Alright then, as mentioned the Tai Chi is available in two versions. The "normal" version, which we received for this review and one with liquid water-cooling built in. At the end of the photo shoot we'll however show you some pictures of the case with build in water-cooling. Do not mistake these photo's with Thermaltake's Tai Chi with built in water-cooling, oh wise Obi-wan. They use different cooling that is mounted inside the case left door panel. Quite lovely actually.
Let's wander through some of the more important specifications. This case is huge, it weighs roughly 20 kilograms when it's empty, I'm not kidding here. The dimensions of the bugger are
695x380x690 mm! The casing frame is made almost completely from brushed aluminum.
The first glance at the case to me resembled pure beauty. We already explained the tai-Chi Yin-Yang fixation and everyone knows the Ying-Yang logo right? When you look at the front door(s) it resembles that Yin-Yang logo. It has a very relaxed look and feel, very cool. Speaking of cool, the entire case is made of aluminum. However, the side panels are formed as cooling ribbons, this case will dissolve heat like a friggin madman. The aluminum is very conductive and the casing functions as a heatspreader. Next to that there is a large amount of ventilation. Top, rear, front and even at the bottom, which of course we'll show you in the next pages.
First off the casing has 11 drive bays of which 10 can be used for 5.25" and one for a 3.5" device. That's excluding the front fan though. So effectively you'll have six 5.25”, 3.5”x1 and three HD bays. Hey they call this a super tower for a good reason you know?
The mainboards you can use have to be of the ATX/BTX design (funny that BTX still isn't kicking in isn't it?). If you decide to go BTX you do need to order a relatively cheap BTX upgrade kit though, the rear backplate simply differs.
Of course your standard ATX power supply fits perfectly in there (there is no PSU supplied by the way) and needs to be installed through the inside.
The casing has hydraulic door opening, wheels with brakes, removable motherboard tray, 5.25" drive bay drawer
| Model |
Tai-Chi --- VB5000SNA |
| Case Type |
Super Tower |
| Net Weight |
17.1Kg |
| Dimension |
600 x 263 x 546 mm (H*W*D) |
| Cooling System |
Front (intake) |
120x120x25 mm, Blue LED Fan, 1300rpm, 17dBA |
|
Rear (exhaust) |
120 x 120 x25 mm blue LED fan, 1300rpm, 17dBA |
| Drive Bays |
| 11 |
|
Front Accessible |
10 x 5.25", 1 x 3.5" |
|
Internal |
3 x3.5" | |
| Material |
|
| Color |
Silver & Black |
| Expansion Slots |
7 |
| Motherboards |
Micro ATX, ATX, Extend ATX, BTX , Micro BTX, Pico BTX |
| BTX Upgrade Kits |
SRM / Rear plate (optional) |
| Features |
|
All aluminum extrusion built chassis |
|
Compact and stylish chassis |
|
BTX & ATX compatible |
|
Better choice for upgrading liquid cooling system |
|
Hydraulic side panel opening |
|
Tool-free installation |
|
Optimize internal space and airflow |
|
Support to 11 5.25'' drive bays |
|
Relocate-able front control panel (Power, Reset switch, HDD & PWR LEDs) |
|
Removable aluminum motherboard tray |
|
Easy Lifting Handles | |
Right enough techno rambling, let me walk you though the product with the help of an actual photo shoot.
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