Azza GT1 Full Tower Case Review

Azza always has a full tower for builders who want enough space for their enormous hardware. Today we examine the firm’s latest iteration.

By Thomas Soderstrom
last updated

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Test Results & Conclusion

Likely due to its upside-down default orientation, the GT1 skews temperature away from the CPU and towards the GPU. Anyone who thinks this isn’t an adequate selection of cases for the comparison should consider airflow, rather than size, as airflow is the greater share of cooling performance.

Unfortunately, the GT1’s tiny front panel fan is a little noisy. Due to its size, it’s probably also unnecessary.

Moderate cooling performance and excessive noise from the front fan cause the GT1 to rank poorly in our cooling-to-noise ratio chart.

The cooling-to-noise ratio also hurts the GT1’s value score, in spite of its moderate $120 price.

Of course, some readers are willing to pay more to get a larger case. If we offset the price of the GT1 by -$40 to account for its greater mounting space (supporting more drives and larger motherboards), its value score climbs to 5% above average, while the Z11 Neo’s drops to 33% above average. Plus, if we disconnect the front fan to reduce noise, its value score climbs further to 18% above average while the Z11 Neo’s drops to 27% above average. We could have also reassembled the system with the motherboard tray flipped, but I think the average reader already gets the point that the GT1 can deliver reasonable value to builders who need its extra size.

Conclusion

MORE: All Case Content

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jossrik
    On my Solano, the 230mm fans aren't. They're somewhere around 200mm, by any reasonable measurement, but they're decent fans, relatively quiet, and they move some air according to their numbers, not sure if they're fluffed like the fan size or not, also, it was supposed to have 140mm fans up front, but 140mm fans from any other company don't fit, 120mm fans fit... Still a good case, would buy again, but as said, heavy, this isn't for LAN parties, but it fits all my stuff in there, including a sleeping bag and a tent.
    Reply
  • Skhmt
    "Arguments whether a USB 3.0 front-panel header can handle USB 3.1 Gen 2 transfers are mute..."

    So arguments can't talk? That makes sense, since arguments aren't people.
    Reply
  • falconsport
    how does it compare with extra large case like xigmatek elysium or HAF X?
    Reply
  • Flying-Q
    "Arguments...are mute..." ---> Arguments...are moot..."
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    Can't stand front facing drives. Just looks better with side mounted which is in pretty much every case these days.

    The different mount is interesting. Almost reminds me of the BTX standard just without the shift in board layout. Would be interested in other manufactures to test this to see if it is any better. I would assume the GPU would get more heat since heat rises and it would be higher in the case.
    Reply
  • TheViper
    I really wish they'd start selling the Hurrican 2000 again. Way better than this new case.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    16632922 said:
    "Arguments...are mute..." ---> Arguments...are moot..."
    Or muted, which is what happens when they're moot :p

    Reply
  • Martell1977
    Just upgraded my case from a mid-tower to the Thermaltake Overseer RX-1 Snow Edition and I am amazed how much cooler and quieter it is than my old case. Plus is has the hot swap drive dock on the top which is a big plus for me as I do a lot of data recovery for clients. I have to admit, I was surprised how much bigger overall the case is...this is my first "Full Tower".
    Reply
  • Onus
    IMHO, full tower cases are a niche product, that is just not the best choice for almost all system builders; this means three or more graphics cards and/or enough other expansion cards that won't fit or can't be cooled by an ATX case.
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    16637575 said:
    IMHO, full tower cases are a niche product, that is just not the best choice for almost all system builders; this means three or more graphics cards and/or enough other expansion cards that won't fit or can't be cooled by an ATX case.

    That is exactly why I got a full tower. With everything inside, the airflow wasn't enough for my system and my CPU was idling around 50c and GPU's around 80c. With the new tower my CPU idles at 39c and GPU's at 65c.
    Reply