So what happens when you take some apple and Thermaltake
usability and throw it in a stylized exterior? How about a steel
full tower, a sheet of Plexiglass, some machined aluminum and
a couple of colored CDs? An interesting case is bound to come
out of that mix, and indeed it did with the ThermalRock Circle
.
The ThermalRock Circle has a barrage of features
that are sure to turn some heads. From the modern CD-player-esk
front door, to the Apple style right hand motherboard access and
don't forget the backwards motherboard mount. All of this defiantly
adds up to something interesting to say the least, so lets take
a closer look.
Specifications
| Model
|
RH-F030-2SW |
| Motherboards |
12" x 9.6" (ATX)
9.6" x 9.6" (Micro ATX)
12" x 13" (Extend ATX) |
| Expansion Slots |
7 Slots |
| Case Type |
Full Tower |
| Front Fan |
120x120x25 mm fan 2000rpm
(intake) |
| Rear Fan |
120x120x25 mm fan 2000rpm
(exhaust) |
| Thermal Test |
Tambient: 38°C
Intel thermal requirement validated |
| Side Panel |
Arch Shape Window |
| Color |
Silver Coating |
| I/O Ports |
USB2.0 x 2, IEEE1394 x 1,
Micro phone & Ear phone ports |
| Dimension (H*W*D)
|
205.0 mm ( W ) x 500.0 mm
( D ) x 540.0 mm ( H ) |
| Material |
SECC 0.8mm (Chassis)
Aluminum (Front Panel) |
ThermalRock Circle
Once outside of the box we can see the overall
styling of the Circle. The case is technically a full tower, but
in my opinion it is a mix between a mid-tower and a full tower.
The case features five 5.25 inch slots, two external 3.5” slots.
All of these use rails for mounting devices. The rails included
are very effective and easy to use, they do not require screws,
but are held securely to the device. You can also use screws to
mount the devices in just in case you have a device that the rails
do not fit into.
The front panel of the device is the most predominant
design features. The whole idea of the circle case is the integrated
CD holder in the front door. A column of 4 CD's is held behind
a piece of plexiglass. Hiding part of one of the CD's is an aluminum
piece. It looks a lot like the CD grabbing mechanism from those
vertical CD players. One neat feature on the front is the power
and IDE activity LED's. They are inset into the plexiglass, so
even when the front panel lights up the LED's still shine through.
The door has two cutouts on the top-left and bottom-left. The
bottom cutout holds the front audio ports. Also shown below is
the front grill, once inside the door there is a series of plastic
cutouts. This would be for the front intake.
The only thing to point out on the top of the
case is the two USB ports and 1 Firewire port. I find this placement
to be the most useful as I keep my case on the floor. Others may
not be as lucky though and they do seem to pick up a lot of dust
…
The rear of the case is where everything seems
to get interesting. The motherboard section of the case has been
flipped upside down. This means the case opens like an Apple,
on the right, and the motherboard mounts on the lower left. Motherboard
cooling is handled by the lower 120mm fan.
The right side of the case features a medium sized
window. The window is a rectangle with a curved top. This is right
at the motherboard, so you should be able to show off your top
of the line components without all of the cabling and drives getting
in the way. Right above the window is Circle embossed.
Inside
The inside of the Circle case is split into 4 main sections.
Starting at the top there is the power supply section. The power
supply mount is designed really well. The power supply is mounted
to a plate which is then mounted to the case. The power supply
is supported by two rubber covered nubs. The case also features
the ability to mount a redundant power supply.
Next to the power supply section is the 5.25”
device section. The 5.25” devices are mounted with rails. The
nice thing about this setup is that you can also use screws to
mount devices. So if you have a device that has a non standard
mounting system, you can still use it with the case.
NEXT
