Final Words

Now that we've compared these heavyweights in gory detail, it's time to decide a winner, right? Well, the tough part is that both cases are simply amazing, yet still have a couple of quirks. For starters, these were two of the easiest units that we've ever worked in, yet each one had small annoyances in this arena. The Tai Chi's automatic door is sweet, but turning four thumbscrews each time you want to open it up is not. Sure, one could leave only one screw in, but that's not really the ideal solution. Then there's the Stacker 830's great motherboard tray that eats itself away in normal usage. Again, a simple solution exists – perhaps one could just sand the sharp edges that sit at the entrance to these rails, but is that a perfect solution either?

Minor annoyances aside, these cases both cool amazingly well, offer loads of expansion, and look good to boot. What then are you gaining by spending the premium for the more expensive Tai Chi? First off, casters. On cases this large, it's amazing how much of a difference this simple addition makes. Also, the configurability of the 830 is awesome, but the myriad of various pieces and thinner aluminum construction left us questioning the unit's sturdiness over extended use. The Tai Chi leaves one feeling confident in taking a computer in it anywhere – it's really built like a tank. This, of course, makes the Tai Chi heavier as well, but who are we kidding - neither of these is remotely near “ultra portable” status.

When it comes right down to it, these are both units that an extreme enthusiast with funds aplenty will want to consider seriously for their next mega-rig. We see there being just a few key factors that will sway a potential buyer in the appropriate direction. In no particular order, here's a list of factors, an opinion of what case does a better job in each category, and the degree to which that case beats the competitor. (In order from most to least severe: Extreme, Substantial, Somewhat, Minor).

The only extreme victory is due to the Tai Chi's use of bolts to attach everything, which is practically a first in the industry and makes it a modder's delight. Its plastic retention clips, which we found problematic with an Audigy 2 – a very popular PCI card indeed – aren't going to be an issue for plenty of people, so we'll forgive Thermaltake for this one small mistake, considering that everything else about the Tai Chi is fantastic. The ability to hold various (even multiple) water cooling pumps and radiators, and the inclusion of 3/8” holes, 1/8” thick aluminum paneling throughout, huge ability for holding drives, and passive radiative design are all strengths of the Tai Chi, and in our opinion, nearly justify its exorbitant price tag (~$320!).

The 830's pros are its ease-of-use and configurability options out-of-the-box (to get BTX support with the Tai Chi, one has to buy the appropriate rear plate separately). For roughly $70 or so less (~$250), the Stacker 830 gets a strong nod of approval from us for value, which along with the fantastic performance and great ease-of-use also almost justifies its relatively high price too.

We want to extend our congratulations to both companies for pushing the envelope in case design – desktop computer cases simply don't get much better than this, and if these designs are any indications of things to come in this industry, the case and cooling world is in for a treat.

Benchmark Comparisons
Comments Locked

55 Comments

View All Comments

  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    What about direct links to images? Does that work?
    http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/roundups...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/roundups...
  • Jojo7 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    No.
  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Try a refresh. Sometimes the image server gets a bit bogged down.
  • latino666 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Still can't get crap. I notice this problem also with the newegg article too. Man oh man did I want to see those pics.
  • ATWindsor - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    The tai-chi has gigantic heat-sinks on the side, but to me they seem like little more then a gimmick. Almost nothing is in physical contact with them, and when they are only taking heat fom air, they seem to be virtually useless. I bet the diffrences if one had a "standard" side would be hardly measurable.

    The CM 830 surly is more ugly than the old model IMHO, It doesn't quit have that "large clean beast"-feeling anymore.
  • Cygni - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    It seems they were going for the look of the Zalman completly fanless case, but didnt bother to install the flush mount PSU or heatpipes that ran into the doors, haha. :p Oh well.
  • Tamale - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    I'd call it a 'large techno beast' now ;)
  • Howard - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    The 3/8" holes in the Tai Chi can easily be bored out with a twist drill bit (the regular ones) in a cordless drill. At least, they would be if the material is aluminum, and I think it is.
  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Yah, but it's still much easier when it can be taken apart and pieces can be worked on individually.
  • Googer - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Could you invert the motherboard on the CM Stacker by installing the tray on the left side in place of the usual right side? If you could possibly allow for better CPU cooling sine the processor would be sitting on the bottome getting plenty of cool air and allowing hot exhaust to escape upwards.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now