| Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition Case |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Hank Tolman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 29 September 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Thermaltake. In 2010, Thermaltake won the Red Dot Design Award for Product Design for their collaborative work with BMW DesignworksUSA. That product was called the Thermaltake Level 10 case. The Level 10 was an aesthetic innovation that broke many of the traditional "rules" of the computer chassis industry. The problem? It's original cost was $850. That's a little on the expensive side. In 2011, Thermaltake was at it again, reusing the general design of the Level 10 in order to create another case that won the Red Dot Design Award for Product Design, the Thermaltake Level 10 GT. By cutting the cost of such an innovative style of case by more than half, the Level 10 GT began to appeal to a much wider audience. Now Thermaltake has brought us another look in the Level 10 lineup. In this article, Benchmark Reviews brings you an in-depth look at the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition Case. Computing enthusiasts are the most likely to be willing to spend a lot of money on a computer case because they realize the potential value in superior build quality, functionality, cable management, and cooling. That being said, any gamer knows the mantra looks>stats. While said somewhat jokingly, the fact of the matter is, we all want that box under (or on top of) our desk to be easy on the eyes. Thermaltake has attempted to enclose all of the important aspects that we look for in a case into the Level 10 GT Snow Edition. The kept the same, visually appealing design as the original Level 10 case, but made some modifications in order to make it less expensive.
Some of the changes that Thermaltake made to the Level 10 GT Snow Edition actually moved the design of the case closer to that of a traditional enclosure. The component housing, for example, was completely separated in the original Level 10 case, essentially isolating the components. The original Thermaltake Level 10 case certainly caught a lot of people's attention. The Level 10 GT, while still appealing, was, in my opinion, less so than its predecessor. The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case brings back a lot of that aesthetic appeal, simply by changing the color scheme. The contrasting white on black really catches the attention. Add that to the LED lighting system that allows you to choose the color you want to go along with it, and you have a very good looking case. The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition is a huge case, to be sure. The question is, does it stand up to the level intended? Thermaltake specifies that the Level 10 GT Snow Edition is made for high performance gaming and to supply superior levels of airflow to components. Let's take a look at all the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition has to offer. Thermaltake Level 10 Features
Level 10 GT Snow Edition Specifications
Closer Look: Exterior
The first thing I have to say about the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case is that it is big. I mean really big. When the case arrived, I was at work. My wife actually called me at work to ask me about the giant box that was taking up our doorstep. Inside the box, the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition was very well protected by a thick black bag and two huge pieces of Styrofoam. With all that removed, the case wasn't as big as it had once seemed, but it was still quite large.
The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition really is nice to look at. I like the look a lot better than the original Level 10 GT. It just stands out more. While the components aren't completely isolated, like in the Level 10 case, the compartments are designed to look as though they are separated. Each area protrudes slightly from the main body of the case, giving it the appearance of having separate compartments. In reality, the only separate compartments are the hard drive bays.
The front of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case almost looks like a normal case. You can see the standard 5.25 inch drive bays above a single 3.25 inch external drive bay. The hard drive bays are below that. Sound familiar? You'll find this setup on most cases.
Turn the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition to the side and you start to see where it differs from conventional cases. From this angle, the 5.25 inch drive bays look separated from the internal drive bays and the motherboard enclosure. The black and white contrasts continue. There is also a windowed area above the 200mm fan on the side of the Level 10 GT Snow Edition case.
Moving to the rear of the case, the white on black contrast goes out the window. That's not too terrible, considering you probably won't be looking at the rear of the case too often. From this vantage, you can see smallest of the four fans provided with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case. You can also see that the PSU is mounted on the bottom of the case. While this is a relatively new development in the world of computer cases, it is rapidly becoming the preferred method.
Detailed Exterior FeaturesNow let's go a little slower as we thoroughly inspect the outside of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case. Back in front, we can see that the Level 10 GT Snow Edition provides space for four 5.25 inch drives. I'm trying to think of why you would need four, but I think it's more a product of a case that fits an E-ATX motherboard. A Blu-ray drive, a DVD burner, a controller for audio or fans, a card reader; I suppose you could fill up the slots. Under that is the external 3.5 inch drive bay for that antiquated floppy drive you've been hanging on to. All those 1.44MB disks really add up! Well, there are plenty of things you can add in there as well. That lock next to the external 3.5 inch drive bay is for the internal 3.5 drive bays. Speaking of the internal drive bay, there are five of them and they are, for all intents and purposes, hot-swappable. We'll talk about those more later on.
