Thermaltake - The Tower 900

[Noir Angel]

The Tower 900 is a high end PC case, designed primarily for people building high end water cooling systems, it is a massive case designed for people with very high end cooling requirements, and can fit M-ATX, E-ATX and ATX motherboards, and has mounts for 2 water cooling reservoirs, as well the accompanying pumps.

 

SPEC:

• Type: Full Tower
• Dimension (HxWxD): 752mm X 423mm X 483mm
• Total Weight: 24.5KG (minus hardware)
• Material: SCGG (Tempered glass front and side panels)
• Cooling: 2x 14 CM fans @ 1000 RPM
• Drive Bays: 2x 2.5 inch, 6x 3.5 inch, 1x 5.25 inch
• Expansion Slots: 8
• IO Ports: 4x USB 3.0, 1x Front HD Audio
• PSU Support: Standard PS/2 PSU
• Fan Support: 4x 12/14 cm left/right side, 2x 12/14cm top, 2x 12/14cm rear, 1x 12/14cm HDD Cage)

Design

The tower 900 is a very visually striking case, it has 3 front panels made of tinted tempered glass, which allows for 8 180 degree view of the internal components. It actually has a cover on the top of the case (which can be clipped / unclipped), and is divided into 2 compartments. The PSU, and 4 of the hard drive trays are mounted in the rear of the case (with the other 2 mounted at the bottom). The case also contains 2 specially designed SSD trays which allows for a total of hard drives to be installed and mounted into the case. The case has a single 5.25 inch slot for an optical drive at the bottom of the case. Plenty of routing holes are provided for the routing of cables, and almost all cables can be routed through the compartment at the rear of the case, allowing the front of the case to be kept almost completely clean and uncluttered, allowing for excellent airflow. 2 powerful 14cm case fans are provided and installed on the top of the case, and can be attached to the 3/4 pin headers on your motherboard. Both are 1,000 RPM fans.

 

One striking feature of this case that makes it stand out from other cases is that the motherboard is mounted vertically rather than horizontally, placing the I/O panel on top of the case instead of at the rear. The top of the case can be unclipped if extra items need to be plugged in, and thermaltake also provide 2 USB extension cables. The clip on top of the case has cable routing holes, allowing you to connect all your peripherals then attach the top, hiding the cables from view. The fans ventilate through the top of the case. The vertical mounting of the motherboard also eliminates GPU sag, and reduces the strain on the PCI-E slot, hopefully allowing for longer GPU and motherboard life.

 

All areas where fans can be attached (including the area to which the PSU is mounted) are protected on the outside by magnetic dust catchers, which should drastically reduce the amount of dust that gets drawn into the case.

 

Connectivity

The case has 4 USB 3.0 ports on the front, next to the power button as well as a HD audio connection, allowing headphones and a microphone to be plugged into the front of the case. Unfortunately, my current motherboard only has one USB 3.0 header, meaning only 2 of the front ports are functional, however I intend to upgrade once Ryzen CPUs become available.

 

Installation

Given the size of the case, installation was for the most part easy. However the PSU slot on the case isn't that big, and my larger than usual PSU only just squeaked its way into the slot. The PSU is also mounted directly behind the 5.25 inch drive slot, however the metal housing is corrugated, meaning that the PSU should easily be able to draw in enough air.

 

All of the 3.5 inch drive bays were designed for easy tool free installation. The SSD brackets provided however need screwing in, and the 5.25 inch drive bay also needed screws. Installing my optical drive proved troublesome, as there is not enough space inside the case for a conventional length screwdriver, which required me to secure the screws by hand, before tightening them with a miniature non-magnetic screwdriver. Installation of the 3.5 inch drives was very easy, and plenty of routing holes are made available meaning that cable management was very easy. Almost all SATA signal cables, and drive power cables are routed through the compartment at the rear of the case, allowing for the main compartment containing the motherboard and hardware to be kept remarkably clean. Where cable management is concerned, this is by far the easiest and most tidy build that I have ever completed.

