Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D PC Case

MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
edited August 2003 in Science & Tech
"Thermaltake have included everything needed to make a great case, and nothing more. They have succeeded in making a case that has excellent cooling, decent assembly, rich in features, and the looks to please. This means the Xaser III appeals to a variety of people, from the overclocker to somebody who wants a nice looking case."

Read more about this from our guest reviewer, Nixxer, here.

Comments

  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Sweet review :D

    /me checks out cases price list.
    Ps.. wow nice job whoever photochopped the pictures
  • NixxerNixxer Nottingham, UK
    edited August 2003
    Shorty said
    Ps.. wow nice job whoever photochopped the pictures

    Hehe. Yeh, for some really strange reason I forgot to mention Shorty in the "thanks" part. He photochopped all the images and kept in touch with me all the way through it.

    Thanks a lot Shorty

    and also

    Thanks a lot Mediaman

    for the editing and posting.

    Hope you all like/liked the review.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited August 2003
    Nice review!

    One question tho:
    1. How well do the drive fans work? It seems to me that the intake fans would generate a good amount of noise for little airflow due to the way the drive cage is set up...
  • NixxerNixxer Nottingham, UK
    edited August 2003
    The airflow in the case is rather high, and this means that both intake and exhaust must be performing well. Can't give any temps (yet) but they do provide sufficient airflow I think. As for actually cooling the drives, if the atmosphere around it is cool, then this will cool the actual object. The fans run at a max of about 21DB (says on box) and I mean what I said, they can't be heard. Kinda like a clock ticking - you ignore it so easily, but if you listen out carefully for the noise, you can hear it.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Nixxer,

    Nice review!
    One thing though, Can you confirm that a a harddrive with a SATA adapter WON´T fit with the door on? I might have dreamed it, but i´m sure i have read it somewhere.
  • ketoketo Occupied. Or is it preoccupied? Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Nice piece of writing.

    I built a system for a friend using this case and absolutely hated the experience. It IS an absolutely gorgeous case. It IS as quiet as advertised, despite 7 fans blowing.

    However, I had issues with several things, some of which are mentioned in the article. Some of the drive rails would not fit (pins spaced wrong) on the 3.5" drives, they had to be installed with screws. The wiring of the fans and fanbus is very messy, some of the wires were shorter than they should have been, for example, the side fan mount won't open all the way or stay open with the fans wired up. And, despite the fact that I RTFM and am a very experienced system builder, things did not work right the first time thru. I guess I'll take the blame for that, but the manual and/or the setup is not very intuitive.

    I also had problems with the thermal probe being too long to fit under the cpu in the socket, I had to fold the probe end in half to get it to fit, which then put some amount of pressure against the cpu, trying to push it up out of its socket.

    The "ToolLess PCI" was a waste of R & D $$ and metal. Like Nixxer, I had problems getting cards to seat properly with this system.

    I also could never get past the weight issue. If you acquire this case, plan to "fire & forget", that is, install it and leave it in one place. My full tower with dual radiator H2O cooling and stainless steel accessories is much lighter LOL I'm having my hernia operation billed directly to TT heh

    In the end, it's not an experience I would want to go through again. Sorry to be a sourpuss on my first post, it has nothing to do with you or your writing, Nixxer.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    <b>GREAT</b> review. Crappy case from a company with notoriously crappy products.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited August 2003
    The CHENMING style of PC case was brilliant as everybody and his dog has made their own variation. Sometimes...as the review has shown...too many variations can be made.

    Speaking of which: Chenming has molded new bezels and those should start to filter down to retailers in the next few months.

    Take a look here.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2003
    Well-written review. I still haven't decided to go with a new case when I upgrade my entire system in a month or two, but that was an enjoyable read. :thumbsup:
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