A Closer Look

The front of the Lanbox Lite does have the same configuration as the Lanbox we tested previously. The only thing missing from the front are the I/O connections. The back looks just like the Lanbox, but as you can see, it is made out of steel instead of aluminum. There are three spots for fans and Thermaltake has decided to include two at the most important locations just above the mainboard. The third can be installed above the expansion cards and Thermaltake includes screws to mount such a fan.


The side of the case does not feature the air grills as the Lanbox, but actually uses air holes. This does look a bit nicer and you will not notice dust accumulation as much as with the vertical air grills. Thermaltake has decided to use them on the VF6000BWS, which is the Lanbox Lite with two such windows. The I/O is located on the side, this differs from the Lanbox as well, on which these can be found up front.


The first thing to be removed, is the top cover. It is secured by three thumb screws and slides out with a bit of gentle force.


Another two thumb screws later, the drive cage can be removed completely. Thermaltake has also decided to make the power supply cage removable. It is secured by thumb screws as well as six traditional, but tiny screws.


Once the two items are removed, you have access to the HDD cage. As you can see, it is placed right in front of the front intake fan. All the sharp edges of the HDD cage are folded, so there is no possibility of getting cut while installing a drive.


The last item which can be removed from the case, is the mainboard tray. It is secured by thumb screws as well and slides out easily once these are removed. As is the case with the Lanbox, the Lanbox Lite mainboard tray features two 6 cm fans which blow hot air out of the system.


Once all the parts are removed, the three holes for two optical and one floppy drive can easily be seen. The cables for the power and reset button, as well as the front LEDs are located toward the left of the front fan, while the front I/O cables come out to the right side. The case is rather fragile when completely bare, but Thermaltake has designed the entire case, so that all the different, removable parts add to the overall strength of the case. This means, as soon as you install everything, it will be rock solid.