Often times one gets an impression of things through visual impressions and the most common is through word of mouth. My impression of Thermaltake's Tai-Chi was one of a big case and plenty of room. After seeing it first hand, some of that impression is somewhat different. Now this of course is related to the Tai-Chi with the water cooling system. Most of the issues or misconceptions I had were a result of the cooling system. For instance the space between the video card and the radiator once the door was closed. This makes the depth of the case actually smaller, compared to other full size tower cases.
The Tai-Chi on the other hand does give you plenty of space with a ton of drive bays. With Thermaltake offering a wide assortment of add ons from the Hardcano, Aquabay series and even a wireless fan controller. All adding to the overall enhancement of the case. The look of the Tai-Chi is very appealing and its chassis is as solid as they come.
Some of the features you see in the Tai-Chi are only found in high end cases, but for the price it's something expected. The airflow through the case was great. I had planned to measure the sound of the fans, however they were so quiet the only audible sound was from the X1900 humming along. As for the claim most manufactures make involving the tool-free feature has to mean after the case is setup, once completed you are able to add and remove peripherals without a tool.
The cooling system is adequate for use with the CPU alone. Performing on the level if not higher than the original Big Water, as you saw I didn't setup the loop as Thermaltake has laid out for users. Which to a certain extent is a good thing, having the ability to make my choice as to the way I wanted to run the tubing. Yet running the tubing across or near the grill less fan just didn't set well with me.
Taken the price of the Tai-chi with the cooling system and the one without is around $60.00 US dollars and with rebates offered from some that number is closer to a $100.00 US dollars. If you're a hardcore water cooler the obvious choice would be the Tai-Chi without the cooling system. Along those same lines, if you want an extremely quiet system which the cooling system offers then the $60 bucks would be a good investment.
I'd like to finish up with an overall appraisement of the Thermaltake Tai-Chi, given I did find a few minor issues the bottom line is the cost. The quality of the "Aluminum Extrusion" chassis is foremost the most expensive aspect of the Tai-Chi. To begin with it doesn't offer any tangible heat dissipation because it's made of aluminum yet it is built like a "Mack" truck. The case is streamlined and aesthetically appealing and offers many options. The added features in regards to the HDD module, I believe Thermaltake needs to add another one or at least make it available to purchase. The three drive module just doesn't make much sense to me. Together the overall quality of the Tai-Chi is certainly high end, not to mention not finding any sharp edges. Thermaltake would benefit greatly to revamp the Tai-Chi, especially the users manual. Finally most users tend to build up the inner system components, not leaving much for their choice of cases. The optional BTX panel does offer some future proof as well. If the Tai-Chi fits your budget it would definitely be a good choice.