the VF7001BNS is a large array of punched-mesh grill to allow air circulation. 
From the image above you can see that there is very little un-vented surface area on the DH101. This will offer above-average cooling conditions, especially when compared against other HTPC cases which try to adhere to a slimline profile with very little room for additional ventilation or fans.
At the rear of the Thermaltake VF7001BNS there are two 60mm exhaust fans which are positioned perfectly in-line with the CPU location for ATX standard motherboards. From this view you can see the close resemblance to a 4U rack mount server chassis, or a desktop ATX case. Likewise, if you remove the 3 thumb-screws located at the top and sides, you have access to the interior components just the same. Please continue on as the detailed exterior features are revealed in the next section. Detailed Exterior FeaturesSo far, Thermaltake has done a good job fashioning the DH101 HTPC case for their Digital Home Series of products. Since I plan on using the VF7001BNS for my own digital home theater project, I have confirmed that the product line is aptly named.
There are two HTPC product SKU's in the DH101 Digital Home Series: the VF7001BNS (pictured below) and the VF7000BNS. The VF7001BNS is the more advanced of the two products, offering a 10-button hot-key function area, and a Volume Control Knob. The VF7000BNS is identical in every other way, but does not include these items in the front bezel design.
Thermaltake placed the I/O panel behind a slow-release door assembly which clips securely into place. The DH101 HTPC ATX series offers both the headphone and microphone mini-jacks, two USB 2.0 capable ports, and a single IEEE-1324 Firewire port. Keep in mind that your motherboard must support header connections for each of these features for them to work.
The high performance thermal management ventilation is evident at ever angle of the VF7001BNS. With so much open mesh ventilation, you might even consider a passively cooled system to maintain complete silence during operation.
Although the front panel VFD screen does not generate much heat, the vented bezel offers a subdued location for cool air to be drawn into the DH101 HTPC ATX case. With a single 120mm fan resting behind the front panel, this ventilation should provide more than enough airflow, and the location should assist in restricting noise leaks.
Thermaltake has used several different engineering techniques to strengthen the VF7001BNS HTPC chassis. With a press-formed lower tray section, the structural rigidity is enhanced by the many long (and functionally useful) bends in the sheet-metal panel. 
Located at the bottom of the DH101 series are four gold-plated cushioned foot stands. Even with the smallest features, the VF7001BNS blends high-tech fashion and aesthetic elegance. Now that we have a good understanding of what we are working with on the outside, it's time to remove the cover and take a look inside this HTPC case. Please continue on to get a closer look at the DH101 interior features. Closer Look: DH101 InteriorIn this section I will take a good look at the inner-features which make the VF7001BNS into the functionally fashionable HTPC case that it is. Just from the initial images, you can see that there is a lot more under the hood than just more sheet-metal. But the sheet-metal is still important. Nobody wants a case that bends and flexes like a Slinky, which is why Themaltake engineers have used several different methods to ensure structural rigidity.
Notice from the images above and below that Thermaltake has utilized a steel rod to span the length of the VF7001BNS. This rod assists in keeping the back panel aligned with the front, and helps reduce flex in the DH101 HTPC case. Since I am not going to be moving my HTPC, with the exception of installation and eventual replacement, I could lighten the load just a bit and remove this rod with two screws.
The DH101 has two 60mm cooling fans colored Thermaltake orange helping to exhaust heated inner-case air. While the HTPC itself may operate at a cool temperature in most conditions, you must remember that surrounding components, especially the A/V receiver or amplifier, generate tremendous heat and often transfer it to nearby equipment.
At the front of the case, positioned just behind the LCD display in the bezel, is a single 120mm cooling fan. In addition to the rod positioned at the lower end of the case, there is also a Strengthening Bridge which Thermaltake has included on the DH101 series to improve the cases structural strength. 
Partially borrowed from the design of rack mount server cases, the VF7001BNS HTPC ATX case may pose a problem for some very tall CPU coolers. But since I have already mentioned that I won't be shuffliing my home theater equipment after every movie, it should be safe for me to remove this bridge. In the next section, I will cover the more refined interior features in greater detail. Detailed Interior FeaturesWhenever I review a case, there are a few basic features I inspect to make sure that the product was not just a loosely designed box with some fans placed into convenient area's. So when I received the Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX case VF7001BNS, one of the first things I did was open it up and poke around the framework.
