Thermaltake Reveals Level 10 GT Chassis
Thermaltake revealed a modified version of its Level 10 monster chassis.
Last week during CES 2011, Thermaltake announced an updated version of its Level 10 chassis, an impressive if not futuristic-looking beast designed by Thermaltake and BMW Designworks USA back in 2009. The new Level 10 GT model is a bit more streamlined than the original, measuring 23 x 11.1 x 23.2-inches.
"The design language of the Level 10 GT expresses a passion for visual aesthetics deriving from demanding and immersive game play and multimedia entertainment enthusiasm," the company said. "Modern games and entertainment applications also require highly advanced hardware configurations, which at the same time request more space and optimized ventilation than conventional hardware."
The full tower chassis weighs around 28 pounds and supports motherboards up to eATX. It also provides room for four 5.25-inch drives, five internal hot-swappable 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives, and an external 2.5-inch drive. There's a 360-mm limit for VGA cards, a 190-mm height limit for the CPU cooler, and support for 1/2-inch, 3/8-inch and 1/4-inch water tubes. There's even room for a top-mounted radiator.
On the cooling front, the Level 10 GT's LED ColorShift system has a 200-mm front intake, a 200-mm top exhaust fan and a 200-mm side fan. Other features include a 140-mm rear Turbo exhaust, a windowed side panel, an all-black exterior and interior, and a top-mounted I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port and one HD Audio port.
"Right from the beginning of the year 2011 Thermaltake is once again driving inspiration, by introducing a full tower chassis that blends legendary iconic form with convenient function, resulting in an overall perfect user experience," the company said.
Thermaltake did not provide pricing or availability, so stay tuned.
- The hot-swappable hard drive bays all HAVE backplanes. These are REAL hot-swap drive bays.
- 28 pounds? HAF 932 is 29 lbs, Obsidian is a whopping 35 lbs. Weight is relative to what type of case you are looking for.
- Obsidian is better than Level 10 GT? Pound for pound, the GT has all and offers additional features.
*Hinged door design instead of traditional side panel design.
*3 x 200mm fans plus 1 x 140mm fan on Level 10 GT v.s. 3 x 140mm fans.
*Better cable management? Can't say, need to see it in person.
*Price is announced to be $269. Reasonable for a high-end case.
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When I saw this link, I thought I would be a bit let down with my case having been replaced by something newer and ostensibly better. After looking at the gallery on Thermaltake’s site and the specifications, I think that was an inaccurate assumption.
This case has fewer weird shapes and surfaces. The review says the Level 10 GT is, “…a bit more streamlined than the original…” which is code for, “cheaper to produce in larger quantities.” The Level 10 case wasn’t about value or convenience or streamlining; it was about visual interest and this case has less visual interest. It is blockier, less bizarre, and more common. The exterior of motherboard compartment is particularly bland in the new version. The feet on this new unit look fairly common whereas the base on the original is curved and unique.
I do like the squatter HDD bays but don’t care that they’ve converted one of them to an external 2.5 drive. The addition of another 5.25” bay is a definite plus for the new model.
The cable management system looks improved with the use of the rubber ports, score another point for the new model.
The top mounted I/O panel is also an excellent change. My USB 3.0 ports are in the rear of the machine. The fan speed adjustment on that panel is also nice.
Another plus for the new model is the drive bay lock mechanism on the front of the machine instead of the back. Still, not having that on the front gives the older model a more pleasant appearance.
The addition of disco ball lighting effects is rather banal. Looks cheap. The subtler lighting on the original unit is more aesthetically pleasing. I feel the same way about windows – looks cheap. And let’s not forget the absolutely preposterous headphone rack. Just about the last thing anyone wants to do to a case that’s nice to look at is hang some headphones on it. For me, that’s just a ridiculous “feature”.
The larger additional fans are probably a plus for those who run hot systems. I don’t My PC is a fast build not in need of anything beyond the fans I have.
Had I do to it again, I would buy the Level 10 again versus this newer, ostensibly cheaper unit.
For the poster who indicated that there were backplanes on all the drive bays, that’s nothing new. The Level 10 case only came with two. I bought four more (actually two cables with each having two backplanes). Easy fix. Beyond that, I’m not sure how the HDD fans work on the new case –mine came with two and I bought and installed the recommended Thermaltake fans for the other four bays. Bottom line: I’ve got fans and backplanes for each hard drive.
In contrast to eddieroolz, I highly respect those who can buy a nice case instead of jacking up a cheap one and calling kewl.
Buy cheap, get cheap. Or, as the kidz say, "If I can't afford it, it's lame, man."
I'd buy it in a hearth beat if I could afford to...
Also CoolMaster HAF X > Level 10/GT.
There's a 200 mm front intake that blows across the HDDs if you don't know
you forgot to mention a revamped design
Here's a case to bash though...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103028
Lian Li, Silverstone, Corsair, Coolermaster and others cater to high end market so someone's buying
Pros:
* Good cooling, ton of fans will keep it cool.
* Rubber ports for cable management is a big plus in my book.
* Hot swap 3.5" drives
Cons:
* The window is too fragile, cracks easily.
* The 3.5" drive bay door broke in store when I tried to push a hot swap module into it.
* No protection for accidental removal of hot-swap drive ... a hinge of some sort would've been better.
Overall, this case doesn't worth the 269.99 price tag. The way it looked, it's price tag should be 169.99 at best.