Thermaltake Tai Chi (cont’d)
An inch and a half long extended thumbscrews hold each part of the hinged door at the top and bottom, and since it's a double-hinge design on the left side, a total of four thumbscrews can be used – however, the front flap overlaps the main door and thus a single screw on the front panel at the top or bottom is the minimum needed to hold the side shut.
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Moving further backwards, we can take a close look at the rear handle and rear backing plate. The thickness of the aluminum panels is very evident in this picture, as is the fact that the case can be completely separated into component parts and screws.
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At first, this feature might seem rather unimportant, but the more that one thinks about it, the more obvious it is that to the enthusiast and even casual modder, this component nature is exceptionally valuable. For instance, the default ports visible in the back plate here for water cooling are 3/8” in diameter, which is fine for 3/8” O/D water tubing. However, 3/8” ID (inner diameter) tubing is pretty popular too, and without the ability to remove this plate from the rest of the case precisely enlarging these holes to the proper size would be much more difficult.
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The over-sized rounded edges on the back resemble the look of the corners at the front of the case, but more importantly, they simply provide protection from the rest of the back of the computer and the rear-most fins of the side panels. Notice also how the rear of the case and the back of the motherboard area are completely separate, so that with a different motherboard standard such as BTX, all one needs to do is replace this back plate.
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Turning the case on its side to inspect the bottom reveals that just as much attention to detail has been paid to it as the rest of the case. First off, notice that the heavy-duty casters are removable, should one decide they really would have the case take up less vertical space or simply have replacements that they'd rather use instead. When raised, however, the case benefits from the additional airflow capabilities of the hole in the front area and large perforated steel section. With the default casters left in place, a standard 120mm case fan can actually mount directly to this mesh from the bottom and still have enough clearance underneath it to function well.
Before opening the case, we really felt that this case deserved an extreme close-up to show off the immaculate finish and heavy thickness of the aluminum used.
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The Tai Chi is really almost an entirely new kind of case, and the construction and sheer quality of materials used are some of the easiest ways to really see what we mean by this. In this photo, notice for instance how nice the contrast between the brushed finish of the front doors and the brilliant finish of the rest of the case look. Aesthetically, there simply isn't any other case to which to compare the Tai Chi – its marriage of passive radiation with other functionality-driven design choices gives it a unique, stately, and downright intimidating style that really requires seeing it in person to appreciate.
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chynn - Thursday, March 2, 2006 - link
Yes, you can. I'm surprised AnandTech missed that option in their review. I like mounting inverted (BTX-style) ATX motherboards because that points the HSFs on my graphics cards (I run SLI) up to help dissipate heat.Googer - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
let me rephrase that.Is it possible invert the motherboard on the CM Stacker by installing the tray on the left side in place of the usual right side
By inverting the motherboard (insalling on the BTX side) it may allow for better CPU cooling sine the processor would be sitting on the bottome getting plenty of cool air and allowing hot exhaust to escape upwards.
kextyn - Friday, February 24, 2006 - link
I believe it would depend on which CM Stacker you get. I have the original and I run my ATX motherboard inverted on the opposite side just for this reason (cooling.) Also because I have an XP-120 on the CPU and don't have to worry about clearance issues with the PSU.If you're going to buy a Stacker I suggest looking at the specs on all of them before deciding. If I was going to buy another one I'd get the original again. It offers the full 12 5.25" bays in the front, dual PSU's, ATX/BTX/Inverted ATX/Inverted BTX, and I think more mod potential than this new one. The reason is because it's so basic that you can just cut and add stuff wherever you want. The only thing I like about this new one is that 4x120mm fan array on the side. But if I really wanted to I could mod the side of my case for that.
Googer - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
Also will a PC Power and Cooling Turbo Cool 850 or any other oversized PSU fit in to either the Thermaltake or Cooler Master?chynn - Thursday, March 2, 2006 - link
Yes, the PCP&C 850W PSU should fit in the Stacker. You might have to orient the PSU so the cables exit from the bottom side to clear the 120mm fan in the top center, but the Stacker will let you do that.Matthews316 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
I own the Thai-Chi, and my PC Power and Cooling 1 KW (same size as the 850) fits just fine. I heard a rumor that oversized PSU's, such as the PCP&C 850/1KW, won't fit in the CM Stacker 830. Can anyone comment on this?JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
I would say that as long as there's nothing protruding from the sides, top, or bottom of the PSU, it'll fit in the stacker fine... length isn't the issue, it's the sides, top, and bottom you'd have to watch carefully.Googer - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
What a tough decision it would be to choose between those two cases, both are feature rich and well though out and designed. (if price was not a concern)yanquii - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
I love seeing case reviews on this site, especially considering how sparsely they are reviewed. What I would like to see are some reviews done on some cases that don't look like they came off they toy isle from the nearest Dollar General store. It would be sweet if you guys could do some reviews on the higher end offerings from Silverstone; especially the TJ07.yanquii - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link
oh, and Lian-Li. I remember when Coolermaster was pumping out the sweetest cases you could buy. I love simplicity and elegance, and it seems that most companies are all about gaudy flash.