| Thermaltake Level 10 GT VN10001W2N |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by David Ramsey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 09 March 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Computer Case Review
Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology Inc. Full disclosure: The product used in this review was supplied by Thermaltake Technology Inc. Thermaltake set the computer case world on its ear in 2009, when it introduced the amazing Level 10 computer case. Designed in collaboration with BMW, the Level 10's unique design, with separate compartments hung from the side of a central "spine", was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. But so was its price, at $800.00. The high price kept it out of retail stores and also kept sales low. The Level 10 GT attempts to incorporate some of the features and style of the original Level 10 at a lower price that's still at the high end of the mainstream case market. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at this latest salvo in the "case wars." 
The primary function of a computer case is to contain your computer's components. But the secondary functions are more important when making a buying decision. After all, any case will "hold your components", but how easy is it to build in? How much space is there for expansion? How easy is the case to move around? And how does it look? The original Thermaltake Level 10 Gaming Station was a solid-aluminum super case, with design and features that hadn't been seen before. But its price kept it out of the hands of all but a very few. The Level 10 GT costs about a third of what the original Level 10 did. Has Thermaltake found the "sweet spot" of high-end computer cases? Let's take a look and see. Level 10 GT Features
VN10001W2N Specifications
Features and specifications provided by Thermaltake Technology Inc. Let's unbox this case and check it out... Closer Look: L10GT ExteriorHenry Ford is reputed to have said that buyers of the Model T could have it in any color they wanted, so long as it was black. That's your choice with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT as well: solid black. The black powder-coated interior gives the case a more finished appearance. The box hints at the design collaboration with BMW that resulted in the original Level 10 case, and Thermaltake's advertising copy claims that "The design language of the Level 10 GT expresses a passion for visual aesthetics deriving from demanding and immersive game play and multimedia entertainment enthusiasm.", but apparently the Level 10 GT was designed entirely by Thermaltake. The picture of the case on the box shows red plastic trim strips on the top and front of the case that appear to be lit, but unlike the original Level 10, these strips are not illuminated.
The accessories include re-usable cable wraps, a collection of screws, an EPS-12V extension cable (suitable for 4-pin or 8-pin motherboard connectors), a "Certificate of Authenticity", a manual, and two keys for the locking compartments of the case. Oh, that odd thing above the certificate of authenticity? It's a headphone hanger, which you can attach to the side of the 5.25" device bays if you wish.
The Level 10 GT certainly makes a strong visual statement. It's not as large as the original Level 10: it's both not as tall and shorter front-to-back. However, it's significantly wider. In this comparison photo you can see that the Level 10 GT gives up one hard drive bay to the Level 10, but adds another 5.25" bay, a new 3.5" bay, and the ability to accomodate Extended ATX motherboards, a worthy tradeoff in my opinion. Seeing the cases side-by-side, the first thing you'll notice is that while the original Level 10 is all metal, the Level 10 GT seems to be almost all plastic. However, it's good-quality plastic, and contributes to the 20-pound weight difference between the two cases.
While the Level 10 GT appears outwardly similar to the original Level 10, its internal design is very different. While the original Level 10 had physically separate compartments for the motherboard area, power supply, 5.25" drives, and hard drives, these differences are only visual in the Level 10 GT. Internally, it's all one large compartment as with most other cases, despite Thermaltake's calling it a "modular" case. A clear window offers a view into the top area of the motherboard, and an LED-lit 200MM fan provides extra ventilation for your video cards. You can remove any of the five hard drive caddies by pressing the circular button at the left edge of the caddy (right by the number) and sliding the caddy out to the left. The key lock seen to the left of the 3.5" device bay can be set to lock the hard drive caddies in place. The left side panel is hinged and swings open for motherboard access; you can easily lift the panel completely off its hinges if you wish.
The right side of the case is a slide-off steel panel, embossed outwards to provide room for cables, and with a silk-screened logo at the bottom right. This view of the case also highlights the handle, which is easily strong enough to move even a fully loaded case.
The rear of the case contains three rubber-lined pass-through holes for wires or water cooling hoses, the keys for the case, the 140mm rear exhaust fan, 8 card slots, and the power supply mounting area. The small metal loop to the right of the power supply opening is secured by a screw inside the case and is intended to lock your keyboard and mouse cables at LAN parties. 
