Thermaltake Bach HTPC Case

The Rig

The Thermaltake Bach grabs your attention with its crisp lines and diminutive stature.  Sized as a miniature desktop, the Thermaltake Bach measures a mere 172 x 430 x 448mm in size.  HTPC case size is a tightrope walk for manufacturers; size a case large and get flamed for weight and aesthetics, size it too small and get flamed for lack of expansion area and concern over its sturdiness if you stack stuff on it like other components or a monitor.  We’ll have to see as the review progresses if Thermaltake got the balancing act of size right with their Bach.  Let’s have a closer look at the exterior view.

As you can see, our review unit is black with some very interesting lines.  These are in part attributable to Thermaltake taking the time to manufacture the front bezel of aluminum allowing for a more elegant look and shape.  Beginning at the left, you can see the mic, speaker, USB ports x2 and single Firewire port lined up vertically along that edge.  Just to the right of this is concave cutout in the bezel’s face.  The Bach’s bezel is broken up into three distinct areas; ports, VFD and drive area.  The center or rather left of center area is the VFD display area primarily.  Just below the display is the power/reset buttons as well as the power on and HDD activity lamps.

The right side are is a bit of an oddity.  From the previous pictures, it superficially looks like an aluminum plate with a lone stealth drive at the top.  That would be an incorrect assumption.  Yes, the top most bay cover is a stealth drive cover alright but it is lacking a button to manually eject a CD/DVD.  Surprisingly, by pressing the top corner of the right side, a larger stealth plate drops down allowing access to three 5.25" optical drive bays.  Pretty cool I have to say.

Hiding around back are the expected seven expansion card slots, I/O plate and PSU area.  What is not immediately obvious here is the steel chassis these item are set in.  Thermaltake has split the difference with construction materials and in my opinion ended up with the best of both worlds; aluminum bezel for aesthetics and steel chassis for structural integrity.  Structural integrity is a big plus especially if you plan on stacking components.  Exhaust of the case's interior air is handled by two 60mm fans rated at 2500 RPM and 19 dBA.  The 60s are called for to keep the Bach's stature small so it can better blend in with your average A/V rack type component.

The top of the Thermaltake Bach has two venting areas.  The first is a hexagon shape measuring 70mm from side to opposing side.  While a bit offset, this is positioned to be an almost direct feed to the processor's cooling fan.  The other vent area measures 55 x 115mm and is positioned so as to be directly over any VGA cards you have installed.  The second picture below is the base of the Bach and its four small feet for anyone interested.

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Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - A Closer Look
Page 3 - Cracking the Hood
Page 4 - Installation / Conclusion