While the roots to any HTPC case can be traced back to desktop and rackmount cases, there are a few specific areas which have been modified and a few that have been remained the same (for untold reasons). In the Thermaltake DH101, the hard drive rack has been designed to be removed from the VF7001BNS chassis. HTPC cases don't see much time outside of the entertainment center environment, so in my opinion this is really a convenience item during the initial build.
While convenience is always, well, convenient, it's nice that Thermaltake has made all of the hard drive and optical drive bays tool-less in the DH101; but it's really not necessary. After all, how often will you need to replace one of these items, and what kind of difference will these items make? But I digress, because the point is not that they are unwanted, but that Thermaltake has included them all in the VF7001BNS despite the obvious luxury. I do still wonder about that lower optical drive bay, though... kind of pointless really.
The front panel is easily removed by lifting three plastic retaining latches from behind the bezel. You simply lift the three tabs, and push to release the bezel from the DH101 chassis. Thermaltake may have missed a small detail with the optical drive cage. You can see from the image above that the DH101 has an opening in the bezel for the top slot, but the lower two are not accessible from outside the HTPC ATX case. If you look even closer it seems that only the top two drive bays receive tool-less mounting, while the lower bay is forgotten. It true that the lower two bays probably won't ever see real-world use, but consistency should still count for something.
On an entirely separate note, I noticed that unlike the entire rest of the VF7001BNS HTPC case, the top of the optical drive cage is not vented like everywhere else. I'm not so sure that there will ever be a thermal issue in this area, since it's generally only going to see one optical drive, but if you're planning on loading the DH101 with additional hard drives it might make sense to create some ventillation of your own. In the next section, we put it all together and see just how well the engineers over at Thermaltake have done with the VF7001BNS. VF7001BNS HTPC InstallationBecause the Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX case VF7001BNS is practically a mid-tower chassis on it's side, there's really no reason not to treat it the same way when shopping for compatible hardware. To begin with, the DH101 can accept both a standard-sized ATX motherboard and power supply unit. While the longer power supply units such as the Toughpower W0133RU 1200W Modular PSU, Hiper HPU-4M730-SS Type M, or ePower Technology EP-1200P10 xScale 1200W PSU can fit, these power supplies are 7.8" or more and can come into contact with the optical drives in certain cable configurations.
Backtracking to the tool-less features for a moment, Thermaltake has included a fairly simple design for the drive retaining clips. While my favorite is still those used in the Cooler Master Cosmos RC-1000, the ones used in the DH101 work just as well and probably kept production costs on the VF7001BNS much lower. To open, you push the tab downward and lift the clip away. Because of the clear acrylic plastic used, you should be careful not to be too rough with these delicate parts.
The image below depicts the flow of forced air. While I am a little disappointed that the hard disk drive cage is practically ignored, the path travels from the lower portion of the motherboard up across the video card(s), and then the two exhaust fans draw the heated air out of the DH101 through the back.
Here is the removable hard drive cage, turned onto the side to shoe the tool-less retaining clips. Thermaltake designed the drive cage to allow vertical mounting of the hard disks, but without any active cooling in front of or behind the cage, this could be the only hot-spot inside the DH101 HTPC ATX case.
If you're crafty (I'm okay with a Dremel, but far from a modder), you might consider modifying the Thermaltake VF7001BNS to allow a thin (low profile) fan attached to the motherboard side of the cage. If you aren't running into any IDE cables (or an extended video card like the GeForce 8800 GTX or Ultra) then you could probably get away with using a standard 120mm cooling fan. It will add a degree of noise, but some of the higher performance units (namely Noctua) will not only perform very well but will remain silent.
Of the many features I have seen thus far in the Thermaltake DH101, nothing surprised me more than when I found a chassis intrusion switch in this HTPC case. Now, I think that officially speaking the VF7001BNS would be the very first time in my professional career to see an aftermarket manufacturer offer this sort of feature without making it into a separate kit. While the home theater may not necessarily benefit from this (I don't have children, but I can see it being helpful for those who do), the added security may work out well for system builders who rent these units to clientele or to special facilities which use them. 
