Thermaltake Armor A30 Case Review: Opening the Puzzle Box

Conclusion: Build It Once

Reviewing the Thermaltake Armor A30 puts me in an odd position, because as I mentioned in the intro, this is a case that's nightmarish to assemble but very good at its job once it's together. I'm left with very mixed feelings about what Thermaltake has done here, and I think any reader should be, too.

On the positive side, if you want a case that performs well despite its size, the only real competition to the Armor A30 that I've tested so far is the BitFenix Prodigy, and with that case you're definitely stuck using a Mini-ITX board instead of getting a little more oomph out of a Micro-ATX board. In terms of acoustics and thermal performance, Thermaltake's airflow design may seem haphazard in theory but is actually quite effective in practice. If performance is what you're prioritizing, this is a case worth shortlisting.

Unfortunately, on the flipside, while the cooling only seems haphazard the actual case design absolutely is. I haven't seen an assembly this badly planned in a while, and there's just no reason for it to be this difficult to put together. If you're a "set it and forget it" kind of builder then this may not mean much to you, but if you like to tinker with your system you're going to be in for a very rough ride with the A30. My power screwdriver hasn't been worked this hard on a review in some time now. I've already listed all the ways Thermaltake could've improved this part of the design, but I'm still baffled as to why it's such a disaster in the first place.

It's all going to come down to your needs and your priorities as a builder. Thermaltake posits the Armor A30 as a LAN enclosure (though my chicken wings and I personally think it's a hair too heavy for that), but it's certainly perfectly fine just as a smaller form factor case. These kinds of designs are getting more and more common, and thankfully the A30's fairly quiet nature makes it a perfectly suitable candidate for desktop placement (provided the blue LED fans don't bother you too much). At $119 I think it's a little on the pricey side for what you get, but if it fulfills your needs there's no reason not to pull the trigger.