Case Deconstructed – Component Parts
When removed from the case, the motherboard tray's design elegance becomes much more apparent. Not only does the tray support any sized motherboard available, but Thermaltake included a recessed hard drive mounting tray for mounting traditional hard disks or SSDs to the underside of the tray. All of the tray parts (metal, plastic, and rubber) are black colored to match the case aesthetics. The motherboard tray is powder coated to give the metal some degree of durability and scratch resistance as well. From the bottom view of the motherboard tray, the hard disk tray mount points become visible. The tray mounts to the underside, held in place by two thumbscrews just behind the tray pass-through holes.
The motherboard tray contains surface etched markings and a guide to aid in knowing which mount holes to use for what motherboard type. The mount holes marked with an "A" are used for mounting an ATX-type motherboard (including both standard ATX and E-ATX-style motherboards). The "M" marked holes are used for micro-ATX and mini-ITX type boards.
The recessed hard drive tray mounts to the motherboard tray using lips built into the front and back support brackets on the motherboard tray, which frame the CPU socket cutout on the tray. The support brackets also contain horizontal grooves which act as receptors for lips on the hard disk tray to help secure the tray in place (aside from the thumbscrews that is). It becomes apparent just how much space Thermaltake allowed for the CPU cutout in the motherboard tray after removing the hard disk tray.
The hard disk tray is a solid metal construct, powder coated similar to all the other metal parts in the case. By default, a plastic 3.5" hard disk cage is fixed to the bottom side of the tray, held in place by a slot and groove on the top and a snap-in connector at the bottom. With the plastic tray installed, only a single hard disk can be mounted to the hard disk tray.
Things get more interesting once you remove the plastic drive tray from the hard disk tray surface. With the plastic drive tray removed, the hard disk tray supports mounting of up to three drives as follows: two 3.5" drives or two 2.5" SSDs and one 3.5" drive. In this configuration, the tray must be flipped so that the indented portions of the tray face down. The drives are mounted directly to the tray using screws through the tray, that flush mount to the surface. The tray itself contained surface etched markings and a legend for direct mounting disks in this fashion. The holes marked "A" are used for mounting 3.5" disks with the holes marked "B" used for 2.5" disk mounting. Note that 3.5" disks mount horizontally on the tray, while 2.5" SSDs mount in a vertical orientation.
The plastic drive tray supports both a single disk, either 3.5" or 2.5". The 3.5" disk is held by the side pins (no screws required), while a 2.5" disk must be direct mounted to the tray via mount holes in the top of the tray.
The device cover located in the back left corner of the case mounts to the case via screws through the back panel and the side support rail. It offers protection for either a hard disk bay or a PSU mounted under it with enough clearance provided in either case. The cover contains dual grommeted pass-through ports big enough for any drive or PSU wiring required. However, the lower hole is very easily blocked by bottom mounted devices, such as radiators or a PSU. Note that the device cover also supports mounting of the plastic drive tray (from the hard disk tray) to is underside for even more drive space if required.
The case includes two hard disk bays, supporting three mount trays each. The body of the bay is black power coated metal with the trays being of a plastic construction. Each locks into the bay with side latches, you simple squeeze inward to unlock and slide forward to remove. You can mount a single drive in each tray with 3.5" disks locked in place with the side pin assembly and 2.5" disks being direct mounted to the tray via screws through the underside.
For fan/radiator or hard disk bay mounting, Thermaltake includes three mount plates. In its factory default configuration, the Core x9 includes two mount plates mounted to the right case bottom and a single mount plate mounted to the front right side rail. Each mount supports mounting of two 120mm fans or 1.5 140mm fans (up to three 140 mm fans when using two mount plates in the bottom or side configuration). The plates have slide mount holes for both 120mm and 140mm fan or radiator configuration. The inside set of holes are for 120mm-style devices and the outer set are for the 140mm variety. The mount plates themselves are constructed of black powder coated steel to match the other case components.
The top mount plates fit into the the top front and back rails of the case using a series of slots and grooves, fixed in place with thumbscrews. The plates can be mounted side by side as shown or center mounted in a single plate configuration. Both plates are powder coated steel to match the other case component with four cutouts for fans. The plates support mounting of 120mm, 140mm, or 200mm-style fans or radiators – the inner holes are for 120mm devices, the middle holes for 140mm, and the outer for 200mm devices. Each plate supports mounting of up to 4 x 120mm fans or up to a 480mm radiator, 3 x 140mm fans or up to a 420mm radiator, or 2 x 200mm fans or a 400mm radiator. Note that for 200mm-style devices, only a single plate can be used in the center mount configuration.
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.