Thermaltake Tai Chi Water Cooled Case (VB5001SNA)

Conclusion

As you can see, performance wise, the Thermaltake Tai Chi case performs exceptionally well.  I was surprised to see it surpass our Tt Symphony which is one of the more impressive water coolers I've ever seen.  The Tai Chi bested this by almost three degrees and don't forget the Symphony is an external system and the Tai Chi internal.  Performance is also measured on the subjective scale of sound.  Under power and in operation I never could not hear the case's fans running over the din of the system's PSU and VGA cooler fan but I could hear the water circulating very faintly - effectively silent.

It's hard to forget that this is a case review with this case haven't such fantastic cooling ability in its native water cooling system.  The Tt Tai Chi case builds on its look of performance though the convection fins about the outer surfaces of the case itself.  Not that you would see much difference in ambient case temps because of the 120mm intake and three 120mm exhaust fans (one for case, two for radiator) expelling the case's internal air certainly keep case temperature WELL in hand.  The many extras such as the bezel tray and FDD/Power button insert bring out an already outstanding case. 

We did have some concerns about the Tai Chi.  Pretty much all of these are mitigated by one thing or another however.  The first is the weight.  19.5 kilos is one heavy box.  The Tai Chi has wheels so the weight is off set but wheels add height.  Our observed height is with the wheels on and in this dress, the Tai Chi barely had enough clearance to fit under my desk.  It goes without saying here, access to the top mounted access ports is out.  Folks also aren't likely to put a case this heavy with wheels on their desk.  That is a placement issue that will differ from user to user so I'm not going to focus on this above pointing it out. 

The radiator lines really are the only problem and that is only if you aren't paying attention.  I was able to observe and resolve the problem pretty quickly as any regular OCCer would be able to as well.  With that said, I think the problem is not with the water lines themselves but rather the manual in not pointing out a length to cut the lines or in its not warning the end user to watch out for kinking at certain lengths.

In spite of having a few issues, all of which are mitigated to some degree and its hard not to love the Tt Tai Chi case.  It has a great look and great performance.  Pricing is not for the faint of heart coming in at at MSRP of $464.  The very solid and liberal use of metal in the Tai Chi will cost more on the manufacture side.  Add in a high end water cooling kit and I would expect to see a street price of $350 or $375 for this case/cooling combination.  If you have the bank in your pocket and are thrilled with the Tai Chi, I can tell you I don't think you will be disappointed after the fact with this case in the least.  As such, it comes with our highest recommendation.

Pros

• Fantastic performance

• Exceptionally solid construction

• Convection fins on case rock!

• FDD/Power button/LED indicator insert

• Bezel tray for CDs, tools, whatever

• Tool free drive installation with thumb screws

• BTX compatible

• Screw type water line fittings

• Near universal application for water block

• Near silent operation

Cons:

• Solid construction also equates to heavy

• Not exactly inexpensive at $464

• Have to be careful and attentive to water lines to ensure you don't kink them.

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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