Detailed Exterior FeaturesThe front port area contains (from top to bottom) the illuminated power button, the reset button, a drive activity light, two USB 2.0 ports, microphone and headphone jacks, and two more USB 2.0 ports. This image also shows the large, finger-friendly tabs at the sides of the 5.25" bay covers. You remove the covers by grasping the tabs, flexing them slightly, and popping the cover out.
On the top of the case we find an eSATA port, two USB 3.0 ports, and the control buttons for the front, top, and side panel fans. The USB 3.0 ports connect via cables that route through the back of the case and plug into your motherboard's USB 3.0 ports. USB 3.0 headers are just beginning to appear on some motherboards; the "cable to the back" solution is less elegant, but is probably a better choice for now since it will work with any motherboard. The fan's speed can be set to "Low" or "High", and the "Fan LED" button cycles the front and top fan illumination through several colors as well as a continually color-shifting mode. You can also turn the LEDs completely off. The rear fan runs at a single speed and is not affected by these controls. The mesh panel is decorative; there's nothing but a solid metal panel immediately underneath it. The large 200mm fans are relatively quiet even at the "High" speed setting.
Like the original Level 10, this case offers a motherbooard area security lock. In the locked position, the left side panel cannot be opened. The lever to the left of the lock controls internal louvers that direct the air flow from the side panel fan. 
A spring-loaded, pop-out filter handles the air coming in through the side panel fan...
...and a similar filter cleans the air coming into the power supply area. The front 200mm fan draws intake air through a filter as well, although to reach this filter you'll have to pop the front bezel off the computer. 
Closer Look: InteriorThe inside of the Thermaltake Level 10 GT is powder-coated black. This is becoming more common even in less expensive cases, and I think it's about time. Lifting the swing-open side panel off its hinges grants easy access to the interior of the case, where there are no fewer than eight cable routing holes, each bounded by a rubber grommet to keep things neat. Motherboard standoffs for ATX-sized motherboards are pre-installed. Extended ATX motherboards will fit, but will cover most of the cable routing holes. 
The card slot retention mechanism is actually outside the case. A removable panel (secured by the top two screws in this image) provides extra security to local the cards down. I've seen this design in small form factor cases before, as well as a few Dell cases, but this is the first time I've seen it in a high-end third party case.
Now this...this is nice. There are two features here that are almost unique in the case market: first, if you cast your eyes to the lower left of this image, you'll see that the five hard drive bays have a full SATA backplane, with pre-wired power so that a single SATA connector can power all your hard drives. Next (and less obvious) are the pre-wired internal fans. The front, side, and top fans all feed into a common wiring harness that's pre-routed; a single 4-pin Molex pass-through connector powers all of them (the rear fan is separately powered with a standard 3-pin connector). The motherboard tray lacks standard tie-down points but does provide four large wire-retention clips, which you can see running vertically down the middle of this image. While they work well, most of their capacity is used already.
The 5.25" bays comprise a single large compartment. A tool-less retention mechanism operated by slides visible in the previous image makes installing drives trivially easy: pop off the front panel to the bay you want to fill, slide the drive in, and pull the corresponding slide forward. One minor nit here is that you can't readily secure the opposite side of the drive with a screw, which I personally like to do, since the mesh panel at the right of this image isn't easily removable. 
The inside of the swing-open side panel shows the integrated 200mm cooling fan, and the adjustable louvers you can use to direct its airflow. The small electrical pad visible at the right side of the door connects to tiny, spring-loaded contacts on the side of the case body when you close the door, eliminating the problem of dangling fan cables. However, although there was no sign of damage to the box or case, the spring-loaded contact assembly fell off the inside of the case when I opened the door for the first time; apparently, it was secured only by its solder connections, and since the entire contact assembly is only a few millimeters long, there wasn't much solder. Repairing this requires some soldering skills and luck; I've gotten mine working again, although occasionally, closing the door all the way somehow kills power to the fan. This is a surprising weak point.
I'll continue checking out the interior in the next section. Detailed Interior FeaturesThe power supply area at the bottom of the case has a ridge (outlined in red in this photo) that the power supply slides under. This means you must insert the power supply from the front, and your room is limited by the non-removable hard drive cage area. A power supply longer than the ATX standard would be almost impossible to fit in; even the standard-sized Corsair HX850 I used was a tight fit...but the specifications do note that the Level 10 GT supports a "standard PS2" power supply. Thermaltake supplies mounting points for an optional 120mm fan directly in front of the power supply, and the air filter on the bottom of the case extends far enough to serve this fan should you install one. 
