Introduction

I would like to thank Thermaltake for providing the review sample.

Thermaltake provides the computer enthusiast with a variety of solutions from cooling, power supplies, storage and cases. We at TPU have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to review many of these items. Thermaltake has established itself in these areas since 1999 and like many manufactures you either like them, love them or could care less. Many computer enthusiasts can assert that their products provide quality goods at a reasonable price.

When the call came to see if I would be interested in doing the review on the Thermaltake Tai-Chi case I didn't hesitate and begged for an hour. Once I regained my composure I did some research, first I wanted see what the going rate was for this case, yes I'm still pulling carpet fiber from my goatee when my jaw dropped. Thermaltake provides the Tai-Chi in two versions, one with pre-installed water cooling and one without. Obviously the water cooled equipped Tai-Chi comes with a hefty price tag and is one of the most expensive cases. Gazing at this behemoth one would expect it to do laundry too, however everything I wash turns pink even the poka dots. So after having to explain to the kids we didn't get a new TV I lugged the box indoors.
Time to see what's inside the crate and makes this the top of the line Thermaltake offers.

Features

• All aluminum extrusion built chassis
• Compact and stylish chassis
• BTX & ATX compatible
• Better choice for upgrading liquid cooling system
• Hydraulic side panel opening
• Tool-free installation
• Optimize internal space and airflow
• Support to 11 5.25'' drive bays
• Relocate-able front control panel (Power, Reset switch, HDD & PWR LEDs)
• Removable aluminum motherboard tray
• Easy Lifting Handles

Specifications:

• Model Tai-Chi - VB5001SNA(with liquid cooling system)
• Case Type Super Tower
• Net Weight 19.7Kg
• Dimension 600 x 263 x 546 mm (H*W*D)
• Drive Bays 11
  Front Accessible 10 x 5.25", 1 x 3.5 "
  Internal 3 x 3.5"
• Material Aluminum Extrusion
• Color Silver & Black
• Expansion Slots 7
• Motherboards Micro ATX, ATX, BTX, Micro BTX, Pico BTX
• BTX Upgrade Kits SRM / Rear plate (optional)
• Liquid Cooling System
  4 in 1 universal waterblock: All copper base with blue LED, and universal clips
  Cooling system: Powerful DC 12v cm fan with performance radiator H 27 x W 22 x D 3.3 cm
  12v liquid pump: Powerful DC 12v liquid pump (84 L / Hour)
  Liquid Tank: Easy to refill the coolant
  Water tubes: Transparent green water pipes
• Case Fan
  Front (intake): 120x120x25 mm, Blue LED Fan, 1300 rpm, 17dBA
  Rear (exhaust): 120x120x25 mm, Blue LED Fan, 1300 rpm, 17dBA

Packaging

Looks like this guy took a beating. The box looks like it was kicked, dropped, slammed, rolled, and tossed. This doesn't mean that Thermaltake is in anyway to blame, in fact as you see further down once we take the case out of the box that Thermaltake does a pretty good job of packing these cases. The box provides a large canvas for Thermaltake to display images and is even done like the case in a Tai-Chi theme.


As you can see prior to taking out the case it sets snug in its Styrofoam molded shipping pads. This is what gives the box its larger size. The thickness of the Styrofoam is 5 3/4" (12.7 cm) on each corner. This really helps absorb the shock of the tussling around. In the red square on the bottom right corner you can see the Styrofoam has been compressed from the rough trip. The case is wrapped in a soft cloth like bag. It's not made of cloth per say but is not air tight either.


Internally we can see we did suffer one casualty in the red square as the bracket for the reservoir is bent on a slight angle. This is nothing a really big hammer would not fix. You can also see the two boxes which contains the hardware, one is tied down in the power supply spot and the other is tied down to the mesh on the bottom of the case.


After removing the case from the box we can see that Thermaltake tapes up the front doors with masking tape and a couple pieces down across the face plates to help keep them in place. Overall considering Thermaltake did an excellent job in packaging the Tai-Chi given the abuse it took on its journey.

Contents

The contents in the first box contained the caster wheels, motherboard mounting hardware and the thumb screws for the drive bays. The documentation is a black and white booklet, with a scanned page we can see the BTX rear panel is an optional kit that is purchased separately.


In the second box the contents contain the supplied water cooling items. The familiar Thermaltake water block, UV tubing, coolant and H-clips used to mount the water block. Similar to the Big Water kit a socket A clip is supplied for the water block. A little UV light and the tubing and coolant glows, making the kinks in the tubing more obvious. The contents of this box were packed a little to tightly and the tubing kinked in a couple spots. Hopefully when we make our tubing runs we can cut around them.


Again a familiar Thermaltake design are the H-clips used to mount the water block. A close up of the four caster wheels that are provided, which would make it much easier to roll this tank than lug it around.


Close ups of the water block supplied in the cooling system box. This water block is used in several kits supplied by Thermaltake. We have seen an upgrade to this water block in the BigWater 745 reviewed here