A Trio of Thermaltake Towers
by Joshua Buss on August 16, 2006 2:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Thermaltake Eureka - Installation
We'll wrap up our look at the Eureka by stepping through some of the installation steps of our standard ATX test bed. First up was putting the power supply into place, which is easy thanks to the ample space above it. Next we mounted the motherboard to the removable tray, which had all the appropriate standoff positions clearly labeled just like all Thermaltake cases we've looked at lately.
As noted earlier, slipping the tray into place was easy as well. There were really no cable problems to speak of - there is plenty of room for even the most complicated server builds, and the very standard layout only amplifies this point.
A close-up of the expansion card clip shows how it supports the weight of our 6600GT video card. To undo the strip one has to lift on the green plastic tab at the top.
In another effort to simplify things the Eureka keeps the 5.25" rails behind each drive bay cover.
Once our install was completed we noticed how much the honeycomb grill acts like a standard case window, letting users see the contents of their computer - especially if there are extra lights inside. With this much venting on the side though, we worried that the case might not adequately cool the hard drives.
Many cases are designed to create a "wind tunnel" effect from the front of the case to the rear fans; all of the venting can negate that type of air flow, so the end result is almost like removing the side panels altogether. That may or may not cool effectively, but before temperature testing let's look at the third case in the comparison.
We'll wrap up our look at the Eureka by stepping through some of the installation steps of our standard ATX test bed. First up was putting the power supply into place, which is easy thanks to the ample space above it. Next we mounted the motherboard to the removable tray, which had all the appropriate standoff positions clearly labeled just like all Thermaltake cases we've looked at lately.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
As noted earlier, slipping the tray into place was easy as well. There were really no cable problems to speak of - there is plenty of room for even the most complicated server builds, and the very standard layout only amplifies this point.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
A close-up of the expansion card clip shows how it supports the weight of our 6600GT video card. To undo the strip one has to lift on the green plastic tab at the top.
In another effort to simplify things the Eureka keeps the 5.25" rails behind each drive bay cover.
Once our install was completed we noticed how much the honeycomb grill acts like a standard case window, letting users see the contents of their computer - especially if there are extra lights inside. With this much venting on the side though, we worried that the case might not adequately cool the hard drives.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Many cases are designed to create a "wind tunnel" effect from the front of the case to the rear fans; all of the venting can negate that type of air flow, so the end result is almost like removing the side panels altogether. That may or may not cool effectively, but before temperature testing let's look at the third case in the comparison.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
43 Comments
View All Comments
cbuchach - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I have been looking to upgrade my case for some time now with my planned new build and really think the Aguila may fit the bill. Unfortunately the windowless version that I would be interested seems to be very hard to come by in the US at this time. We'll see.imaheadcase - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Yah been hard to find windowless one in the states, I found one but they inflated the price to like $300. lame.Budman - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
One word. YUCKKalessian - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I don't understand why you would say that. The Eureka is very plain... what kind of cases do you like?I think a black Aguila would look great.
imaheadcase - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
The agila is the only decent case, the others look like rejects from Voltron casting.Frumious1 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
There's a law on AnandTech case reviews: no matter what they might review, a bunch of people have to show up and grouse about how the cases look like crap, or they're nice looking but too expensive, or some other opinion followed by the statement that "no one would ever buy these...." Luckily, AnandTech seems to do a reasonable job of just presenting the facts on the cases and letting people decide for themselves whether or not they like how the case looks and would be interested in purchasing one.Too bad the Eureka is loud and cools the HDD/mosfets so poorly. Of course, I prefer a bit smaller cases anyway, and the Aguila looks pretty decent.
Frumious1 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Oh yeah - I still don't trust the big orange TT fans. Things spin pretty fast and make a decent racket in my experience. Maybe some of them are better now, but the older 120mm dayglo orange things were pretty mediocre. I'm actually surprised any of these cases can manage to come in under 40 dB! Guy I know bought an Armor last year; freakin' turbine that thing is! Doesn't need to blow dry his hair if he angles the fans properly....tk109 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I agree. They are ugly as butt.I saw the first one and I thought that maybe the rest will be better. But nope. One of them isn't too bad but I'd still not want to own it even if it was given to me. Like most of the case trends in recent years I think you have to be one of those super nerds to like em or something. They try way to hard on cases. Clean, straight, and simple is the way to go.
GoatMonkey - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Get yourself an iMac and be done with it then.
KorruptioN - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Or a Lian-Li.