| Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case VL80001W2Z |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Colin Armstrong - Edited by Olin Coles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 20 April 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case ReviewGood functionality, a sleek design, and a low budget are the things Thermaltake had in mind while designing the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case VL80001W2Z. With the typical cases designed for a higher-end systems we usually see from Thermaltake, the V3 Black Edition is a breath of fresh air. Thermaltake has taken a different direction with this chassis; it focuses on providing a wide range of functionality for a great price. Thinking about purchasing a new case but don't want to burn a hole in your wallet? Join Benchmark Reviews as we take a look at the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case, model VL80001W2Z. With up to four 120mm fans (2 exhaust + 2 intake), this beast provides superior airflow throughout the entire chassis. MicroATX and Standard ATX are supported, as well as 10 drive bays and 7 expansion slots which allows for great expandability in the future.
Compared to the wide array of different cases available, the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition stands out from the rest. Not because of it's supreme airflow or sleek looks, but because all this comes packaged with a very low price tag. During this review, we test out Thermaltake's new V-Series case, and see how well it does against the variety of other cases aimed for the budget-conscious gamer. Thermaltake V-Series Features
VL80001W2Z Specifications
About the company: Thermaltake
Thermaltake became the number one choice for PC DIY enthusiast worldwide with its innovatively breakt Closer Look: V3 Black ExteriorOn the outside, the V3 features a generic, sleek look. Both the entire exterior and interior is coated in black. There is a honeycomb pattern placed on the top, bottom, front and back of the case, which allows for better airflow.
Two USB ports and audio + mic ports are positioned on the front-center of the case. On the right side are power and reset buttons, and on the right is an LED hard drive activity indicator.
Again the honeycomb pattern is seen on the top of the case, which allows a large amount of heat to escape. One optional 120mm fan can be placed here, which will improve the ventilation.
The left side of the case features a porthole-style window as well as a ventilation area positioned above the video card.
Four rubber feet are positioned on the bottom of the case, which allow it to sit roughly 0.6-inch / 1.5 cm off the ground.
A bright blue 120mm fan is found on the back of the case, as well as 7 expansion slots, and two pre-cut holes for water cooling.
Detailed Exterior FeaturesNow time for the nitty-gritty. Taking a closer look at the front of the case, we see that the entire front removes - although not easily. This is beneficial, as it will not come off accidentally. Below the two USB and audio ports, there is room for a floppy disk drive, or any sort of generic 3.5" internal peripheral, such as a media card reader.
On the left side of the case, a porthole-style window is positioned directly above the CPU. This causes any heatsink or fan you may have to be seen from the window. Here is my hulking Cooler Master V8 CPU fan, as seen from the outside:
The four rubber feet on the bottom of the chassis are solid, but don't allow for much headroom. If you position the case on a carpet for instance, the feet will sink in, and leave the bottom of the case touching the ground. This is bad, for if you install the PSU with the fan facing the ground, things could get a little hot. However, the temperature difference is not entirely noticeable.
The two holes on the rear of the case, as previously mentioned, allow a liquid-cooling system to be installed. Strangely enough, Thermaltake has stated that this case does not support liquid cooling.
The rear exhaust fan is mounted on the top-back of the case. It is extremely silent, rated at 17 dBA, as well as very fast, spinning at 1300 rpm. On top of this, is is also extremely bright. All the heat generated from the various components in the case get directed upward and out of this fan. This is smart; the small gesture of mounting the PSU on the bottom of the case, and installing a 120mm exhaust fan near the top allows the hot air to rise upwards and out of the case.
Closer Look: V3 Black InteriorThe interior of the V3 look fairly standard as well. A bottom mounted PSU, 10 drive bays, 7 expansion slots, and a blue LED fan can be found. Nothing too special here.
There are 10 drive bays on the right side, as well as support for a 2.5" solid state drive. I'll go into more detail about the SSD on the next page.
There are three tool-less adapters that came with the case. One for a 5.25" drive, one for a floppy disk drive, and one for a standard hard drive. These are helpful, as the majority of people don't have more than one or two harddrives, and will make good use of these. However, if you do have more, you're unfortunately going to need screws. One little problem I experience with these tool-less adapters: they seemed a tad too loose for my liking. If you tend to lug your PC around with you often, and you want your drives to be as snug as possible, bypass these and use screws. The adapters seemed fairly tacky, and moved a decent amount when pushed on.
