Thermaltake Armor A60 Review - PAGE 2

The packaging of the Armor A60 uses a high gloss coating to enhance to look of the box and includes an image of the case and a knight. There are also icons on the front that highlight the newly added features, with the tagline "created for battle" directly under it. The knight looks as if in the middle of a fight, which fits into the A60's "created for combat" theme. The back and sides of the packaging include listings for support and specifications.

Inside the box there is an installation guide, and all the needed accessories to install all the add-on components. The screws and accessories are stored within the A60 case itself.

The front of the A60 is solid black and measures 18.9 x 8.3 x 19.7 Inches. On the front panel the A60 has three removable 3.5" bay covers that allow for easy DVD drive installation and a single 2.5" bay. The front panel has a plain design, but there is plenty of ventilation and the use of extended triangle patterns at the bottom adds to the overall look of the case. Behind the lower portion of the front panel is a 120mm fan that cools the internal hard drives.

The back of the chassis is also solid black and features a standard design for a mid-sized ATX case. A few features take it a step beyond your standard $100 case though, like the use of four easy access holes for water cooling tubes, a locking clip that can secure keyboard and mouse cables to the case, a USB 3.0 cable, and ventilated rear I/O slot covers.

The sides of the A60 use different shapes and patterns to add some character to the look of the case. The side panel used to access the internal components also has a clear side window and two ventilation areas, one of which supports a 120mm case fan. There is also an opening on the side that is used for easy HDD installation.

The top and bottom panels of the A60 both have large ventilation areas. A large 200mm blue LED case fan exhausts air out through top. This design can greatly improve the cooling in the CPU area, as the hot air coming from the processor and VRM is removed quickly from the case. Thermaltake has only included one fan for the top panel, but there is additional room for an optional 120mm fan. The ventilation holes on the bottom play a different role in the cooling of the case. These holes instead allow air to freely pass through the intake fan on the power supply. The opening toward the back that is directly under the PSU sports a large filter to prevent dust from getting into the case. One issue here is that the rubber feet on the case aren't very tall and even with ventilation holes for the PSU, there still might not be enough room for the fan to pull in an antiquate volume of cool air from directly under the case.

From top to bottom, the front I/O panel has a USB 2.0 port, audio jacks, a USB 3.0 port, and e-SATA port, and the reset and power switches. The design of the power button is in the shape of a triangle, like much of the accents on the case, and is at a slight angle to allow for easier access.