Thinking about changing to Thermaltake Armor+ case . . . Any thoughts / suggestions?

Revivalist · Apr 17, 2008

Thinking about changing to Thermaltake Armor+ case . . . Any thoughts / suggestions?

I need to upgrade to a bigger case. Here's how my last setup looked like . . .

As you can see, I don't have a lot of room in there. :eh?:

Six months ago my motherboard died and it was a nightmare having to yank everything out to replace it.

So I setup my rig on my desk and it's looked like this ever since . . .

Then a few days ago I spilled some water in that area and the computer suddenly shut off. :bang head

I was glad to find that after drying up all the water the system still works. But I learned my lesson and I want to put it all back in a case again. I also want to be able to use a TEC and some water cooling again. So I figure I might as well upgrade the case to something bigger. Here are the qualities I'm looking for in a case . . .

• At least 5 internal 3.5” bays (for 5 hard drives)
• At least 4 external 5.5” bays (for optical drives and fan controller)
• At least 1 external 3.5” bay (for floppy and possibly card reader)
• A place for a fan to blow on all hard drives
• Enough room to install a 2nd power supply for the TECs
• Lots of PCI expansion slots (at least 7, preferably 10)
• Clear side
• Preferably aluminum for less weight / better heat dissipation
• Attractive outside look

The Thermaltake Armor+ is the best fit that I've come across so far. . . .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133055

It seems to satisfy all the qualities I've described above so I'm about to pull the trigger on the purchase. But I figured I'd ask around and see if anyone has any experience with it or any opinions. Any ideas or pics are welcome. Thanks!

ZenDigital · Apr 17, 2008

I'm new here and to hell with an intro post, best to make the 1st post a useful one.

I just got one myself, in black. It was between that and the Coolermaster Stacker CM 830. So far I'm pretty satisfied with the Armor+. It'll meet all your requirements except for maybe one....

I noticed you listed adding a 2nd PSU as a requirement, I'm not sure you can accomplish that with the Tt Armor+. At least not unless you go with a bay mounted PSU or plan on doing some hefty modifications to the case. The only way to add an additional full psu I can think of is by doing a major chop job on the extra expansion slots, but doing that will affect the ability to remove the Mobo tray, or maybe piggybacking then on the PSU mount. But I guess anything is possible if you get a lil' creative.

I'd suggest you go with either a Lian Li or an Antec, they make some decent cases ready made to accept dual PSUs. Plus there are window kits readily available for the most of the Lian Li cases.

Any questions about the details or pics of the Tt Armor+, feel free to ask or even PM me.

Hope this helped.

meionm · Apr 17, 2008

Original cooler master stacker, but you would need another hard drive cage. The only case I can recall that could hold two psus and was under $200

Revivalist · Apr 17, 2008

Thanks for the input guys, and welcome to the forums ZenDigital! :beer:

I should have clarified that the second power supply is actually a Meanwell 480W. They're very long and slim. You can see it here on the left . . .

I actually had it installed in the mid-tower case I showed above. I installed it right above the standard ATX power supply. It went in the red box below. . . .

The Meanwell has the following dimensions: 27.8cm x 12.7cm x 4.3cm (LxWxH). I'm sure the case will handle the length and width. But I don't know if the height will fit over the top of my PCPnC 1000W which is about 8.5cm high. . . . So basically, I’m hoping that from the bottom of the PCPnC to the top of the case there is at least 13cm. . . . If not, then I have to figure out where else to put the Meanwell. I don't want to put it at the bottom because that could be pretty disasterous if a water hose leaks on it.

. . .

ZenDigital · Apr 17, 2008

Ok, I just took a look at my case (It's still awaiting a few components before building). There's 2 possible options you'll have as far as mounting it.

First, is utilizing the 2nd and/or 3rd 5.25 bay and roughly half of the psu support.

Here's the measurements starting from the bay you'll have to work with.. Note: 13.5 is the distance of the PSU mounting bracket to the back of the case.

Second is on the bottom of the case, doing this sacrifices a PCI slot and any hope of mounting 2 HDD's or fans.

Again, here's the measurements....

Hope this helps.

Revivalist · Apr 17, 2008

Wow! Thanks for those measurements. . . That was super helpful . . .

The Meanwell powersupply is about 28cm long. Your measurement shows that the length of the case is 56cm. So that means if I put the Meanwell in the top 5.25" bay then I will still have about 28cm left behind it. . . .