The front of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition holds an I/O panel with the usual suspects. Here we have the power and reset buttons followed by two USB ports. After than come your audio jacks (mic on top, headphones on bottom) and two more USB ports. All of the USB ports on the front are USB 2.0 ports. I like the fact that there are four USB ports here rather than just two. With all the USB headers on motherboards these days, it's nice to see a few more on the case.
That's not the only I/O panel on the Level 10 GT Snow Edition. On top of the case we have another. The top I/O panel sits next to a perforated square that aids in air flow, but is probably mostly aesthetic. On the I/O panel, we have an external SATA port, a common enough occurrence now-a-days. We also have two USB 3.0 ports up here. That's a great inclusion, in my opinion. While most new motherboards are supporting USB 3.0 and have a couple ports on the back, many cases have yet to include USB 3.0 ports. Under those USB 3.0 ports is the fan control. You have two options here, High and Low. This controls all three of the 200mm fans included with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition. The last item on the top I/O panel is the LED controller. This little button lets you decide which color you want the various LEDs on the Level 10 GT Snow Edition to display. You can choose between red, green, blue, or a rotation of the three.
The side of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case holds some more of its secrets. The area on the side of the 5.25 inch drive bays is perforated for extra airflow. The Level 10 GT Snow Edition even comes with a headphones rack that attaches to the side of the case. They've thought of everything!
The internal drive bays are a series of removable bays that slide into place. The bays can be fitted with either a 3.5 inch drive or a 2.5 in drive. There are screw holes for both. Once screwed into the bays, the power and data connectors are lined up to hook into those at the other end of the drive bay. This makes the drives hot-swappable, similar to the external 2.5 inch drive bays we have seen on other cases. To remove the drive bays, you have to push the button on the side. It won't push in if the key is turned to the locked position. Even in the unlocked position, it was a little finicky for me.
The rear of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition shows us some more about what it has to offer. At the very top you can see the three holes complete with rubber grommets that can be used to install a water cooling system, if you so desire. To the left of the water-cooling holes there is a little nub. The two keys that came with the Level 10 GT Snow Edition were attached to this. It can be unscrewed and removed from the inside. The rear of the case also holds a 140mm exhaust fan that actually runs faster than even the High setting of the 200mm fans. There are 8 PCI slots on the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case, which is consistent with the fact that it supports Extended ATX motherboards.
One of the other nice features of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case is that the intake fans all have removable filters. This should really help to keep the interior of the case a little cleaner. You can see here the removable filter for the 200m side fan here.
On the bottom of the case, the PSU fan and optional 120mm fan slots also have a removable filter. The feet of Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case give it about a half-inch of clearance in order to allow some fresh air into those intake fans. The feet swivel out to give the case a little wider base as well.
Now let's take a look at the interior of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition. Closer Look: InteriorThe side panel for the main compartment of the Level 10 GT Snow Edition case is actually a door. It is easily removable by simply lifting it off the hinges. This design is somewhat different from your traditional case. The door itself isn't revolutionary, we saw side by side doors on the Lanboy Air case, but it is different. Also, the drive bays don't open up to the outside at all.
The motherboard area inside the Level 10 GT Snow Edition is really spacious, as it needs to be to fit an E-ATX motherboard. Many of the standoffs for the motherboard, specifically a full ATX motherboard, are already pre-installed. That's nice, since I have a full ATX motherboard. If I didn't, however, I would have probably had to move some of them.
You can see, at the bottom of the inside of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition, the area set aside for the optional 120mm fan. Fans are pretty inexpensive, so I would recommend putting one in here. While there is certainly a lot of air flow without it, it will definitely help if you have a video card or three that run pretty hot.
