Computing on Demand PC News & Reviews
If there is one thing I love about the computing show grounds, it’s the computer cases. With everyone bringing their “A” game these days, it’s hard to decide who will end up with a chunk of my earnings. Some cases are flashy, some are simple; today, flashy is the word, functionality is the goal, and price is the key.
Thermaltake is trying to dazzle us with their latest creations. They are a mixture of tried and true form, with rodeo clown appearances. With these things in mind, they have decided to let us play with one of their models from the Damier Series; the Modern Life Style XaserV Damier V5000A.
This is a steel and aluminum rendition of something you would expect to see in the Jacob Javits Center during an auto show. It’s got neon lights, blinky things, retro graphics, and it even has neat shiny knobs for us to play with.
This case is built solid in every way! In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is probably one of the most solid cases I have ever tried to destroy. It’s constructed of 1mm thick steel with hints of aluminum and plastic. Unfortunately, this makes for an extremely heavy case. When I say heavy, I mean 35 pounds heavy. This is a major difference from the aluminum designs a lot of us have become accustomed to.
A lot of times, when I receive cases, I sit them on a flat surface and they seem to wobble a little; as though they where either bent somehow during the super duper delicate shipping process or because of design flaws (I’ll put my money on shipping), but not this case; this was my first inclination to how well this case was put together.
The front bezel, I am pleased to say, is a big hunk of thick aluminum adorned with color and flashy lights. The first of two doors… yeah, I said two, is decorated with color, knobs, LED’s, and knobs. These two big knobs up front are actually fan controllers. I was hoping they would be volume and tuning controls, but I will survive.
It excites me when companies start using their brains; TT seems to have heard the screams of some enthusiasts out there that are sick and tired of cheap flimsy plastic doors a lot of manufacturers just slap on their cases. Those doors are held in place by tiny little plastic bumps that always seem to wear off. No little flimsy plastic hinges are on this puppy. Nope, this thing uses real hinges! The first of the two pictures below is one of the hinges that holds the first of two doors in place. It is thick, shiny, and screwed into the nice big honking aluminum bezel door. The second picture shows us what holds the other door in place and as you can see; they didn’t go skimpy there either. That thing is screwed in.
