- Innovative liquid cooling support
- High quality manufacturing
- Modular storage bays
- Front vent not easily removable
- PSU needs a little more frame support
Do you remember when mesh computer enclosures first showed up? Flat mesh panels and grills seemed like an impressive feat. Some manufacturers designed some better than others. Given today’s manufacturing processes, we expect design and quality to be top notch. Thermaltake been busy breaking away from square corners and busy plastic molds to create the Versa, Urban and Core series enclosures.
After being totally impressed by the Editor’s Choice award winning Urban T81, it was hard to imagine something as awesome in a mid tower enclosure. But why not? We have a Thermaltake Core V51 mid-tower enclosure aimed at enthusiasts that need a smaller foot print. We’ve handled this enclosure in immense detail. Join us for a look at curves that make mesh look great.
Features and Specifications
The Core series includes the V31, V41, V51 and now V51 Riing series. All four are mid-tower enclosures offering modular drive bays but offer slightly different features. For example, the V51 has grommets around all the chassis tray cut outs. So what are the V51 features? Here’s the list:
- Contour mesh bezel
- Easy removable mesh top
- Modular drive bays
- Grommet cut outs
- Tooless bays and PCI slots
- Supports all in one or custom liquid cooling loops
- Chassis top supports any size radiator
- Bottom removable fan filter
- Wider for better wire management
- USB 3.0 front panel
The specs can be a bit tiresome line by line so here’s a quick summary. The case is 21.3 inches tall, 9.3 inches wide, and 22 inches from front to back. Users have 2 x 5.25″ ROM bays and the options of 5 x 3.5″ standard hard drives, or 5 x 2.5″ SSD drives.
Possible Configurations
On the left, you can see the number of possible cooling configurations. Two front 120mm fans and one rear 120mm fan ships with the chassis. In all honesty, that’s plenty of air flow but some enthusiasts may want more cooling.
The diagram on the right reveals the possible custom liquid cooling radiator configurations. Again, keep in mind these are standard thickness radiators. Some of the old school thick Black Ice rads would make things really tight inside. It’s safe to say that the Thermaltake Core V51 is truly designed for the best cooling potential.
Pricing
The Thermaltake Core V51 currently will cost you roughly $99 USD straight from an online retailer. Shipping costs has also fortunately been quite acceptable. Keep in mind that some current rebates exist which drops the price down about $20 which is really nice.
What’s Included with the Case?
The bundle is quite basic. It includes a manual and two baggies with black case screws for setting up the system and a few notched zip ties. There’s an optional case speaker in there as well. Too bad there aren’t any reusable Velcro straps. There aren’t any extra screws for mounting a liquid cooling system so keep that in mind when ordering your gear.