One thing that manufacturers never seem to get right is a really cheap computer case. There are probably a hundred cheap cases from a number of manufactures, but they’ll likely sacrifice a few features like, aesthetics, expansion, functionality, and of course, quality. Thermaltake’s designers decided to get together, throw out the rule book, and came up with the V3 Black Edition computer case. Just to finally put the last nail in other budget competitors coffins, they decided to release this thing for $39.99 US. That’s crazy cheap, but the real question is, can it be too cheap? Let’s find out!
Features and Specifications
Introducing the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition computer case. The case is from the company’s V Series where the V definitely stands for value. Other than a few bezel highlights, the good stuff is definitely on the inside. Take for instance the fully blacked out interior that you’ll find on a lot of much more expensive cases. This premium feature already sets the case apart from the dull gray interiors of all the other cheap cases on the market.
Affordable doesn’t mean featureless. The V3 offers a nicely manufactured mesh bezel to help with ventilation. Plus, there are six 120mm fan vented fan ports with only the back port occupied by a red 120mm LED cooling fan. Since the bottom fan ports aren’t always used, the case includes a filter on one of the slots not occupied by the power supply.
You’ll find another chassis feature where the PCI slots have a secured back plate which prevents movement of the expansion cards. It also makes it pretty obvious if someone should try and get in to your case at a LAN party. The 3.5 and 5.25 drive bays include at least one tool-less locking clamp for quick installation. These are super easy to use and do a very good job of locking at least one drive in position without any chance of movement. Hopefully, Thermaltake offers these as an accessory. They would be worth the cost of a few more bucks.
The V3 Black Edition is one of four cases in the V Series. They range in price from the $39.99 V3 Black Edition, V5 Black Edition, V9, and at the top, $139.99 V9 Black Edition.
V3 Black Edition Up Close
As you can see, the V3 isn’t boring like hundreds of other budget chassis on the market. The chassis is built using rigid, light weight SECC steel. It weighs much less than conventional SECC and machines easier than ever which cuts down on production costs. It also means the case is able to shed a few more unneeded pounds, making it lighter for toting around to those LAN parties.
The front bezel doesn’t offer any crazy curves or designs, but its nicely machined mesh design does a lot to make you appreciate it. It also makes air intake really easy by allowing you to add an optional 120mm front intake fan.
The left and right side panels are pretty basic in construction. They’re quite straight and fit against the chassis very well. The left panel features a small acrylic window and passive vented port meaning you can’t add a fan. If engineers would have went with one or the other at twice their size, it probably would have been a better balance, in my opinion.
Moving around to the back of the chassis, you can tell once again, that it’s all black. You can also see there are two smooth, machined holes underneath the back cooling fan. These are in case you decide to add water cooling to your system. While rubber grommets are the usual choice, these are still quite nice and will more than do. On that note, the top of the case has dual 120mm fan vents. The size and length is just about right for adding a dual 120mm radiator if you go for water cooling. Since there aren’t any extra holes for that alignment, you might have to get a little creative about which holes to use.
Gutting the V3 Black Edition
After removing four screws, each panel easily came off without touching. It was kind of funny and surprising since most panels have to be slid back before they can be removed. Since we gut all our products on a nice big work top, no side panels were harmed in the making of this article.
Looking around the inside of the chassis, it starts to sink in just how much you get for your hard earned money. This is truly a finely crafted black chassis, with lots of fan ports, more than enough optical and hard drive bays, and extra space for large video cards. It even has cut outs in the motherboard tray for installing a really large CPU cooler without pulling the board.
The case is already set up for your ATX sized motherboard which means that micro ATX boards will be no problem for this case if that’s your poison. You won’t have to install any motherboard standoffs unless you have a micro-ATX motherboard. You’ll find a couple extra standoffs in the screw package if you need them. Otherwise, any ATX motherboard will fit perfectly though the new GIGABYTE XL-ATX boards like the GA-890FXA-UD7 are a definite negative in this case.
And, finally, relying on a little patience and dexterity, we pulled off the front bezel to see what’s underneath. The front of the chassis is well fabricated and open which allows for a lot of air flow. This is also the only way you’ll be able to install an optional front 120mm cooling fan.
The 5.25 bay face plates are also held on by a couple screws so you don’t have to get all ghetto trying to remove them. Little things like what you see underneath really say a lot about the planning that went in to the design of this chassis.
Installation and Test Notes
I didn’t run in to any issues when installing the test system. The ATX tray mounts matched the motherboard perfectly using the gold center guide post already attached to the tray. Even a Kingston SSD matched up nicely with the case holes. Overall, the system was ready in about 15 minutes. Time is money, right?
Since we only used one optical drive and one Western Digital 2TB hard drive, the two tooless clips were just right for a budget system. In fact, the clips worked like a charm and didn’t feel at all like they would break. If you need more, Thermaltake is currently looking at providing more online in the near future.
Test System:
- Intel Core i3 661 Clarkdale LGA1156 Processor
- GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 ATX Motherboard
- Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
- Zotac Geforce 9800GTX AMP Edition Graphics Card
- Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black Edition Hard Drive
- Coolermaster GX Series 750W Power Supply
Something to keep in mind. Since this is a $700 budget built system, the components aren’t going to generate much heat. However, if you decided to add a performance level Nvidia GTX200 series or ATI 5800 series video card, heat will start to increase. In fact, running dual video cards will increase internal heat by more than ten degrees easily. Any system builder would advise installing at least two more case cooling fans to control temperatures.
Thermo-Nuclear Temperature Results
While running some PCMark Vantage benchmarks, the chassis internal temp was measured first with the single stock 120mm fan and then checked again at each stage as the front and top 120mm (60 CFM) cooling fans were added. Ambient temps were 22C during testing.
The single fan keeps temps manageable internally. None of the components were registering any unusually high level temps either. The bulk of the warm air blowing out the back was from the CPU cooler. As additional cooling fans are added, temps drop even further and finally level off as a larger volume of cooler air is consistently moved from the front out through the back and top.
If you’re wondering what kind of case cooling fan was used, our friends at AcousticPC recently sent a care package with a few new SilenX 120mm fans. They’re extremely quiet and match the Thermaltake case fan nicely.
Final Thoughts
The purpose of the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition is simple: offer the most feature rich computer chassis for an unbelievably affordable price. As luck would have it, the V3 Black Edition offers more features than you would expect for such a tiny price. The Thermaltake engineers did away with the boring exterior and decided to add a few features that we’ve only seen on more premium cases. The couple dollars needed to add things like the motherboard CPU cooler installation cut out and the blacked out interior, were all worth it in the end. How they did it is truly remarkable.
At a bargain basement price of $39.99US at your favourite retailer, we can’t seem to find anything to challenge the Black Edition V3 at this price point. This means it should become increasingly popular as Thermaltake throws down with the marketing muscle. Once people realize what a great case it is at this price point, it will definitely become a hit.
In the end, the V3 is the new budget case standard to beat. It’s truly a brilliant value for only a couple of $20’s. We wonder if anyone else will dare to play at this price point.
Pros
- Attractive black chassis and design
- Motherboard tray CPU cut out
- Worthy features: SSD slot, tooless clips and built for cooling.
- Most affordable black chassis computer case ever
- Quality made materials
Cons
- Includes only 1 cooling fan
- Acrylic window just big enough to tease you
- Could use a couple more drive retention clips
Overall Rating: 8.75/10
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Thermaltake V3 Black Edition ATX Computer Case – Photo Gallery