Looking into the hard drive bays reveals another view of the SATA backplane. This is the only case I've seen with this feature since Hewlett-Packard's amazing (and never available at retail) "Blackbird" case. The SATA power is pre-wired, but you'll have to supply your own SATA data cables. This is a much better system that the original Level 10, which only supplied backplanes for the top two of the six drive bays, and each had a separate power and data cable attached. Although Thermaltake listed additional backplanes for the Level 10 as options, they've never actually been available as far as I can tell.
The drive caddies are all-plastic, as opposed to the aluminum caddies in the Level 10. You can mount either 2.5" drives or standard 3.5" drives, and the holes for the latter have integral rubber washers to dampen vibrations. Even so, I found continual access on a noisy drive like a 150G Western Digital Raptor causes some audible resonance inside the case. 
The non-removable motherboard tray has a large hole to make mounting cooler backplates easy. However, it's not quite large enough for the slightly-odd socket position on an ASUS Rampage III Extreme motherboard, as shown below. 
One expects a lot of room in a full tower chassis. Here are the clearances I measured for the Thermaltake Level 10 GT:
There's more than enough room to fit any video card made, which is nice. There's enough space between the right side panel and the bottom of the motherboard tray for most cables, but only the center section of the right side panel is embossed outwards, and even in that area you'll want to avoid crossing any cables over the main ATX power cable. Building a Level 10 SystemThe ultimate test of any case is building a system in it. Although the lack of a removable motherboard tray is a little disappointing in a case as expensive as the Thermaltake Level 10 GT, the swing-open, removable side door and ample internal space still makes component installation pretty easy. The ASUS Rampage III Extreme motherboard I used is a little wider, front-to-back, than the ATX standard, and as you can see it slightly encroaches upon the rubber-grommetted cable routing holes. However, this image also shows two large additional holes in front of the motherboard area that you can use for cable routing, which would be especially handy for Extended ATX-sized motherboards. Thermaltake also leaves lot of room between the motherboard and the top of the case, and this space, combined with the supplied EPS-12V extension cable, means you don't have to run that cable inside the motherboard area along the back of the motherboard. If you prefer water cooling, the 200mm fan at the top of the case can be removed to reveal mounting points for a 240mm radiator. 
Installing your drives is simple: just screw them to their caddies and slide the caddies into place. The drive connects to the backplane automatically. These plastic caddies are much easier to insert than the metal caddies on the original Level 10, which tended to bind and stick unless you lined them up precisely straight before inserting them.
With everything installed, there's still ample room inside the case. This build has two optical drives, three hard drives, and an SSD. Remaining open are one hard drive bay, two 5.25" device bays, and a 3.5" drive bay.
There's plenty of room here for almost any system you'd want to build short of an EVGA SR-2 based computer. When running stress testing, the video card temperatures were 3-4 degrees Celsius higher than they were in the Silverstone Fortress FT02 case. That case remains the gold standard for sheer air cooling prowess, but the Level 10 GT case is not only much easier to build in, but can hold larger motherboards and more drives as well. Level 10 GT Final ThoughtsIn many ways, a computer case is one of the least important parts of your system. Potential cooling issues with high-end components aside, your rig will operate the same whether it's in a $30 no-name case or the $800 Thermaltake Level 10. But if you're an enthusiast, there are other considerations to keep in mind when choosing a case, especially one as expensive as this:
The last issue might seem petty, but if you're spending upwards of $200 on a computer case, you'd probably like it to at least look as though it's worth the money. The Level 10 GT's appearance is striking without being silly, and the only real complaint I can make about it is that it perhaps uses too much plastic: every surface you see in the image below except the perforated mesh is plastic. The exquisite Lian Li PC-V1020 and the Silverstone Fortress FT02 cases are both slightly less expensive than the Level 10 GT and contain much more metal.
