Thermaltake Armor A30 Mini Tower Case Review

So... you used a socket 1156 processor (Core i5 750) with an AMD AM3 motherboard (Asrock 880GMH/USB 3.0) ?!

It's some kind of magic?
 
I was just going to ask the same thing.
How is that going to cool down properly if the psu and cpu fans are working
against each other?
 
rpsgc said:
So... you used a socket 1156 processor (Core i5 750) with an AMD AM3 motherboard (Asrock 880GMH/USB 3.0) ?!

It's some kind of magic?
Click to expand...

I see what you did there, you spotted a typo and pointed it out with a certain degree of sarcasm thank you.

BMfan said:
I was just going to ask the same thing.
How is that going to cool down properly if the psu and cpu fans are working
against each other?
Click to expand...

It seemed to cool down properly when testing. That said if you were worried about it not working properly you can always apply some of rpsgc's magic and turn the CPU fan up side down.
 
It looks like someone shrunk the Level 10 GT. Aside from LAN gaming, I also think it also do nicely as a lightweight desktop gaming rig. It sure beats moving around my Thermaltake super tower cases and looks way better than every beige mini-tower case that I've used in the past.
 
Great review, I love finding out about new products I never new existed, but now want to buy from these reviews. I'm more interested as a way to give my computer a small footprint. I could even keep this ON MY DESK! I'd like a photo with the wires attached though, just to get an idea of how it would look hooked up. Now I have to go check out the other mini cases you mentioned. Thanks!

I'm a bit bummed at the lack of intelligent comments on good review of a cool product. The coke is for a size comparison g4mer d00d!
 
The discovery of that beastly low profile heatsink makes this review worth it lol... I bought a relatively old 80mm titan LPHSF, and while it was screw mounted (plus) and was crazy short (with fan STILL shorter than Samuel 17), it's cooling had some performance left to be desired... but Samuel 17 by itself is probably better. Too bad it is rather dubious if it'll actually fit on a mini-ITX board with a significant northbridge heatsink. =p

Anywho, good review, neat case for the insides and hardware placement. I have a PC-Q08 for my NAS/HTPC but I'll keep the A30 at the back of my mind if I ever consider making a mini gaming system.

@g4mer: The Coke bottle is like for size comparison. People have a generally good idea how big a 2L bottle is, so they can better visualize how tall it is, among other things. Also for brainwashing/subliminal messaging as rpsgc said. =p
 
That's a very compact and cool looking mini case, if/when I save up enough to build a new PC for taking to a friend's house or something I'll get this case, I have the CM Storm Scout case right now and while it's only a mid tower and has a handle, it's not that light with all the stuff inside and definitely not comfortable to carry(the shape etc) =/
 
Pretty amazing case, will be checking what CoolerMaster thinks and comes up with... a mini HAF would be awesome :D

Taking that aside, again this is an amazing case the only thing I would change about this is a handle for carrying and since it is pretty much for that it feels like a big fail for me at least.
 
g4mer said:
What's Coca Cola for?
Click to expand...
I’m glad you asked because after we took the photo I quickly realize this shot would cause confusion amongst some of the less technical readers. What we have cunningly done here is include a 2L Coca Cola bottle, an object most users will be able to relate to, in order to give some kind of perspective as to how small this case really is. Genius right! You can rest assured everyone is going to start doing this kind of thing now.

I shouldn’t have drank all that Cola at once ;)

madboyv1 said:
The discovery of that beastly low profile heatsink makes this review worth it lol...
Click to expand...
If you are interested there is a full review here…

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/prolimatech_samuel_17,1.html

Kibaruk said:
Pretty amazing case, will be checking what CoolerMaster thinks and comes up with... a mini HAF would be awesome :D

Taking that aside, again this is an amazing case the only thing I would change about this is a handle for carrying and since it is pretty much for that it feels like a big fail for me at least.
Click to expand...

Now that would be awesome, might send them an e-mail :)


Thanks for all the great feedback so far guys.
 
Geez! I cant believe all you Coke-a-cola fanbois! Coke sucks...pepsi is like way better! The opening is bigger so it goes down faster and doesn't bottleneck...Pepsi rules!!!


Oh yes, Great review as usual Steve.
 
Good review, quite impressive seeing a case that size being able to handle even the biggest of video cards something that my mid tower without modding can't even do. The internal layout is also pretty superb and I much prefer it over the others. Regarding the look of the case, I find it to be the best of mini towers shown here on TS, but to each their own :) .
 
Btw I forgot Steve to mention about the superb review, without which I couldn't have given any opinion =)

(Make the mini HAF go live! :O)
 
Steve said:
g4mer said:
What's Coca Cola for?
Click to expand...
I’m glad you asked because after we took the photo I quickly realize this shot would cause confusion amongst some of the less technical readers. What we have cunningly done here is include a 2L Coca Cola bottle, an object most users will be able to relate to, in order to give some kind of perspective as to how small this case really is. Genius right! You can rest assured everyone is going to start doing this kind of thing now.
Click to expand...

I don't often snort beverages out of my nose in fits of laughter when browsing Internet webpages, but this was one of those exceptional cases. Good show, sir.

However, I'm not a huge fan of that exterior design but it's tailored more for the lanparty crowd than the HTPC'ers. I hope they debut a more conservative case with the same interior.

Great review!
 
oh man, this thing is so ugly
especially the in the front....

in all other aspects, this box is a little beauty :)
 
Thanks for the link Steve, me likey. =o

I don't think it looks too bad, though I've almost always been a fan of red LEDs for black cases, blue for silver cases. For what its worth, I've seen far worse front panels and many of them are twice as tall (so twice as ugly =p). I also agree how a handle(s) would have be nice, but that is something relatively easy to add to a case.
 
Not easy if you want it to handle that much weight and feel comfortable moving though.

To make an example, I have a CoolerMaster Scout Storm and the handle I cant even start describing how I feel it could raise a couple hundred kilos (Mmmm in Chile we weight in kilos not in pounds so couldn't tell you exactly how much but a lot :p).

If you make one, with such little to work with and no ability to put it anywhere besides the chassis it might be very fragile.
 
Thermaltake is out of ideas and has to revamp poor cases that they sold before (the Lanbox Lite). Now they just made it suck in more dust than it did before.
 
Guest said:
Thermaltake is out of ideas and has to revamp poor cases that they sold before (the Lanbox Lite). Now they just made it suck in more dust than it did before.
Click to expand...

And front IO ports actually in the front... and has built in 2.5" drive mounting... and support for nearly all large graphics card. While I won't argue it is a revamp after looking at the Lanbox Lite again for the first time in a LONG time, they did a number of design changes for the far, FAR better. Of course, as it has been discussed, the aesthetic choices made could be considered gaudy.
 
MY biggest concern is the fans, 60mm and 90mm fans barely last a year in dusty environments before completely locking up or making those super noisey vibrating sounds.

If it was me I'd dump those silly seethru side panels and put grids with 120mm fan mounts - or something better than those little fans.
 
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