The Case - Inside

To take off the cover, simply remove three thumb screws and pull the entire top off. Thermaltake has decided to paint the interior black as well. The only parts not painted are the fan contraption above the CPU, the drive bays and the inside of the case cover itself. While the latter two are not visible from the outside, the metal bar above the CPU is. It would have been great if Thermaltake would have painted this piece black as well. In this case a normal black paintjob would suffice, as it will not shimmer through the air vents of the case, as it does with it's natural grey color.


The PCI covers are held in place by a plastic retention module, which is secured with the two afore mentioned plastic locks on the outside of the case. This system seems a bit fragile, but holds the cards in place very well. The two fans in the rear utilize Molex connectors. It would have been great if Thermaltake would have utilized mainboard headers and added Molex adapters. Modern ATX boards have ample fan headers to power and control case fans. Above the fans is a little device, which will warn you if the case has been opened. While this is a great little addition for a chassis which is intended to be transported or placed in public spot, it does not make much sense for a HTPC case. The DH-101 will most likely be placed in your living room right under that expensive HD TV. If someone wants to steal something, odds are both the TV and the HTPC will be gone.


The 5.25 inch drive bay holds a nice surprise. Even though Thermaltake advertises only three 3.5 inch drive bays, this case can hold up to five hard drives. Only one of the 5.25 inch bays can be used for an optical drive, while the bottom two are not accessible from the outside and should be great for additional hard drives. Another oddity is the hard drive cage. It seems like that it was assembled wrong and was shipped crooked, as it was not inserted correctly. This was quickly fixed by removing it and installing hard drives. Right behind the graphical VFD is a 120 mm fan, which also uses a Molex connector. Once more the mainboard header goes unused.