I just measured my PCPnC power supply and 28cm seems like plenty of space to fit the power supply and some space for the cables not to be crunched. . . . . Perfect!

So I guess I'll be putting the Meanwell in front of the PCPnC instead of on top of it . . . Maybe I can just let the two power supplies share that adjustable bracket. . . .

The only draw back to this is that the Meanwell has some fans in the back that will be blowing right at the PCPnC. In my old case I actually cut holes for these fans in the back like this . . .

At least the Armor+ case has that extra fan that can be mounted to the top. That should help take care of any heat that builds up there because of the two PSUs. . . Are you planning to put a fan there?

Just for a final comparison, would you mind giving me the vertical measurement from the power supply bracket up to the top of the case (on the inside of course). I just want to see if putting the Meanwell on top of the PCPnC will be out of the question. . . Judging from your pics I'm guessing it's around 10cm which wouldn't be enough. . . .

Thanks a bunch!

ZenDigital · Apr 18, 2008

Revivalist said:
At least the Armor+ case has that extra fan that can be mounted to the top. That should help take care of any heat that builds up there because of the two PSUs. . . Are you planning to put a fan there?

Maybe, as soon as I figure out a few things. Mounting a fan there is going to require cutting into the mesh at the top of the case. Now there is a cover over the mesh and fan bracket with about 1-1.5cm of space, so if I do it right, I'll be able to do it without visually altering the outside of the case. My first obstacle is figuring out how to remove the top paneling, it appears to be a snap-on deal so there is the risk of breaking it while trying to remove it. Ultimately it will be dependent upon what PSU I end up going with, at the moment I'm looking at either the Ultra X3 1000w or the Ultra X3 1200/1600w. If I go with the latter then a top mounted fan is a no go.

Revivalist said:
Just for a final comparison, would you mind giving me the vertical measurement from the power supply bracket up to the top of the case (on the inside of course). I just want to see if putting the Meanwell on top of the PCPnC will be out of the question. . . Judging from your pics I'm guessing it's around 10cm which wouldn't be enough. . . .

Thanks a bunch!

Here ya go!

I also added another pic showing the top storage tray removed to make a slot mount easier should you decide to go that route, this time utilizing only the 1st 5.25 bay. Note in the next image that the tray is screwed to 2 additional brackets which can either be used to mount the PSU or be removed altogether.

Revivalist · Apr 19, 2008

Thanks for the pics, Zen . . .

I thought the case was designed so that a fan could be installed there without modifications? Maybe that’s only with really short power supplies. . . . I can see that my PCPnC which is about 28cm long is going to be cover that grill for sure . . . . I think I will try to cut that grill at the top like you mentioned and see if there’s a way to mount the fan up inside. Removing the grill will make for better air ventilation and less noise anyways. Then that 2.75cm gap on top between the cut grill and PSU should be enough to allow good airflow. . ..

By the way, I think that you must have measured the width of the case as 9.6 inches, not cm. That seems like it should be enough width for the PCPnC and still leave room for cable management. . . .

I think I’m going to leave that top tray because it doesn’t seem like it interferes with anything installed in the first 5.25” bay. But I just noticed from your pics that the power supply bracket is not on the same level as the second 5.25” bay. It looks like it’s sort of between the height of the 3rd bay and 2nd bay. I’m thinking what I’m going to do is mount an optical drive in the 3rd bay and then put some sort of thick padding above it and then put the Meanwell power supply on top of the padding. That should make the Meanwell level with the power supply bracket so that it can share it with the PCPnC. . . . I’m probably going to need to adjust that bracket to the last notch on the right so the Meanwell can rest on it too. . . .

At this point I’m probably not going to know for sure how it will all be setup until I get a case in my hands. I’m ordering one today. Your pics and measurements were very helpful in making the final decision. . . . Thanks!

I’m also ordering five 140mm fans (one for the front, one for the top, two for the bottom, and one that points toward the video cards). . . . I decided to go with these fans since the speed and color are adjustable . . .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835234002

smokie mcpott · Apr 19, 2008

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=550341

i cant recommend it enough
47.99+tax out the door...makes it cheap enough to warrant cutting into the case

Thinking about changing to Thermaltake Armor+ case . . . Any thoughts / suggestions?

Revivalist

Member

ZenDigital

Registered

meionm

Member

Revivalist

Member

ZenDigital

Registered

Revivalist

Member

ZenDigital

Registered

Revivalist

Member

smokie mcpott

Member

Similar threads