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Benchmark Results and Conclusion
Comparison Products
We tested the Talos P1A with our Intel Core i9-7900X test platform, comparing it against the DIYPC Trio-GT-RGB, the Cougar Panzer EVO RGB, the Fractal Design Define S2 Vision and Cooler Master MasterCase H500M with similar sizes and feature sets.
Heat
Triple 120mm intake fans provided a good deal of airflow into our test system. CPU temps maxed out at 60 degrees Celsius over ambient temperature. The lack of an exhaust fan created a positive pressure condition that ultimately did not have a positive or negative effect on cooling. To test this, we removed the bottom front intake fan and used it as an exhaust fan during testing. The results were less than one degree Celsius higher or lower.
GPU temperatures maxed out at 49 degrees Celsius over the ambient room temperature, on par with the other cases used for comparison.
Noise
We took sound pressure level readings with two off-the-shelf dB meters from two different angles. With the fan speed set at the maximum 1,200 rpm, our test system registered 30.5dBA at idle. With the test system under load, sound output increased to 35.5dBA, making it one of the louder chassis we have recently tested. That said, by moving the bottom front intake fan to the rear exhaust location, sound output levels dropped by almost 7% under load. This is due to the fact that the tapered front tempered glass panel leaves a large portion of the bottom-most intake fan exposed.
Value
Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value. Great thermal performance, combined with a low noise output, make this chassis very appealing compared to most of the cases in the comparison group with the exception of the DIYPC Trio-GT-RBG.
Bottom Line
The Gamdias Talos P1A is a very nice case, even when you take its shortcomings into consideration. The lack of an intake filter can be easily remedied, and most motherboards still lack a connector for front USB-C. So it all boils down to the fact that the Talos P1A at the time of writing is priced at least $20 lower than much of its direct competition (the Fractal was $178 at the time of writing, the Cougar $180 and the Cooler Master $200), with the exception of the phenomenally priced DIYPC Trio-GT-RGB ($70). That makes this is a solid value.
Image Credits: Tom's Hardware
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