A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove the two thumb screws holding each panel in place. The shiny interior is eerily similar to that of Lian Li cases in many regards, but Cubitek has chosen to simplify it and leave a few things out. Unlike the V2120, the HPTX-Tank does not have separated compartments. It can also "only" fit ten 3.5 and two 2.5 inch drives - slightly less than the V2120, which clocks in at thirteen 3.5 inch and two 2.5 inch ones. Cubitek has punched a lot more holes into the mainboard tray, giving you much more flexibility as to how to route the cables, but also allows you to see the cables running past this opening if you use a smaller board.


Taking a look at the front HDD bay, this one can holds seven 3.5 inch drives and features a supporting plate in the middle. You may remove the entire cage to gain access to the 230 mm fan and the hidden 2.5 inch bays on the very bottom. Above that are the five 5.25 inch bays. There are no screw-less systems here, but Cubitek does include thumb screws to secure any devices in these bays.


Moving our focus to the rear of the chassis, the very bottom hold the afore mentioned PSU bay. Foam lining has been applied as an anti vibration measure, and my guess is that the separate dust filter is intended to be used in this area. Above that are the ten mainboard expansion slots, held in place by thumb screws. The 140 mm fan has a clear frame and clear blades. While it is great that Cubitek includes these cooling units, they do not really make a good impression in terms of quality at all. After letting Cubitek know, I was told that these will be replaced by new, better and quieter ones in the latest shipments of the Tank series. The very top holds a simple but effective cage for the remaining three 3.5 inch hard drive bays.


Much like the support beam found in some Lian Li cases, the HPTX-Tank also features such an extra. It is shaped completely different though and can be folded down to give access to the mainboard tray. Also, due to the different shape, you will not have to worry about large CPU coolers. These will fit no matter what - which cannot be said for the V2120 chassis.


Last but not least, the air vent under the power supply can actually be removed, which should aid in cleaning any dust filter you will place here. There are also two 140 mm exhaust fans. This is interesting, as Cubitek advertises a single fan on top on their website. This brings the total of fans in our sample chassis to four, all of which have 3-pin headers and red LEDs.


Before diving into assembly, let us take a quick look at the connectivity. The pair of USB 3.0 cables is black instead of blue. These may be connected to the onboard USB header with the included adapter. Due to the lack of 2.0 plugs in the top I/O I would strongly suggest you do so. I would have liked to see a way to connect them to the upcoming USB 3.0 headers of a mainboard wth an additional adapter - giving the user complete choice.