Thermaltake Armor A30 Mini Tower Case Review

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 ).

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.

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.

@lipe123: The size of the fan does not determine lifespan. Bearing type, revolution speed, orientation, and operating temperature are the primary variables. Dust build up can also affect lifespan and performance.

Opting to get anything besides the standard sleeve bearing will help make your fans last longer.

That Coke bottle is of a size and type not available in the Uk, therefore NOT a good size comparison. Far better to show a pint Glass of Ale, in a proper Dimpled glass, which *everyone* will be familiar with, Surely?.
I do like this case tho as it would suit me fine, Not a lan gamer, or even a HTPC'er just like a good case. At £120 its too much, I could get a solid SSD and a reasonable case for that. And no stupid lites, how sensible ..

Ahh I am pretty sure more people can relate to a 2L Coke bottle than a Glass of Ale? Never even seen one but I am sure everyone has them in the UK. That said in either case I am sure you would get the idea, or at least I hope.

"In Europe, soft drinks are typically sold in 2, 1.5, 1-liter, 500 mL plastic or 330 mL glass bottles; aluminium cans are traditionally sized in 330 mL, although 250 mL slim cans have become popular since the introduction of canned energy drinks and 355 mL variants of the slim cans have been introduced by Red Bull more recently." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink

In the United States, soft drinks are sold in 3, 2, 1.5, 1 liter, 500 mL (16.9 U.S. fl oz), 8, 12, 14, 16, 20 and 24 U.S. fluid ounce plastic bottles, 12 U.S. fluid ounce cans, and short eight-ounce cans. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink

In Australia, soft drinks are usually sold in 375 mL cans or glass or plastic bottles. Bottles are usually 390 mL, 600 mL, 1.25 or 2 liter. However, 1.5 liter bottles have more recently been used by the Coca-Cola Company. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink

In India, soft drinks are available in 200 mL and 300 mL glass bottles, 250 mL and 330 mL cans, and 600 mL, 1.25 L, 1.5 L and 2 L plastic bottles. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink

Your suggestion for a pint Glass of Ale seems silly since the sizing is very loosely defined and its only common in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint_glass

I am starting to think for the next case review we should create a poll to see what people want sitting next to the case, it appears to be a key issue.

Yeah Steve! make sure its a proper pint as well (20oz), and would it kill you to make it Guinness for better perspective?:wave:

haha thanks I am taking notes!

mmmmmmm....Nachos

Pint glasses seem equally available in the USA. Maybe I should have stuck a smiley on my comment?.
The coke bottle pictured is either a) distorted or b) photographed in such a way as to make it look distorted. It appears to be far squatter than any coke bottle I have seen. Also I wouldn't necessarily believe that 2L Coke bottles are the same shape (height/width) in every market. Maybe a Plain old ruler, a std midi-size desktop case and a 3.5 disk drive for comparison?.
How about some more NAS reviews as well? With real world throughputs ..

You write that maximum CPU cooler height is 90 mm – but this is datasheet number. Can you measure, how much mm is really between CPU and power supply? I have 105 mm height CPU cooler, I hope that I can use it. Thank you.

Yeah, I for one have always wanted to move my gaming desktop around to parties and friends' houses, but also never wanted to downgrade to a laptop. This is a product I'm pretty interested in. I don't care about looks whatsoever- if everyone in the world said it was ugly, but it had good performance, I'd still prefer it. Also, handles make me nervous- I'd much rather cradle the thing in my arms, done it plenty of times with my huge full tower desktop- smaller is all the convenience someone like myself is looking for.

You can't sorry.

thanks Steve, but now show us the same box with a couple of dvd drives in it!!!
and a floppy drive (if you must have one) to me looking at that box is only half
the story, so next time could you show us what it looks like in a finished box???

This case seems a bit pointless without a handle, and it doesn't look like it's easy to carry either.

And I've also never seen a bottle of Coke that big, must be an American size...

We showed the box with a DVD drive, two SSDs and a pair of hard drives, for most that should be sufficient and no I do not have a floppy drive, have not used one in over a decade. In my opinion it was a finished box.

I could have only installed another optical drive but did not see the need. I tried the single unit in both the primary and secondary positions without a problem.

I agree about the handle but I am pretty much over the soft drink bottle comments, take it or leave it Ohh and for the fifth time its an Australian 2L bottle.

Well you brought this on yourself Steve...you should have been aware that putting your beverage down next to a piece of hardware would cause such consternation and angst! :rolleyes: