Overclocker Cafe - Thermaltake VA8000 Armor Case

Thermaltake Armor VA8000 Armor Case

The VA8000 Armor is not the first case that Thermaltake has produced with the access ports located on the top of the case. Several of the Xaser series cases had them, such as the Xaser V.

However, here the concept has been combined with the thermal properties of the case. Over half of the top of the case has been designed with airflow in mind. Around the access ports, the case is perforated with a mesh design to maximize the airflow, even without the exhaust fan that can be mounted here.

The rear design of the case is also somewhat unique. The first item that I noticed was the size of the thumbscrews used for the windowed side panel. Of course, considering the size, I'd call them handscrews instead of thumbscrews, but their size makes them extremely easy to remove and replace.

As you can see, the power supply is intended to be mounted on it's side. This is due to the interior design layout. Besides the PSU opening is a 90mm exhaust fan while a 120mm fan is used for exhaust just below it and beside the read I/O opening.

Our review sample came with the optional windowed side panel. As you can see, it's an irregular cut design rather than a single larger window.

Besides the thumbscrews (read handscrews), the side panel can be secure with two locking latches, top and bottom. This is the only exterior design that I would consider to flawed on this case. Because both latches have to be pushed in to remove the panel, it's a bit tricky to push them to the case front and pull outwards at the same time. This makes the removal of the side panel a bit tricky.

But once the side panel is removed, you can see that the interior is very roomy with plenty of space to work in.

Not to mention that it's just bristling with features to point out and that you should be as pleased with as I was.

The most colorful of these are the tool free expansion slots.

By pulling the green handle back, it allows you to slide the expansion card in place.

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