Today for review I’ve got another case
from Thermaltake called the V3 Black Edition. This case is a low
priced case, coming in at around $50, so don’t expect the features or
amenities that you’d find in a high priced case, it is though a
decent case overall. It’s lightweight and seems well made, there is
room for larger video cards, but I did run into a couple problems
with it, so read on…
Product
Name: Thermaltake
V3 Black Edition PC Case
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: Thermaltake
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
USD : $49.99
P/N: VL80001W2Z
Features:
-Black coating makes stylish
inside look
-Bottom-placed PSU design for
better and easier installation
-Metal mesh front bezel for
maximum air intake
-Built-in filter in 5.25″
drive bay and PSU to keep dust away
-Rear 120mm silent fan with
brilliant Blue LED
Case Type: Mid Tower
Material: SECC
Front Bezel Material: Plastic
Color: Black
Side Panel: Windowed
Motherboard Support : MicroATX
/ Full ATX
5.25″ Drive Bay: 4
Ext. 3.5″ Drive Bay: 1
Int. 3.5″ Drive Bay: 4
Expansion Slots: 7
Front I/O Ports:
-USB 2.0 x 2
-HD Audio ports
Cooling System:
– Front (intake) : 120 x 120 x
25 mm (optional)
–
Rear (exhaust) : 120 x 120 x 25 mm TurboFan (1300 rpm, 17 dBA, 50.0 CFM)
– Top(exhaust) : 120 x 120 x 25
mm (optional)
– Bottom(intake) : 120 x 120 x
25 mm (optional)
Power Supply Supported:
Standard ATX PSII(optional)
Dimension (H*W*D):
430(H) x 190(W) x 473(L) mm
16.9(H) x 7.5(W) x 18.6(L) in
Net Weight: 4.8 kg / 10.6 lb.
Price:
$44.82 (from Amazon at time of review)
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
– Outside}
A
Better Look at Things -Outside:
As like most cases out there
today, the V3 is packed well with styrofoam:
It’s covered with semi-adhesive
plastic on parts that could be damaged during shipping as well:
On the top of the case you’ll find
two spaces for 120mm fans.
Moving to the back of the case
you’ll notice the power supply mounts on the bottom and there’s a fan
pre-installed for you. There’s also holes for liquid cooling tubing
to pass through as well.
The left side has a small window
in it where your CPU/Cooler would be located and below that is a
square of holes for ventilation, it’s placed where your video cards
would be.
On the front you’ll find four
5.25” drive bays and one 3.5” bay located beneath the USB and
audio ports. On the right side you’ll find the power and reset
buttons, and the left side is where you’ll see the hard drive
indicator.
On the bottom you’ll find four
rubber feet along with ventilation for the case and for the PSU. You
can mount a fan on the inside bottom of the case if you wish to.
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
– Inside}
A
Better Look at Things -Inside:
Taking the side off, the first
thing you’ll notice is that the motherboard tray is cut out for easy
installation and swapping of CPU coolers. There’s also a bag a screws
etc in the drive bay.
Here’s a look at the fan, it’s
clear but it will light up blue when powered on.
Inside you’ll find plenty of room
for hard drives. The odd thing about this case is that they only
included three tool-less style clips, one for a 5.25” drive, one
for a hard drive and one for a 3.5” device.
Here’s the back of the motherboard
tray, you can see the wires coming out from the front and they’re
long enough to reach the motherboard headers I’m sure.
There’s no front fan installed in
the case when it arrives, but you can add one if you want. The front
bays covers do have air filters on them, so some air does get through
to help keep your system cool.
Here’s the bottom of the case,
there’s a small ‘L’ shaped bracket there that’s to help hold the PSU
in place, why I’m not too sure.. There’s also a filter there as well
for the PSU.
{mospagebreak title=Installation}
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
So I installed my system in the
the V3 case.
I quickly found out that I had to
remove that ‘L’ shaped bracket on the bottom of the case to install
my power supply, again I have to wonder why this thing is here…
The
video card is a Sparkle
Calibre GTX260,
which is a big card. The first thing I noticed is that the card fits,
but only if there are no hard drives in the cage across from it.
Smaller cards of course would have no issues with this.
The
next small issue I ran across was the CPU cooler, the Noctua
NH-U12P cooler I’m using is big but not a large as some are, but I couldn’t
install it vertically as the fan clips hit the rear fan. If I rotated
the cooler to a vertical position it fit fine.
I also found that there’s not much
room in the case either near the top of the cooler.
Then next I had an issue with
connecting the second 12V power connection to my motherboard, there’s
like no room at the top of the case at all to work. This situation
only applies to motherboards where the power connection is at the
top, but sadly that’s most motherboards today.
The fan on the rear of the case
does have blue LEDs in it, and it’s fairly quiet.
On the front of the case you’ll
find that the LED inside of the power button lights up blue when
turned on.
It might seem like I ran into a
lot of problems, but really not, it was just in the area around the
CPU that the issues arose, it’s just very tight to work in. The best
thing to do would have been to attach the power cable before
installing it in the case.
Summary
and Comments:
The V3 Black Edition is a
lightweight case, one of the lightest out there I would think, I was
very surprised by how light it is. It does seem well made, and I like
the fact that it is painted black inside.
It’s not a bad case if you have
the right fit components, but even then you’ll find yourself fighting
a bit with things as it’s a bit of a cramped case, especially around
the CPU area.
It’s a nice basic, low-end or low
priced case.
DragonSteelMods gives the V3 Black
Edition PC Case a 4 out of 5 score.
Pros:
+Lightweight case
+Decently made
+Enough room for large video cards
Cons:
-Tight at top of case
-Only a couple clips for drives
included
-Only one fan in case
review#657
Disclosure: This product was given to DragonSteelMods for review by the company
for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for
the review, we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment
from companies to review their products.
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learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.