Thermaltake Tai Chi Water Cooled Case (VB5001SNA)

With the finger screws removed, the doors open up like an armoire.  Your attention is drawn immediately to the inner side of the left door.  Here we find an oversized radiator measuring 270 x 220 x 33mm cooled by two 120mm fans.  The 12v pump is at the bottom and is rated at moving 84 liters of fluid per hour.  Above this you can see a black cap which is for the unit's reservoir.   We found fluid capacity to be just a tad over 300 ml for anyone interested.  The hydraulic pump visible at the top of the door is a great idea.  Most of us install case components with the case laid on its side.  The pump you see helps keep the door open and won't allow it to slam closed should you bump the case while you're working inside.  Now it will not support the weight of the door alone to keep it halfway open rather just there as a safety against jarring slams.

  

Moving further in you can see the 120mm LED exhaust fan just above a tool free expansion card holder.  The green tabs open and close over any expansion card to hold them in place.  The entire assembly is held in place with a couple of screws and can be easily removed if you so choose.

Another thickness comment.  My fingers are on the power supply support.  Usually these are pretty thin, designed for minimal weight.  Not this puppy; I think it could support me.

The mainboard tray is colored black and has all its mounting points labeled for ATX, Micro, Extended etc.  Very cool.  Thermaltake cites the Tai Chi's mainboard tray as being removable.  I did not see a fast way to remove it.  There are number of case screws that appear to allow removal of the board but these appear to be more than you would need to mount a board to begin with.  Don't mess with success, slide out rear trays are the only way to fly for removable mainboard trays.

  

The front area on the Tai Chi shows a straight forward drive area.  Drives are installed via a tool free system I'm surprised we haven't seen before... thumbscrews.  Simple is best.  The lower drive rack you see in the first pic is removable and can accept up to three 3.5" drives in it.  Before we pull that out have a look at the panel control wires and the USB, Firewire and Audio port plugs.  Plugs infinitely more preferable to individual wires that will make you pull your hair out.  Kudos to Thermaltake. 

     

The right side panel we mentioned earlier, opens up to reveal the opposing drive mounting points.  Our drive rack was secured with thumb screws on either side that were easily removed and without any tools I should add.  The rack itself is a three tier number with the 120mm front LED blue intake fan mounted on the face to assist in keeping drives running cool and within spec.

     
 

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Pg 1 - Introduction
Pg 2 - A closer look
Pg 3 - A longer look
Pg 4 - Inside
Pg 5 - Water cooling goodies
Pg 6 - Operation/Performance
Pg 7 - Conclusion