Thermaltake has unfortunately not included very much room behind the motherboard tray, which makes it difficult for any cable management to take place. The small area behind the 5.25" drives are really the only place where cables can go. Although it is a tight snug, decent cable management is possible with this case.With a large amount of cables, you can imagine how difficult it is to put on the side cover of the case. Here is my fruitless attempt at cable management:
Very basic accessories were included with this case: a manual depicting installation instructions, a generous amount of screws (much more than needed), and a speaker.
Detailed Interior FeaturesThis case is clearly for one who often upgrades the components in their computer. This is evident in the large hole surrounding the back of the motherboard tray below the CPU cooler. This simply allows you to install a new CPU cooler without removing the motherboard.
Another thoughtful feature Thermaltake added to the V3 was the addition of a dust cover below the power supply. This cover simply prevents dust from building up below the power supply fan. 
Alongside the handful of drive bays and expansions slots, a 2.5" slot for a solid-state drive exists, just below the 3.5" hard drive bays. This seems to be becoming a common trend, as more and more cases are appearing that support SSDs. There is no actual bay for the 2.5" drive, just 4 screws on the very bottom of the case. However, this is enough; two screws in a diagonal pattern keep the SSD solid and not moving.
After spending a few moments on organizing my cables, I was able to achieve decent cable management, which would further increase the airflow in the V3. As previously mentioned, there is not a lot of space available behind the motherboard, so this was hard to do. Here is the final product:
Thermaltake Case Final ThoughtsThe Thermaltake V3 Black Edition doesn't bring a lot of new functionality to the computer enthusiast, but what functionality it does bring is very well implemented. The dust-preventing rubber cover below the PSU, the complete black interior, and the pre-cut liquid cooling holes on the back are just a few examples of the amount of thought Thermaltake has put into this case. Still, there were a few let downs with the chassis: namely the very tight fit between the motherboard and other components, the tacky tool-less adapters, as well as the difficult cable management due to the lack of room behind the motherboard tray. However, these flaws can be overlooked if you realize you get all this for less than 50 dollars.
V3 Black Edition ConclusionReviewing a case in terms of performance is difficult; it's hard to say when once case is better than another, except for features. The Thermaltake V3 Black Edition case comes with only one 120mm fan, but allows expansion for up to four. This isn't really ideal, as this does not produce enough airflow throughout the entire case. I really would have liked to see at least one other 120mm fan included. Compared to other cases on the market, the V3 lacks fans, but makes up for it in value. The appearance of the V3 simply features black on black. The entire interior and exterior is comprised of a sleek black coating, which allows the case to look very complete. Some case manufacturers don't take the final step to colour the inside, which makes the unfinished interior look very unprofessional. The extremely bright blue LED fan lights up any room, and gives the case a glowing feel. The construction of this case seems very well done. The bottom-mounted power supply was a nice touch. Weighing at roughly 10 lb, the entire case is very light, even with all hardware installed. I only have one problem: The aluminum material that this case is made from feels a bit flimsy. I would have definitely liked if it provided a bit more resistance, because it feels as if the case was dropped it would dent easily. The V3 comes with a good amount of functionality, but it could have been improved in some areas. Small things such as the hole behind the CPU, allowing you to install a new cooler without removing your motherboard, and the 2.5" SSD drive slot were appreciated. However, I would have liked to see more (and possibly better constructed) tool-less drive bay adapters. Compared to everything above, value is where this case really stands out: The low-end case market is a saturated one, filled with cases starting from $20 lacking a ton of features. The V3 breaks away from this trend by boasting a ton of functionality and a suave appearance, all for an extremely low price. The various shortcomings from this case can be easily overlooked if you realize it's only $45 (at NewEgg). Pros:
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hrough product designs. The concept of "Quality", "Performance", and "Reliability" have been incorporated into the design of Thermaltake PC Chassis, Cooler and Power Supply to assure the components meet the highest standard. Thermaltake's devotion in making products with leading edge technology, best performance, and a more comfortable user experience will continue, because we believe that a product inspired by good innovational concept can improve the living standard at any time.
