Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Case Review

[siopao1984]

---

Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Case Review by VR-Zone.com

Introduction

Thermaltake’s products lineup feels almost endless; this month we admired the exotic design of the Level 10 GT case and we discovered the good value of the Commander MK-I case. Today we are having a look on yet another product from Thermaltake, the massive Chaser MK-I full tower case, with which Thermaltake hopes to attract hardcore enthusiasts and modders.

Manufacturer’s features and specifications

• Breath Lighting effect
• USB3.0 superspeed
• Top-mounted HDD hot swap Docking Station
• VGA TripleMax 33cm
• CableClear cable management
• Liquid cooling ready
• Innovative 5.25” & 3.5” tool-free design
• Combat Headset Holder
• Heightened footstand enhances intake airflow

[siopao1984]

Packaging and Bundle



The Chaser MK-I case comes supplied inside a very large, colorful cardboard box. Thermaltake likes fancy artwork and this box is no exception, with the artistic drawings dominating over most part of the front side of the box.



The bundle is fairly simple, considering the class of the case. It includes all of the necessary screws (all of which are black), a small black and white manual, several simple black cable ties, an adaptor for mounting an external 3.5” device, the motherboard speaker and a CPU EPS/ATX 12V extension cable.

[siopao1984]

The case exterior



Outside the box, the Chaser MK-I is a very large tower case which features a highly futuristic design of many edges and sharp angles combined with lighting. Despite the hefty size and the steel body the Chaser MK-I is not too heavy, weighting just over 11.5kg when empty.



The faceplate of the Chaser MK-I is made out of hard plastic and metallic mesh. Thermaltake designed it to follow the whole futuristic concept of the Chaser MK-I case and it clearly is not meant for people with a taste for clean and elegant designs. The many sharp edges and angles are forming a complex, downright aggressive design. All of the 5.25” covers are made out of a metallic mesh and are externally removable. They are extremely easy to remove as well, you only need to push the blue plastic flaps seen at their sides together and pull the cover right off. A simple nickel plated company logo can be seen at the bottom middle part of the faceplate.



The front I/O and buttons of this case can be found at the top side of the faceplate. The large power button can be seen at the center of the faceplate, surrounded by a winged design which actually is the power on LED. The LED will blink on and off while the system is powered on, which can be a little annoying if the case is within your field of vision while using the computer.

At the right side Thermaltake placed all of the front connection ports, which are two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port and two USB 3.0 ports. The USB 3.0 is using an internal header and no cables will have to be routed to the back of your motherboard; however your motherboard must have an USB 3.0 internal header available as well.

At the left side the two headphone jacks can be seen, as well as the three buttons controlling the speed of the case’s main fans and the reset button sharing its spot with a tiny HDD activity LED.

At the middle, right above the power on button, Thermaltake installed a SATA dock for 2.5” and 3.5” SATA devices, allowing the user to connect and remove disk drives as easily as if they were floppy disks.

[siopao1984]

The case exterior (continued)



The left side panel of the Chaser MK-I case is complex, with an embossed design of many sharp angles and straight lines, following the overall futuristic theme of the case. The top half of the panel is covered by a strangely shaped plastic window, while a loose honeycomb design covers most of the bottom half of the side panel, waiting for an optional 200mm fan.



On the left side panel Thermaltake placed a simple but highly effective plastic hinge meant to be used as a headphones hanger. The hinge can be closed while you are using (or if you are not ever using) your headphones.



Much like the left side panel, the right side panel of the Chaser MK-I features a rather complex and sharp embossed design.



The Chaser MK-I case has an all black chassis, as it can be seen in the picture above. We can see the exhaust 140mm fan and three round holes covered by rubber grommets. There is also a simple metallic hinge for securing the cables at the rear of your case right beneath the 140mm exhaust fan.



These holes are commonly being used as an entrance/exit point for watercooling hoses but Thermaltake drilled a third hole as well. The third hole was being used on the Level 10 GT case for routing the USB 3.0 cables to the back of your motherboard, since however the Chaser MK-I has USB 3.0 ports with internal headers we fail to see any useful application for a single third hole.



A long dust filter has been placed at the bottom of the case, filtering the air of the PSU intake and of the optional bottom 120mm fan. It can be removed by simply pulling it from the rear of the case. The tall feet of the case can be turned to the sides, vastly increasing its stability.





At the top of the case yet another 200mm cooling fan can be found hidden beneath a metallic mesh. The mesh can be removed, along with the entire top panel plastic cover, by simply pulling it upwards from the rear side of the case. There is a second spot for another exhaust fan and a 120mm, 140mm or 200mm cooling fan can be mounted.

[siopao1984]

The case interior



The honeycomb opening of the left side panel features a dust filter on the inside which can also be used together with a 200mm intake fan, if installed. It is not easily removable though, it needs to be unscrewed from the side panel in order to be cleaned.



The interior of the Thermaltake Chaser MK-I case is all black, down to the case cables and screws, with the exception of the 3.5” drive trays which are bright blue. The motherboard tray is cut behind the CPU area, allowing the installation of large CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case. There are five large holes covered by rubber grommets for routing cables from and to the back of the tray.



