Putting together the system was reasonably straight forward, as you can see spacing in the case gets rather tight after all the hardware is installed. This becomes even more apparent when you try to shoe- horn an 8800 series card into the system. Hence I would not recommend this case for the higher end system builder. It just does not offer enough space. This is really no fault of the case as it is a mid-tower but simply something to think about if you are considering this case in for your future build.
Mounting your motherboard is simple enough; all of the standard mounting holes are available for BTX, ATX, and MATX motherboards. Like other case you need to install the motherboard standoff in the appropriate wholes in the mounting plate. Make sure you do not accidently install an extra standoff as this can cause the board to ground out and could potentially damage something. I would also recommend installing the CPU and memory to the board before installing the board into the case this helps avoid issues when mounting these parts after the board is installed.
The hard drive cage allows you free up some space by mounting the drives sideways; you actually gain a good inch in extra room, all of which is needed to fit our water cooler in the system. The 8600 series graphics card installed ok but again you can see that space is at a premium. The water cooler we installed is really just to show it is possible to use water cooling in this case. Water cooling provides more efficient and quiet cooling as opposed to air. But as you can see by the picture with the pump and reservoir installed there is really no space left for other expansion cards.
The tool less retention bar makes the installation of your expansion cards simple and hassle free. We had no trouble installing our video card into this case, the tool-less system worked perfectly once again. Throughout the assembly one nice feature became apparent and it's something that you may not notice on your case. The entire inside of this case is rounded to prevent you from cutting yourself. Now if you have not built a lot of computers this may not sound like a big deal. For those of us who have, we know that a cheaply made case can feature edges sharp enough to cut your finger directly to the bone.
Installing the optical drives is a breeze; once again good design shows through, the entire front door of the case is on a hinge. This allows the entire assembly to swing open revealing the steel front skeleton of the case. Once open you can remove the covers off of the drive bays you intend to use and then it's as simple as attaching the drive rails to your optical drives and sliding them into place. Again no screwdrivers or any other tools needed. When you are all done installing your drives the door closes and is secured by a sturdy lock. This case also features a movable front panel that contains the power and reset buttons as well as spot to mount either a floppy drive or another 3.5 inch device such as a card reader. It's a simple feature but it allows you to place the power and reset buttons in the most convenient spot. So if you're placing the tower on the floor then putting the power buttons near the top is ideal where as if you place the case on desk then having the controls near the bottom is the ideal solution. The fact that you can mount a card reader next to the power controls makes this even nicer as it puts a lot of functionality close at hand, Again a small feature that really shows the level of detail that ThermalTake has.