Detailed Interior FeaturesGetting into further details of the interior of the case we can take a look at all of the rubber grommet covered holes in the motherboard tray. Instead of just a few holes to thread cables through, the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition gives you seven. The rubber grommets not only protect the cables, but they also help to hide the holes, making the overall look of the inside of the case smoother. The cables for the I/O ports on the Level 10 GT Snow Edition are also long enough to reach an E-ATX case. This is a problem I have with a lot of cases, so I'm glad to see it's not the case here.
Back to the bottom of the case, you can see that the PSU sits up a little off the bottom on a couple of rails. This picks it up even further off the ground allowing for better air intake. You can also see the optional 120mm fan installed here and how close both it and the PSU are to the video cards if you have a multiple-GPU system.
One of my favorite features of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case is the way they connect the 200mm door fan. The connection is made through contact between the door and the edge of the case. This means no cable to hassle with when you open up the case to mess around inside.
The top fan on the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition is another 200mm fan with LEDs for colorful fun.
The rear fan is 140mm, doesn't light up, and isn't speed adjustable. It is, however, affixed to the same cable as the 200mm door and top fans, as well as the front panel fan. They all run off of a single connector to the motherboard.
The 5.25 drive bays are tool-less and extremely easy to install. Those white latches swivel back and attach into the drive, holding it in place. The only problem is, you have to take off the back panel in order to install or uninstall 5.25 inch devices. That's not a huge deal, I suppose, but if you are like me and your computer backs up to a wall, you'll have to pull the somewhat massive case out in order to take care of that.
Another of my favorite features of the Level 10 GT Snow Edition is the method of SATA power connection for the internal drive bays. Each of the drive bays is hot-swappable in that they connect directly into a power and data connector when slid into place. The power connectors for each of SATA drives is connected together and requires only a single power connection from the PSU. Then you just plug in an SATA cable to each drive bay and you are ready to go. It's an extremely functional method and it helps out with cable management as well.
That does it for our look at the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case. Next up, I'll give you my final thoughts on the case and I'll let you know how it performed during thermal load testing. Level 10 GT Snow Final ThoughtsThe cable management on the Level 10 GT Snow Edition is the best I have seen to date. Thermaltake even used a contact method of connecting the door fan to avoid extra cabling. The seven holes in the motherboard tray aid with routing your cables out of sight and, with less congestion in the main compartment, air flow can be greatly improved. The Level 10 GT Snow Edition even comes with a headphones rack that attaches to the side of the case. They've thought of everything! Speaking of airflow, the amount of cooling that takes place throughout the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition case is pretty amazing. After leaving the system on for two days, I took idle temps followed by load temps. The GPU got up to 85 degrees Celsius, which is pretty hot, but not unbearable. The CPU only got up to 69 degrees at top load. The idle temps were very cool, hovering just about 40 degrees. Even with all that airflow, the case was very quiet. I don't have a decibel meter, so I can't tell you exactly how loud it was, but that wouldn't have done much good with my AC running and other noises throughout the office anyway. The fact of the matter is, even with the fans on high, the loudest fan was still the GPU fan on my GTX 570. I heard that over everything else and when I throttled it down, I could hardly hear the case fans at all.
The case comes with some outstanding features that make it, in my opinion, well worth the cost. If you are dedicated to high performance computing, you will need a case that offers a lot of room, excellent cooling, easy installation, functionality, and the appeal of something you want to see every day. This case offers that. The last thing I want is to sound like a Thermaltake commercial. I try to be very honest in all of my reviews so that those of you reading it get a real feel for the product you are researching. My problem here is that I am having trouble finding anything wrong with the Level 10 GT Snow Edition. That said, I have come up with some minor complaints. First, while I love the hot-swappable style hard drive bays, they are sometimes difficult to remove. I can't count the amount of times I have checked the lock to make sure it was in the unlocked position when I couldn't push the button exactly right and the drive wouldn't slide out. The 5.25 inch drive bays also present an area of concern for me. I change components in my system very often. When I say very often, I mean almost daily. Sometimes that includes an optical drive. I don't want to have to pull out this behemoth of a case every time I want to use the optical drive to re-install windows on another test system. I'm considering just using an external DVD drive for this case, since it will most certainly be taking over as my personal case. Another minor complaint I have is that the extra quarter of an inch or so that the slightly beveled back panel gives you for cable management is not quite enough. When you start adding two or three GPUs to your system, you need to slap a few more cables on your power supply. Route them through to the back and they start taking up more space. Just one other cable on top of the shielded 24-pin power cable is enough to make less than breezy putting the back panel into place. I've wrestled with back panels in the past, and this is by no means one of the harder ones, but another quarter inch might be nice back there. It's not like we think we are going to get a small case when we buy this sucker.
