Overclocker Cafe - Thermaltake VA8000 Armor Case

Thermaltake Armor VA8000 Armor Case

Manufacturer: Thermaltake
Supplied by: Thermaltake
Price: TBA

by Brian Tiller (2/22/2005)

Introduction

The best thing about PC cases is that their design is only limited by the imagination of the design team. Almost any limitation can be overcome with a bit of work and imagination. Thermaltake is one company that has proven this many times in the past with such products as the Shark, Tsunami and Xaser series cases. Today, we have their latest design innovation on hand, the Tt Armor VA8000 series chassis. This case incorporates many new design features as well as a few older and proven ones. Over the next few pages, we'll take a look to see how well the new meshes with the old.

Specifications:

Observed Dimensions: 533.4mm (H) x 222.25mm (W) x 571.5mm (L)
Observed Weight: 6.8Kg (15 pounds)
Construction: Aluminum
Drive Bays: Total: 13
5.25" : Up to 10
3.5" : Up to 8
Cooling: Included Front 120mm Intake (Blue LED)
Included Rear 120mm Exhaust (Blue LED), 90mm Exhaust
Included Top Mounted 90mm Exhaust
Top Mounted USB/audio/IEEE 1394 ports
Available Colors: Silver/Black
Expansion slots: 7
Motherboard Type: ATX, Micro ATX, Extended ATX, BTX
Optional: Thermaltake Pure Power PSU
BTX Compatibility Upgrade Kit
Side Panel Window

Before moving on, let me take a few moments to explain a few of the specifications as I'm sure some of you are by now convinced that I can't count above 10. There are a total of 13 drive bays on this case. Some of the drive bays can be used for either a 5.25" drive or a 3.5" drive.

I'm sure that some of you also noticed that there is a BTX motherboard kit available for this case. If you're wondering just what BTX is, and how it affects case design, AnandTech has a great in-depth article for you to check out. The short of it is that when (if) BTX motherboards become the accepted standard, most current cases will be left out in the cold. We'll hit on this a bit later in the review as we go over the BTX upgrade kit.