Last but not least the expansion slot blanks are all vented, adding to the repeated effort to improve thermal management inside the DH101 HTPC. Before I move on to the the conclusion, it shoudl be noted that the tool-less expansion card lever system in the VF7001BNS works well with most add-in hardware, but certain video cards (mainly XFX) have a rail that made it difficult to install without using a screw. All in all, the Thermaltake DH101 has proven itself to be a very full-featured HTPC case, and the fact that I can use standard ATX components has made it very easy for me to collect hardware I already own to build the system. Final ThoughtsThermaltake has done a terrific job of producing the DH101 and engineering it into a well-featured HTPC case with compatibility to use standard ATX hardware. I have long awaited the opportunity to spend more than just the time it takes to watch a rented movie on my new Sharp AQUOS LC-52D62U 52" 1080P HDTV, so I'm very pleased to have built an very nice HTPC out of the VF7001BNS chassis. I'm sure that my better half will enjoy recording high definition broadcast programming on the Terabyte-sized drive array I included; but personally I am all for playing Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and World in Conflict on a giant HDTV joined via HDMI to a sound system boasting eight channels.
To me, that's what HTPC's are all about. If it can't fit a top-end video card and the motherboard I want, it can't fit my needs. So until Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD can finish their hopeless struggle for world dominance, I am going to enjoy the finer things in life without them. But on the other hand, it shouldn't take long before SATA-based hybrid optical drives make it to market. Shortly after they do, they will make it to my HTPC. Conclusion: Thermaltake VF7001BNSThermaltake should consider packaging the DH101 into a retail box with more substantial foam protection. While the package itself was quite appealing, and equally informative to the consumer, the bottom had fallen out and there was barely enough Styrofoam to protect the case from drop damage (something most shippers offer at no additional cost). Aside from the need for a closed-cell foam alternative, there was a very nice scratch-less cloth included and the entire VF7001BNS was bagged in a scratch-protective cloth bag. Appearance is a key component in HTPC cases, since they are looked at more than any other piece of computer hardware (except the display of course). So it's only fitting that Thermaltake concentrated its efforts on the DH101 and fashioned an HTPC case truly deserving of the most spectacular home theater systems assembled. Although the finish is limited to piano-black only, I can't complain because it perfectly matches all of the other home theater equipment I own. In regards to construction, it would be safe to claim that the VF7001BNS has been overbuilt. As I repeatedly emphasised, most HTPC's get moved as often as you move your TV. So when Thermaltake added reinforcing beams and strengthening bridges to the DH101, you are ultimately assured that this HTPC ATX case can withstand whatever handling it receives. Having the ability to house standard ATX components, power supply and motherboard included, I was especially pleased to have room for all of the same expansion hardware I would normally use in my mid-tower computer. The MediaLAB functionality added to my media center experience, and the LCD display on the DH101 was very appealing. Although the VF7001BNS adds the volume control knob and ten user-programmable hot-keys, I would still say that the VF7000BNS would make for a great alternative without them, too. But with the good, comes the bad. Consider everything you have seen up to this point, and ask yourself what it would be worth if you found it in a standard ATX mid-tower case. There are a lot of similarities, too many in fact, and the construction is not all that different. Aside from a very nice LCD, there isn't too much separating this HTPC from a nice desktop case. So when I learned that the VF7001BNS sold for $270 at its best, I was a little shocked by the sticker price. Thermaltake put a lot of research and development into the entire Digital Home series, but I don't see the value of this case matching the price. In conclusion, there are a lot of positive things to be said for the Thermaltake DH101 HTPC ATX case, model VF7001BNS. With standard ATX compatibility, it is great for the hardware enthusiast, gamer, or do-it-yourself builder. However the price is higher than the value, and that hurts my recommendation. Thermaltake has done a solid job of building the DH101 HTPC ATX case, now they just have to make the VF7001BNS affordable. Pros:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