Overall, my complaints are really nit-picky and inconsequential. Like I said, this case is going to become my personal case. I love it. It's also one of the few cases I trust to leave the side panel on when I have multiple GPUs in and am overclocking the system. The method of hooking up the SATA drives is genius and I even have a good time playing with the lighting system. You can turn it off too, though. Add to that the USB 3.0 ports that complete the total of six USB ports on the front and top of the case and you have a winner on your hands. Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow ConclusionAlthough we strive for objectivity here at Benchmark Reviews, please remember that each author perceives these points differently, and our conclusions and recommendations will necessarily differ from others. Also, prices can fluctuate and designs change after publication, so that the product we review might not have the same price and specifications of a product that's available later. Please do not base any purchase solely on our conclusion, as it represents our product rating specifically for the product tested, which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary of each of the areas that we rate. The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition performed very well. The massive amounts of air flow coupled with the excellent cable management to keep the interior of the case clear of clutter allowed for excellent cooling of the system it housed. The Level 10 GT Snow Edition is able to house any size of motherboard and gives you plenty of space to route those unsightly cables. The three 200mm fans that come with the case can be set to high or low, but either way the case runs very quietly. I found that I could hear my GPU fan easily over the case fans, so those aren't an issue when it comes to noise. In terms of appearance, the Level 10 GT Snow Edition was made with that in mind. The original Thermaltake Level 10 and the GT and now the GT Snow Edition are all built off a design originally thought up through collaboration with BMW DesignworksUSA. The original Level 10 was certainly a looker and the GT kept most of that intact. It was a little duller than the original, however, and that is where the Level 10 GT Snow Edition comes in. The black and white contrast throughout the design is made to turn heads. In my opinion, it does just that. I love the look of the Level 10 GT Snow Edition case. The Level 10 GT Snow Edition is a hefty animal. That means, however, that it is solidly built. At 28 pounds, it's heavier empty than my 3 year old. That being said, it does have a handle that makes lugging it around a heck of a lot easier. The only construction design that I had a problem with was the locking mechanism for the internal drive bays. It was finicky at best for me and I often had to try multiple times to get the drives to come out. Going in, however, they are a breeze and I love the hot-swappable, sliding design. The button is all that needs work. Functionally, the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition is on top of its game. I have not yet seen a case with better cable management capabilities. I have also not seen a case that handles the internal drive bay system as well as the Level 10 GT Snow Edition. The fact that the Level 10 GT Snow Edition comes with three 200mm fans and a fourth 140mm fan, with room for another 120mm fan if you want, shows that it means business. The door and the drive bays lock for extra security, but one of the nicest features is the include of not 2, not 4, but 6 USB ports on the front and top of the case. Two of those USB ports are even USB 3.0 ports, which is an added bonus. Add to that the handy headphones rack and the support to fit any size motherboard and you have all you need in terms of functionality. The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition goes for $290 on Newegg.com. That's not always an easy pill to swallow and it resides at the top end of computer cases in terms of price. It is less than half the price of its predecessor, however. And while it may reside at the top end of cases in cost, it also resides there in terms of functionality, construction, performance, and appearance. Because of everything the Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition has to offer computing enthusiast, the price tag, in my opinion, is well worth it. Honestly, if you want a case that will keep your system cool, keep your cables in line, and look cool doing it, you need the Level 10 GT Snow Edition. This is the best case I have seen to date and it is the one I will be using until I find a worthy opponent. Pros:
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Comments
I think this will look great with a string of lights on it, sitting out front next to the life size Santa this holiday season.
What is the connector of the included fan?