The Level 10 GT's large interior, many cable routing holes, SATA backplane, and toolless 5.25" device bays make building a system in this case very easy. If you have a modular power supply, the fact that a single SATA power connector handles all your hard drives means that you can use fewer power cables, making it easier to keep the interior neat. My one reservation about this case stems from the failure of the side panel fan connector, which fell off the interior of the case when I opened the side door for the first time. At best, this is a very delicate component that would be knocked off by even a small impact, since it appears to be secured only by solder. I was able to "kind of" re-attach the connector, but most people would have to make a warranty claim and get a new case. Thermaltake VN10001W2N 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 performance of this case was excellent. The SATA backplane, multiple cable routing holes, and large interior make it easy to build in, while the swing-open side door and pop-out hard drive caddies make system upgrades a breeze. The security locks and large carrying handle indicate that Thermaltake thinks you might take this to LAN parties, and while that's certainly possible, the case's 28-pound empty weight might be more than most people want to try to lug around. The three 200mm fans, combined with the 140mm rear fan, provide ample cooling with low noise, although under stress the video cards and CPU run a few degrees hotter than they do in the Silverstone Fortress FT02 case. Functionally, Thermaltake has managed to incorporate and even improve upon some of the features of the original Level 10 case. Pop-out hard drive caddies are are enhanced with the standard SATA backplane, and the included fans provide much better cooling than the rather weak fans included with the Level 10, which were simply inadequate for high-end multi-GPU systems. The elimination of some "bling" features like illuminated trim strips and hard drive presence lights is compensated for to some extent by the controlled-lighting fans. The quality of construction of the case was very good, although I think there's too much plastic for a case in this price range. Arguably, though, Thermaltake applied the money that would have been spent on more metal to functional features like the pre-configured fan wiring and SATA backplane, and looking at it from this perspective, I think it's a reasonable tradeoff. The value of this case is harder to asses, but it depends on what you're looking for. The features of this case that account for its cost are those that make building and upgrading a system easier; if you tend to build a computer and not change it for a year or two, your money might be better spend elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you're the type who rarely goes a week without diving into the hardware, buying this case is a much easier decision to make. Appearance is always subjective. Manufacturers strive to make their products distinctive, and accomplish this in different ways. Cases aimed at enthisiasts and gamers are almost always black these days; indeed, the black enthusiast computer case is a stereotype as much as the beige computer case was in the 1990s; even so, the Level 10 GT has a distinct appearance that enthusiasts and gamers will appreciate (although it's hard to imagine it in an office setting). Thermaltake has done an excellent job with the Level 10 GT, bringing the style and most of the features of the original Level 10 down to a price that, while still high, is at least more affordable for many. Costing 'only' $269.99 at Newegg, this is now one of my favorite computer cases. But hey, if you really want the ultimate, the original Level 10 is still available at Newegg for only $699.99! Pros:
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Comments
I'm ready tro give it a chance, but, at the same time, would like to try a water cooling ... Never did !
Thanks for reviuw,
Jean
Its super ugly and probably just as little functional as the original Level 10. Just to add extra SATA cables you have to pay $50+ and rip the whole case appart (even where it's glued) and spend the whole day on such a simple job.
Make no mistake - the original one looked OK because it was designed by BMW but it was still made by LOWLIFE Thermaltake - so go figure, the quality and common sense is not there.
Thanks God those Asians did not put flashy leds everywhere or other of the crap they love
Nutw, the only reason to buy it would be for its looks - that's why I bought my original Level 10 - any $100 full tower case will have more functionality anyways - and I agree it has no LOOKS...
The thing is they put a draft pic of a BMW automobile on the box and hope this ugliness will sell...
I bet it won't...
And yeah, the SATA backplane on the hard drive bays, very nice. How long till all manufacturers line up behind this idea?
I have a Phantom and have a similar issue with the MB cutout for mounting an add-on CPU heatsink retention bracket, cut-out being just off kilter for my ASUS board. Looks like the engineers need to measure more MBs?
Either way, working in a larger case is much more the pleasure than mid-towers, or smaller. Like you said, if an entusiast tinkers much, might as well get a case with plenty of room under the hood.
I showed it to many people and never mentioned price, and some were offered it free, and none were interested.
BMW needs to stick to cars, ThermalTake needs new designers.
also some facts are wrong when compared to FT02:
"..but the Level 10 GT case is not only much easier to build in, but can hold larger motherboards and more drives as well."
The FT02 can hold 5 x 3.5' , 1 x 2.5' and 5 x 5.25' drives...also it can hold 12? x 11? mb.
FT02 comes with 1 SATA backplane by the way.
by the way, all my fans are on low and I my cpu temp dropped about 10c degrees from my old Xaser III but i'm sure new thermal paste and some dust cleaning helped as well.
Sweet jesus is that thing harsh on the eyes. Looks like it was designed in the 80's.
It reminds me of concrete tower blocks.