CES 2009 - Cases, Coolers, and Power Supplies
by Christoph Katzer on January 14, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Thermaltake
Thermaltake had the most products on display out of all the companies we visited. Let's get started with the Xpressar, which is nothing new but Thermaltake now brings the cooling unit in the convenient format of a small box that fits into four 5.25" drive bays. You can get two units and cool your CPU and GPU with it, and if you have a larger chassis why not trying to fit three of them inside?
The Element S chassis is a new adventure for Thermaltake. It looks very sleek which is a new move for the company, since most other previous chassis were… let's just say different. The hard drive cage is removable and you can even turn it 90° so that the front of the hard drives faces the fans at the front of the case. We were shocked to see two 60mm fans at the back of the case, but Thermaltake won't actually ship the case with these fans; they only wanted to show what is possible. The company also thought a step ahead and the user will be possible to install 2.5" hard drives in this chassis, which is a very cool idea considering the number of 2.5" SSDs currently available.
Over the last year, Thermaltake has had quite a mess with its lineup of power supplies, and they want to straighten things up now. We saw many power supplies again, but nothing really new other than the Evo Blue - a funny looking product with blue LED lights. We also saw the TR2 QFan series that we have recommended more than once, and it seems that it's finally making its way to the market. Thermaltake claims the delays have been due to the high production costs and a "very small market" - which we find rather difficult to believe, considering the interest expressed by our readers in "reasonable" wattage PSUs. There are also a couple of higher wattage power supplies for some series to fill in gaps.
There were many cases on display as well but nothing particularly noteworthy. The HTPC section was interesting though. Thermaltake has two HTPC cases, the DH 103 and DH 104, and they're so big that you can fit in any kind of graphics card setup with an almost limitless number of hard drives. According to Thermaltake, there is a market where people want an HTPC with the latest high-end components for playing the latest high-end games in addition to other HTPC duties.
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legoman666 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
You said they'd see our comments about the case, so here it is.Get rid of the door. It serves no purpose, it is probably easily breakable, and it just blocks access to the drives.
JonnyDough - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I'm in agreement about the doors. What would be nice is to have OPTIONAL doors. Some cases have doors that just aren't easily removable if at all, and while some cases give you the option of removal, removing the door just leaves your case looking less than desirable/unsymmetrical. Also, the whole mesh cover thing is way overused. I personally don't much care for the look, and it serves little benefit. A very small FILTERED air slot between EACH bay would be ideal. Keep this in mind on future designs please. We want to keep the inside of our cases CLEAN, we want easily removable/washable filtration, and we want EACH BAY to receive a tiny bit of air flow. In fact, why not have a stick with filter "fingers" that slide into a slot. One pull and all the filters between the bays come out. Make it flexible/attachable/replaceable. I'm sure it can be done.My idea is kind of like this:
|----
|----
|----
|----
|----
|----
|----
Where the | = a connecting bar on the front side edge of the case
and
---- = filter fingers between bays.
Thanks.
JonnyDough - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Also, if any case designers like my idea feel free to get a hold of me through Anand. I have a ZILLION other fantastic case design ideas. I am creative, but unfortunately I am not very good with CAD.Christoph Katzer - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
You can be sure that the companies are reading each comment. The problem with front-doors is that some like it some not.JonnyDough - Saturday, January 17, 2009 - link
Doors provide a nicer look, and they protect the drives. Arguably, they can also keep the drives cleaner. The problem is that you have to open the door before you can use the drive. So if designers can make the front of the case look better, while still providing some protection then the problem is solved. I think what case designers need to do is perhaps borrow from the HTPC drive cases. HTPC cases sometimes incorporate an aluminum flap for the drive bays, which requires one to sometimes remove the front bezel or tray bezel from the DVD drive.What we really need is a new standard for disc drives and cases. The fundamental DVD drive bezel and case bezels need to be reinvented.
9nails - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
My only purpose for the door = Windows COA stickers.I don't like the looks of the COA stickers on my case, but from time to time I need to rebuild and read and need the number from the sticker. (I actually buy my software, so I have the sticker.) This is, when I don't bother to slipstream a CD/DVD with the Product Key preloaded in setup. It would be helpful for me, at least, to have an ID Card that slides out (maybe this can be a part of the Antec took box?) that I can put my XP, Vista, and probably soon to be Windows 7 stickers.
gemsurf - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
To Antec- Please upgrade the quality of the front usb port modules that come with many of your cases. The quality seems to have slipped the past year-(I have had 3 or 4 replacements for approximately 50 Antec builds). I love and am loyal to Antec cases, but these have been an annoyance!Additionally, with USB everything being used nowadays, and most motherboard manufacturers having atleast two internal USB headers, why are 4 front port usb connections so rare? I build or modify many systems based soley on the fact that I put either 4 or 6 (easy to get to) front usb ports.
gemsurf - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
Just to add to my above suggestions- I build alot of workstation systems and have been using the NSK 4400/4480 as my primary case. I like them for the quality and look and the Earthwatts 380 PS. A similar case, with the addition of 4 front USB ports, and an easier to open design would be near perfect in my little world.7Enigma - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
That's why the 500-550w PSU article hasn't been put up on anandtech. OK vacations over, gimme the review please! :DHopefully you have included the Tuniq Potency 550PS that Mr. Fink mentioned in the comments section of the $1000-2000 system builders article. I ended up purchasing it sight unseen due to the incredible price ($40 after $40 rebate). I didn't really want a new PSU, but couldn't pass up this *possible* deal.