A Closer Look - Outside

Themaltake is taking the same route as many of the other manufacturers out there, constructing cases with a steel body in combination with a front consisting of plastic and metal mesh. It is refreshing to note, that Thermaltake is also including a seperate 3.5 inch bay for smaller devices like card readers. Since it is aimed at professionals and/or gamers, I will be looing for specific features when reviewing the Element T.


The front does not really bear any surprises. It is clean and features straight lines in combination with a simple but effective layout. Turning the chassis over, we do see a few unique aspects. The power supply is located on the bottom and there seems to be an expansion slot cover missing. There is a lot of space in the top part, which is probably due to the 200 mm exaust fan in the ceiling of the chassis.


One side of the Element T has a large circular opening, where you may mount either a 200 mm or 120 mm fan. There is no dust guard so dirt can freely enter while the noise of the internal parts can easily be heard. This is certainly not something a professional user is looking for. Turning the chassis over, the other side panel is completely solid and does not feature any air vents or openings.


The entire front is lined with metal mesh and there is no visual divider. On the bottom is a small Thermaltake logo, while the top is taken by the three 5.25 inch and single 3.5 inch drive bays. Thermaltake has decided to reduce the number of external bays to create room for six internal bays to use with hard drives.


A bottom placed power supply is quickly becoming the new standard in enclosures of this price class. There are two sets of holes, so you may chose to install the unit either way - pulling air out of the chassis or through the floor of the case. Two water cooling tubes can be routed through the case walls right next to the power supply bay, but these openings are extremely far away from the rear fan. Thermaltake should have placed them closer to the rear exhaust. Above that are the seven expansion slots. One of the covers seems to be missing. Some manufacturers tend to leave out the very top one, but why the third one from the bottom? There is a little loop punched out of the metal on the right side so that you may use a standard pad lock to secure the chassis. Moving on up, there is a 120 mm fan along with another clip to secure cables. This is another feature geared towards gamers. Thermaltake calls this the "TtXGameShield". It looks like the company cannot decide who this chassis is for - gamers or professionals.


There is a large, 200 mm fan under the ceiling of the Element T. It sports red LED fans, which you cannot turn off. This is a great feature for a gamer, but useless and fairly annoying for a professional user. Thermaltake has placed the power & reset button on the top edge of the front. You will also find the usual audio connectivity and two USB 2.0 ports here. First off, while it is great to color both audio connections red, it will confuse the user. Secondly, a professional user would be the one to use a Firewire or an eSATA port regularly, both of which are sorely missed on the Element T.