Rosewill Thor v2: The God of Cooling and Silence?
by Dustin Sklavos on August 24, 2011 2:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Full-Tower
- Rosewill
In and Around the Rosewill Thor v2
If there's one major difference I've noticed between the Rosewill Thor v2 and the last case I reviewed, the SilverStone FT02, it's that the Thor is freaking huge and remarkably tall. So large in fact that I'm honestly surprised it's not more than 30 pounds, though Rosewill likely saved some steel (along with weight and effort by the end user) by going with a plastic top and face.
Most end users probably aren't going to need six 5.25" external bays, but Rosewill had the extra space and must've figured they might as well use it. One of the faceplates for the bays can be used to convert a bay to a 3.5" external, and below the column of bays is the enormous 230mm intake fan. Unlike the other fans, this one glows with red LEDs (as does the Thor logo at the top when the system is powered on), though as I mentioned before there's a button recessed next to the intake fan that can be used to toggle the LEDs on and off. So if you'd rather your case not look like it's possessed, the option is there.
At the top is a very healthy port cluster featuring all the modern amenities, but unfortunately the USB 3.0 ports are routed through the back instead of using an internal motherboard header. Two USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, audio jacks, and even an eSATA port should handle the majority of the connectivity any end user could ask for. Where I do waffle is on the fan controller knobs, which felt loose in my original review unit along with the replacement Rosewill sent. You'll also note a recessed reset button, which I think is a nice touch and prevents the end user [Ed: or their little ones!] from accidentally hitting it. Behind the ports is a small nook for resting external drives or CDs, and then there's the unusual vent system.
As I mentioned before, being able to open and close the top vents of the Thor v2 would seem like a great idea if there were still at least some openings for the top exhaust fan to vent through, but there aren't. In future revisions I would just as soon eschew this part of the design entirely and replace it with something akin to the top panel of the SilverStone Raven RV03.
When I opened up the side of the Thor v2, I was treated with an interior that looks very familiar. Apart from just making it more spacious, Rosewill seems to have taken some cues from other designs like Corsair's cases. There's a very healthy ten expansion slots, but the whole thing feels intelligently laid out. The six 3.5"/2.5" drive trays all face behind the motherboard tray, there's a sizable cutout in the tray for installing cooling backplates, and then the top of the case is able to support a 240mm radiator for water-cooling. There are a series of rubber-lined cutouts in the motherboard tray for routing cables, too.
Last but not remotely least, the side panel of the Thor v2 features a huge 230mm intake fan that the craziest of end users can choose to replace with four 120mm fans, though in testing I can't imagine why they'd need to. There's also ventilation near the top for the processor cooling and it's liable to help the aforementioned 240mm radiator if that's a route you're inclined to take.
Thus far the Thor v2 is largely nothing but upshot, but I do have some concerns. While build quality is by no means terrible, the Thor v2 does feel a little bit chintzier than the other cases I've reviewed. The plastic used for the front feels cheap, and as you'll see in assembly, the rubber grommets that line the motherboard tray cutouts are held in place virtually entirely through the power of prayer. Rosewill addressed my concerns with my initial review unit by sending me a replacement, and the replacement does feel a bit more solid, but I think the build quality is still a fundamental weak point. If this case isn't going to be moved around much (and really, at this size it shouldn't be), I don't think it's necessarily horribly rickety or inclined to break; it just doesn't feel quite as solid as some of the other enclosures I've tested.
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PA Systems1 - Sunday, June 23, 2013 - link
Considering the cooling, kitty would freeze his little butt off curled on top.geniekid - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I want an FT02 for my upcoming build, but I may have to settle for this case instead. The FT02 looks so much nicer, but not $100 nicer.realjetavenger - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Anyone else notice how similar this case is to the HAF X? The Thor has the moving top vents and a bottom mounted fan but otherwise in specs and appearance it is Rosewill's version of a HAF X.Onus - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I have no doubt that the Rosewill case is superior to the HAF X. Almost every Coolermaster case I ever bought had untapped screw holes and poor tool-free mounts; most had minor panel misalignment and/or other QA issues. I've switched to Rosewill cases, and have not found any of these (admittedly trivial) issues with any of them.I'm not a fan of huge cases (I'm not a madd overclocker, and don't run 1kW of GPUs), but if I were, this Thor v2 would be on my short list. There would be no Coolermaster cases on it; as nice as their designs can look, they are not well executed.
f4phantom2500 - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Maybe Cooler Master's quality has gone down since I bought my Centurion 5, but I haven't had any issues with it. Admittedly, I haven't used a Rosewill case, and every case I've used prior to the C5 was off-brand and ranged from acceptable-but-not-too-good to just bad. But in the review here he states that the 5.25" drive bay locks in this Rosewill case aren't very good; I actually really like the locks in my C5. Then again my standards are probably substantially lower than Dustin's. The only toolless element of the C5 that could use improvement, imo, is the expansion card clip holder things. They're not completely useless but I wouldn't trust them if I was putting in a robust (read: heavy and expensive) GPU and/or moving the computer around a lot.Khronikos - Sunday, August 28, 2011 - link
I disagree. In fact, I think CM has went up in quality more than down. I use a 690 ll advanced, admittedly not a top end, and I have no issues whatsoever. Sure, you might run into problems with any case but there are zero alignment issues or anything of the sort. I haven't run into tap problems but that could be an issue on any case and is remedied pretty easily. I like my minimalist case look better than the HAF as well. The Thor looks okay but really not my kind of case and way beyond my needs lol.Metaluna - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I'm not in the market for a case like this, but I do like the top-mounted ports. I currently have a P182, which I keep on the floor. It has the USB ports sticking out at a right angle on the lower half of the front bezel, and when cables are plugged in, it's just way too easy to trip over them and pull out the cables or damage the ports. I actually broke one of the ports once this way. Fortunately Antec sells replacements, but I'd rather have the front ports up off the floor in a more protected position.ajlueke - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I saw at the beginning of the review that you stated this arena was typically the forte of brands such as Antec, Silverstone, Corsair and Lian-Li. All those brands are represented as comparisons in your review, save for Lian Li. I was curious how this case compared to the lian Li offerings, particularily the TYR-X2000, or X2000F (USB 3.0 version.) I have been using the stateside version of the TYR-X2000 in the form of the ABD Canyon 695 for some time now, and was wondering how this case compared to the far more expensive Lian Li cases. Perhaps we'll see that in subsequent reviews?pandemonium - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Just like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's don't like being smashed up just for an action scene, Lian-Li's don't like being subjected to pokes and prods by reviewers. >.<matt3D - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I saw this case at school today... lol, I got a free t shirt from newegg.