Exterior Case Overview
The Thermaltake Core X9 case is of a steel and plastic construction coming in at a hefty 35 lbs empty and closer to 40-50 lbs fully configured, especially if you choose to build a multi-radiator custom cooling array in this beast. In it stock configuration, the case comes with a full sized acrylic window on its left side and a dual-vented panel on its right. It supports three 5.25" devices up front with integrated USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone input ports, as well as power and reset buttons in its front panel assembly. In keeping with its enthusiast-friendly configurable theme, Thermaltake decided against including any type of LED internal or fan lighting, leaving those decisions to the imagination of the case builder.
The Core X9 case itself is constructed on a massive scale with a height of 18.375", and external width of 15.125" and a depth of almost 25.50". Just for some scale, a typical E-ATX motherboard is about 12" in width, so the case could easily fit two E-ATX motherboards with some room to spare. The height and depth of the case illustrate how Thermaltake was able to certify the case for use of up to four 480mm radiators in its top panel and lower side panels.
The case front panel is a vented plastic cover in black with Thermaltake's corporate logo in silver and centered along the bottom half. Sitting behind the logo is the 200mm intake fan. In the center of the top half are the three 5.25" device bays, also vented should you choose to use the space for additional fans or even a 280mm (2×140) or a 360mm (3×120) radiator.
The Core X9's left side panel is steel with a full sized embedded acrylic window, held in place with two thumbscrews. The plastic remained on the window in the picture to prevent scratching and other damage while I was building out the case. The window itself is crystal clear and held in place with metal hold-downs on the rear side of the panel. Thermaltake made an interesting design decisions with the case control panel assembly, choosing to mount it to the side of the case rather than the traditional front or top panel placement.
The case control panel assembly is mounted to the front upper portion of the left side of the case. Notice that the panel itself is a separate piece from the left side panel and the front panel, allowing it to be removed and swapped between its default position on the left side of the case to the right side of the case. The case control panel supports four USB 3.0 ports, a headphone output port, a microphone input port, power and reset buttons, as well as power and hard drive activity LEDS. The power LED glows blue, while the hd activity LED intermittently glows red when powered.
The case's right side panel is steel with vented upper and lower windows that stretch the full width of the panel held in place with two thumbscrews. The lower vented area can be used as an intake if you choose to mount fans or a radiator to the lower right side of the case. The blank panel in the upper right corner of the side can be used as an alternate mounting location for the case control panel assembly.
The rear panel of the case is a solid steel assembly housing the included 120mm outlet fan and motherboard rear panel assembly and PCIe card slots below it. The upper fan slot supports up to a 140mm fan. There are also rubber ports located above the PCIe hold down slots for use with routing cables or liquid coolant tubing. The lower portion of the rear panel can be configured to house the system PSU on one side and an additional 120mm fan on the other by simply moving the the fan mounting bracket located on the lower left side. The fan bracket is held in place with four thumbscrews.
The top panel contains dual vented sections that stretch the length of the panel, similar in design to the case's right panel. Underneath the vents sit two vertical mount points for up to eight 120mm fans or two 480mm radiators. The top panel is held in place with two thumbscrews at the rear side of the panel.
The bottom of the case contains dual vented sections running its length, similar to the top panel. Both vented sections are covered by removable filters that cover 3/4 of the vented area. Similar to the top panel, the lower panel of the case supports placement of up to eight 120mm fans or dual 480mm radiators if you choose to forgo mounting of the included hard drive bays or a PSU. Use of both or either will limit the amount of space available along the case bottom. The front of the bottom panel is removable should you choose to stack multiple Core X9 cases on top of each other, making of a nice pass-through for cables and liquid cooling tubing.
The four included case feet are molded steel assemblies held in place with Phillips head screws. The feet are cover with non-slip rubber to keep the case from sliding along slick surfaces as well.
This is similar in concept to
This is similar in concept to my Caselabs M8…. only a whole lot cheaper. It’s nice to have coaster wheels though, especially when you watercool and have several liters of water in the loop. After all, a case that’s difficult to move, won’t get flushed.
