A Closer Look - Outside

Thermaltake has done a good job in keeping the overall look created with the A90. However, the door has been removed, exposing the drive bays, which does disturb the overall look a bit. Also the top of the chassis has been simplified, no longer having a plastic top cover, but using the simple metal part and shaping it a bit.


As mentioned, there is no more door, so all the drive bays are clearly visible. The entire front is constructed of metal mesh and plastic, having a very good feel to it. Turning the chassis around we are greeted by an all black metal frame, which also means that the interior of the A60 is black as well. The blue cable coming out one of the water cooling holes is Thermaltake's implementation of USB 3.0 connectivity. This is the most basic way to add this feature to any case. It would have been nice to see real routing of the cable instead of simply hijacking holes which are not intended for such use. Furthermore, no adapter cable has been included to connect the plug to an internal USB 2.0 connector for example.


Both sides of the chassis have various extruded design elements, which really underline the overall Armor feel very nicely. While one side is rather elaborate with a window, a hot-swap bay and seperately extruded elements, the other side is completely solid and has been kept fairly simple - following the same design framework set forth by the Armor A90.


Taking a closer look at the front, it can be visually divided into two halves. The bottom holds the front intake fan behind the metal mesh. A fairly prominent Thermaltake logo has also been placed here. It is great, that the company branding is an actual plaque, not a simple printed logo somewhere. Above that are the three 5.25 inch drive bays and a single 3.5 inch one. All external connectivity has been placed on the right edge, besides the larger drive bays, while the reset button can be found next to the smaller one. A triangular power button further supports the design of the Armor A60.


As is the case with most modern enclosures, the power supply bay is on the bottom of the chassis. Thermaltake has placed two optional water cooling openings to the right of the PSU bay. Above that are the seven mainboard expansion slots, all of which have openings to allow for air to pass through them. A large vent has also been placed next to these for even more air flow, while the very top holds the rear exhaust fan along with two further water cooling holes, which are already opened up.


There are two aspects of the chassis with are new when compared to the A90. First off, there is a hot-swap bay in the side panel of the chassis. This function has been implemented by adding a SATA bracket to the very top internal drive and including this opening covered by a plastic door. This should be a very interesting feature if implemented well enough. Thermaltake has also chosen to remodel the top metal cover of the Armor A60 instead of using plastic. The upside is the better overall quality, but it does not allow for the elaborate design we have seen with the A90. You can clearly see the large 200 mm top fan, which pushes air out the top through the ceiling.