Freakitchen
03-23-2006, 05:05 PM
After struggling for a while to find a case I like for my main system, I settled upon the Thermaltake Shark. Here is an attempted review.
From many system builds I see on the forums, it's very clear that some people like very ostentatious cases for their new builds, and others prefer the simplest of black/beige boxes. Part of the reason that my hunt for a case took so long, is that I'm stuck between these opinions. I really dislike the in-your-face look of some cases, (thinking Aspire here), yet would prefer to have something a little distinctive for my main system.
The Shark, i feel, combines these two well. No perspex side window here, instead a portion of the side is constructed in open honeycomb metal, allowing to see inside the case. It looks pretty nice, although there is a downside to it (more on this later). The front follows the shark theme, with metal contours and a single blue LED casting a light on the top half of the front door, that runs the full length of the case. Very elegant, in my opinion.
For ease of reading, I'll split the remainder of the review into PROs and CONs.
PROs
1. It looks are great. Distinctive, without being too flashy. See above.
2. All Aluminium construction means the case feels ice cold to the touch. Moreover, it keeps the weight down - quite important as the weight soon piles on as components are added.
3. Drive rail system. This works VERY well for the Optical drives, and the external 3.5" (floppy). It's now much easier to swap things around as necessary, than it was with my old screw-based case.
4. Some quality cooling. Twin 120mm fans are the ideal setup, and they work well here. My system temperatures have dropped between 5 and 10 degrees from my old, smaller case with twin 80mm fans. The front fan has a dust filter - important if the case sits on a carpet, while the rear fan has blue LEDs, lighting up the interior.
5. General quality. The case is well put together, with sharp edges kept to a minimum. A removable motherboard tray allows easier building, while the front Aluminium door is on a strong metal hinge, preventing easy breakage.
CONs.
1. Hard Drive orientation. Continuing with the rail theme, the hard drives are easy to move around. However, the drives sit sideways in the case. This posed a problem, in that the SATA data cables - which cannot be bent at right angles like IDE, press against the side door, straining them somewhat. SATA connectors, being the flimsy things they are, do not like being strained.
2. Cable tidying. Even in a large case like this one, the hard drive rail system poses a problem, in that it's not an empty space where cables can be tucked. It takes quite a bit of time, therefore, getting this right - especially since the system comes with three items (2 fans and the front LED) to be powered, each with bulky pass-through connectors.
3. The front bezel. Having a front fan filter is great, if you can get to it. The problem with the Shark is that to do so, you must remove the entire front bezel, which is a tricky process. 6 Clips have to be removed in all, and with the plethora of cables running to the front bezel, it's equally tricky to re-attach it without trapping them.
4. The front door. When the door is closed, the air to the front fan is virtually blocked. To ensure efficient operation of this fan, therefore, it's necessary to keep the front door ajar. Surely it would have been easy for Thermaltake to encorporate some air gaps into the design on the door, as they did with the Tsunami dream case.
A Conclusion
I'm happy with this case overall. It's certainly an improvement over my previous, cheapo case, although it is double the price. I paid £80 GBP for it. It does exude quality in many ways, and in ways other than visual, however, I feel that the 'annoyances' it brings to the party could have been fixed with little effort. Having worked with the Tsunami dream case, I'd have to say it beats the Shark on usability. Just.
FK
From many system builds I see on the forums, it's very clear that some people like very ostentatious cases for their new builds, and others prefer the simplest of black/beige boxes. Part of the reason that my hunt for a case took so long, is that I'm stuck between these opinions. I really dislike the in-your-face look of some cases, (thinking Aspire here), yet would prefer to have something a little distinctive for my main system.
The Shark, i feel, combines these two well. No perspex side window here, instead a portion of the side is constructed in open honeycomb metal, allowing to see inside the case. It looks pretty nice, although there is a downside to it (more on this later). The front follows the shark theme, with metal contours and a single blue LED casting a light on the top half of the front door, that runs the full length of the case. Very elegant, in my opinion.
For ease of reading, I'll split the remainder of the review into PROs and CONs.
PROs
1. It looks are great. Distinctive, without being too flashy. See above.
2. All Aluminium construction means the case feels ice cold to the touch. Moreover, it keeps the weight down - quite important as the weight soon piles on as components are added.
3. Drive rail system. This works VERY well for the Optical drives, and the external 3.5" (floppy). It's now much easier to swap things around as necessary, than it was with my old screw-based case.
4. Some quality cooling. Twin 120mm fans are the ideal setup, and they work well here. My system temperatures have dropped between 5 and 10 degrees from my old, smaller case with twin 80mm fans. The front fan has a dust filter - important if the case sits on a carpet, while the rear fan has blue LEDs, lighting up the interior.
5. General quality. The case is well put together, with sharp edges kept to a minimum. A removable motherboard tray allows easier building, while the front Aluminium door is on a strong metal hinge, preventing easy breakage.
CONs.
1. Hard Drive orientation. Continuing with the rail theme, the hard drives are easy to move around. However, the drives sit sideways in the case. This posed a problem, in that the SATA data cables - which cannot be bent at right angles like IDE, press against the side door, straining them somewhat. SATA connectors, being the flimsy things they are, do not like being strained.
2. Cable tidying. Even in a large case like this one, the hard drive rail system poses a problem, in that it's not an empty space where cables can be tucked. It takes quite a bit of time, therefore, getting this right - especially since the system comes with three items (2 fans and the front LED) to be powered, each with bulky pass-through connectors.
3. The front bezel. Having a front fan filter is great, if you can get to it. The problem with the Shark is that to do so, you must remove the entire front bezel, which is a tricky process. 6 Clips have to be removed in all, and with the plethora of cables running to the front bezel, it's equally tricky to re-attach it without trapping them.
4. The front door. When the door is closed, the air to the front fan is virtually blocked. To ensure efficient operation of this fan, therefore, it's necessary to keep the front door ajar. Surely it would have been easy for Thermaltake to encorporate some air gaps into the design on the door, as they did with the Tsunami dream case.
A Conclusion
I'm happy with this case overall. It's certainly an improvement over my previous, cheapo case, although it is double the price. I paid £80 GBP for it. It does exude quality in many ways, and in ways other than visual, however, I feel that the 'annoyances' it brings to the party could have been fixed with little effort. Having worked with the Tsunami dream case, I'd have to say it beats the Shark on usability. Just.
FK