Great overview Morry.I just
Great overview Morry.I just got the white version of this case. Love it so far. With just the stock fans my 5960X is running 10c cooler. Can’t wait for the follow up.
Got this case for my father’s
Got this case for my father’s PC. Didn’t quite realize just how large the case really was. Not complaining. It was a joy to work with. After dealing with an Antec 300 it was nice to have all the extra room for activities and a PC.
It is a very large case.
It is a very large case. Really got my feel of how large it was when I hauled it to a LAN party earlier in the year. That being said, it is a joy to work with and has more space than most of us could fill (though I've done my part in trying :))…
Huh. I’ve been going in the
Huh. I’ve been going in the opposite direction lately, towards smaller more space efficient cases. I can’t imagine lugging this case around!
think i might have found a
think i might have found a replacement for my fractal design r5. running an e-atx mobo in that and it is cramped. MSI X99A Xpower AC
I love the way this case
I love the way this case looks. I wouldn’t mind doing a build in it in the future.
Bought this case last summer.
Bought this case last summer. It’s been good, other than the flimsy side panels. I’ve filled it up.
I own this case and honestly
I own this case and honestly I moved to it from a Corsair 900D and I couldn’t be happier with it. My Corsair had so many quality control issues with things not lining up right after spending $350 for a case and this one only being $140 with tax and its quality was amazing. I wish I could get a Caselabs case but honestly I can’t justify spending a large amount on a case after my burn with Corsair’s. One complaint I do have with the case is the motherboard tray. I wish it doubled as a midplate so I could not see the rads and stuff below but I solved that with a piece of black acrylic I just cut a whole new motherboard tray and had it extended all the way to the front panel.
I was thinking about doing
I was thinking about doing something similar, not necessarily replacing the entir try, but more extending it forward with 1/4 acrylic and adding a side piece in front of the window, with some type of backlit design…
I’ve been looking for
I’ve been looking for something like this that was cheaper than Caselabs and not fugly like Mountainmods. Looks good.
OH DEAR… This is just an
OH DEAR… This is just an fugly, made in china and bad copy of the Caselabs S8 or the smaller S8S. If you don’t believe it look for some images.
They also took the very little details, incredible, pedestal concept included.Even every grill is in the same exact position. I wouldn’t be surprised if it also had the same exact dimensions. If I was between the designers that worked on this thing I would feel embarassed.
But this is not even the first.. They also copied other designs from the Caselabs lineup.
SHAME !
* Actually after looking at
* Actually after looking at it even better I noticed has tyhe same height of a S8 but it’s longer, as it supports 480 rads instead of the 360s.
I also noticed the grills have the same exact mesh design.. At least they could’ve change that.
What in the What is a 540mm
What in the What is a 540mm radiator. 140*4=560.
What in the What is a 540mm
What in the What is a 540mm radiator. 140*4=560.
A 540mm radiator is 3x180mm,
A 540mm radiator is 3x180mm, not a very well known or wide-spread size, but supported according to the Thermaltake documentation…
Morry, did you try to fit a
Morry, did you try to fit a drive in the five and a quarter inch bays?
i have the X1 and the drive does not fit flush with the front of the case, just wondering if all the Core X cases are like this
http://imgur.com/wQ7vkpi
http://imgur.com/ewTVICb
http://imgur.com/OlyaKh7
The Core X9 is similar, where
The Core X9 is similar, where a device mounted in the 5.25" bay is not flush with the front…
Thanks a lot for featuring
Thanks a lot for featuring this! I got my eye on it back when it was mentioned on “pick of the week”. Got it based on this review to replace Cooler Master Sniper case, which had issues with drive cages, cable management and cleaning. Loving horizontal motherboard mount and the ways that I can route multiple SATA cables. Was thoroughly confused, however, on how best to install case fans and direction of push/pull that would be effective for something this large. Looking forward to advanced version to get more ideas on how to play with it.