The rear of the motherboard’s tray is roomy and gives the users ample room to route and manage the cables of their systems. A few cable holders here and there would not hurt though.



Most of the case’s bottom has been perforated to allow the PSU to draw cool air from the bottom of the case and for the installation of the optional 120mm fan. A metallic bar is being used to lock the PSU into place, which can be installed in the appropriate holes to accommodate power supplies of any length. A PSU too long will block the installation of the optional bottom 120mm intake fan.

[siopao1984]

The case interior (continued)



Here we can see the top semi-transparent 200mm LED exhaust fan and the rear black 140mm exhaust fan. The top fan is powered by the same Molex powering the front intake fan. The rear 140mm fan has its own 3-pin power cable, which is nicely sleeved.



The six 3.5” trays are blue with black locking hinges. The installation of drives is toolless, with the drive being locked inside the tray using simple plastic pins. These trays can accommodate 2.5” drives as well but they will have to be screwed onto the tray.



The four 5.25” devices are being locked with plastic locking mechanisms as well but they can be secured with screws if necessary.



Our ICTT system easily fits inside the Thermaltake Chaser MK-I case and plenty of room is being left to work and to route cables. Long PCIe cards of up to 33cm in length will fit inside the case and will not be blocked by the drives. Installing a system inside the Chaser MK-I should be a quick job even for people who rarely build their own systems.

[zhrike]

nice ni dah pila pud kaha ni...

[siopao1984]

Test System Setup and Results

In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.



The thermal performance of the Chaser MK-I is very good, even for a tower of that size and with so many and large stock cooling fans. Despite the lack of a side panel fan blowing the GPU card area, the temperatures of the CPU and GPU area were kept relatively low after long term pressure. The temperature of the HDD area was low, even though the plastic trays reduce the surface of the drives which comes in contact with the ambient air. It seems like the brute force of the massive 200mm and 140mm fans is working very well when the case has to deal with a massive thermal load.



The acoustics performance of the Chaser MK-I case is merely good, a side effect of the many and large cooling fans. The fans of the Chaser MK-I generate 35.9dB(A) while running at their maximum speed, a clearly audible figure. Since this case is aiming to please hardcore gamers, we do not believe than any gamer would notice the low tone noise of flowing air coming from the case; however the Chaser MK-I does offer the option of reducing the speed of the fans down to half, where the fans become virtually inaudible.

[siopao1984]

Final Words and Conclusion

Quality (30% of the total score)

The Chaser MK-I is a well designed and made tower case. The steel body is very sturdy and virtually unbreakable, able to withstand any kind of abuse. Most of the faceplate is thick plastic which should easily last for a long time. We are mostly concerned that the complex, aggressive design of the Chaser MK-I creates many sharp edges and someone could be hurt if somehow was to forcefully (e.g. fall) collide with the case. Parts which can be damaged from use (or misuse) are all of the blue plastic parts; the plastic flaps of the 5.25” device covers and the HDD trays, for example. Using excessive force or carelessness could break those parts. Also, it would not be wise to put excessive weight on (or in any way pull downwards) the headphones hanger; it is not designed to support anything but a single headset and just a little force would destroy it.

Quality Score 9.0/10



Performance (30% of the total score)

The thermal performance of the Chaser MK-I will leave no enthusiast disappointed; the case will easily handle massive thermal loads, even when having to deal with them continuously and for extended periods of time. The cooling capabilities of the case can be expanded even further by installing an additional top exhaust fan and, if the PSU is not too large, an additional bottom intake fan. When it comes to the acoustics performance, the Chaser MK-I is versatile, allowing the power users to run the fans at maximum speed at the expense of some noise and those who enjoy silence can simply cut the speed of the main 200mm fans down to half; or you can keep them at half speed while doing everyday tasks and run them at maximum speed while gaming.

Performance Score 9.5/10



Aesthetics (30% of the total score)

Aesthetics are a subjective matter and the Chaser MK-I is just the right example of that. The massive case features a futuristic, complex and very aggressive design consisting of many straight lines and sharp edges, paired with a lot of lighting options, which makes it obvious that this case is everything but subtle and elegant. Gamers, modders and hardcore enthusiasts will most likely love the design of the Chaser MK-I, while professionals will surely hate it. It would be an excellent addition to a high-tech living room or play room but a horrible sight in a clean, classy environment, which will drive every single person who wants an elegant and inconspicuous case away.

Aesthetics Score 8.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

Given its massive size and load of features, the Thermaltake Chaser MK-I offers great value for money, retailing for about 160$ USD / 195$ SGD at the time of this review. Given that the price of the Level 10 case which is of similar size is more than 50% higher, the Chaser MK-I is a far better choice for gamers and modders. Unfortunately the fancy, futuristic style is not suitable for all environments and that will drive several people towards other designs. On the other hand, Thermaltake designed the Chaser MK-I with gamers and modders in mind and we feel that few (if any) of them will be disappointed by the looks and/or the performance of the Chaser MK-I.

Value Score 9.0/10

[zhrike]

wow $160... nice pud baya dah...