However the immense size of the case did cause me a problem. The 4 pin ATX connector on my PSU wasn't quite long enough, meaning I needed to buy myself an extension cable. However all of my PSU's other cables reached, quite an impressive feat given the size of the case. Installing the rest of my hardware was easy, and the case already had motherboard sink screw mounts in place for ATX and E-ATX cases, meaning I didn't have to screw a single sink into the case.

 

The case alone weighs 24.5 kilos, installation of hardware can easily bring it up to 35 kilos, and that combined with its bulk might make it difficult for some people to lift and move.

 

Look & Feel

The Tower 900, despite its size is a very attractive looking tower (available in black or white). The tempered glass panels give it a very premium look, most cabling is hidden from view, and the metal grilles allow for easy escape of air. Despite the powerful case fans, the case is not overly noisy, however it is not completely quiet. No fan controller is provided, however one can be installed in the 5.25 inch drive bay. The size of the case gives it a very impressive and striking look, and no photos can really do it justice. You have to see it in person to get a feel for what an impressive piece of kit it is.

 

Cooling

With an air cooler (Dark Rock BeQuiet Pro), and running at 4.8 GHZ @ 1.4v, CPU temperature remained below 70c. The motherboard remained at 31c for most of the test, and the temperature of all components stayed within a healthy range, all in all the cooling prowess of this tower is excellent.

 

Summing Up

The Tower 900 won't be everyone's cup of tea. The immense size means that it won't fit under a lot of desks, and it will not be in everyone's price range. The fact that you have to unclip the top to get access to the IO ports might bother some users, and some people's PSUs might have cables that simply aren't long enough. However it is also a very impressive looking piece of equipment, and it has room for a vast amount of cooling fans, as well as supporting a CPU and GPU liquid cooling setup. If you're building a high end liquid cooled rig, you won't get many towers better than this, and even if, like me, you aren't water cooling, the excellent airflow as well as the superb cable management options still make this a great case.

 

Score: 9/10

 

Pro:

• High end airflow and liquid cooling options
• Looks fantastic
• Easy setup and installation
• Room for a lot of hardware (6 hard drive plus 2 SSD)
• Vertical mounting reduces load on GPU and PCI-E slot, eliminating GPU sag
• Excellent cable management

Con:

• Size might make it impractical for some people, won't fit under most desks
• Too heavy to place on a table, not easy to lift and move
• Installation of 5.25 inch drive a bit tricky
• The sheer size of the case means that some PSUs might not have long enough cables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Gallery

 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Javik

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

That is a very neat tower I saw some of the other ones in your link. A tad pricey but they will keep it cool..

[Noir Angel]

The size means it won't be for everyone, but i'm very happy with my purchase. It's a lovely looking piece of kit, the vertical mounting makes a lot of sense and is good for your hardware. Towers like that are mostly for liquid systems but it has merits for every PC builder. It's among the best on the market in cooling performance and I think it looks truly incredible. I certainly agree about the price, but it offers a hell of a lot for the money. Size and weight are really the only reasons i'd advise anyone against getting one. I love it!

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

8 hours ago, Javik said:

The size means it won't be for everyone, but i'm very happy with my purchase. It's a lovely looking piece of kit, the vertical mounting makes a lot of sense and is good for your hardware. Towers like that are mostly for liquid systems but it has merits for every PC builder. It's among the best on the market in cooling performance and I think it looks truly incredible. I certainly agree about the price, but it offers a hell of a lot for the money. Size and weight are really the only reasons i'd advise anyone against getting one. I love it!

The other cases that were all glass were really nice.

[Noir Angel]

4 hours ago, Gary7 said:

The other cases that were all glass were really nice.

Indeed, it's nice to see cases that showcase our equipment doing its thing. Plus the Sapphire logo on my new GPU has colour changing LEDs, it would be a shame to put that to waste! In fact I've also brought myself some case fans with more LEDs, I intend to make the most of this case

[wicanbrewllc]

what psu do you recommend? my 8 pin connector is too dang short for the msi 970 gaming mobo