Buying a computer case is much like buying any other computer hardware component these days, in the sense that there are almost endless options to choose from, making the decision quite difficult. However, there will be those of you that can quickly narrow the options down to a few select companies, as after all there are only a few we would choose from. One company that often comes to mind is Thermaltake, a company that provides an army of its very own cases!
For years now Thermaltake has been developing some very impressive cases, which they have been able to sell at very modest prices. Even their most high-end gaming cases are often still very affordable. Take the Armor+ for example, this massive full ATX case costs just $200 US, and while this may seem like a lot for a computer case, in reality it’s not. Most high-end full size ATX cases tend to cost significantly more, while few offer the same level of features.
The Armor+ impressed us in a number of ways, and since reviewing it late in 2007 it has remained as one of our favorite cases. However there is a new threat to the Armor+, and it is another Thermaltake case designed for gamers. Known simply as the “Spedo” this new full size ATX case is another monster, though there are a number of design changes that we believe makes for a better case.
While still very large, the Spedo is more compact than the Armor+, making it significantly easier to transport. The Armor+ was simply too big and awkward to move around, making it a bad choice for LAN goers. Thermaltake has attempted to address this issue by shortening the length of the Spedo while making it a little bit taller at the same time. There appears to be less space wasted with this design, and any open space has been used to direct large amounts of air-flow in and out of the case.
The new Thermaltake Spedo certainly appears to be a more technical case than the Armor+, as it offers an even more impressive range of features, clever ones at that! Some of the more notable features includes CRMS3 (Cable Routing Management 3) and ATC3 (Advanced Thermal Chamber 3) for example, while there are several other impressive features that we will look at shortly.
Although the Spedo is yet to be officially released, we expect it to come in at around the same price as the Armor+, meaning that this should be another $200 US case from Thermaltake. Like most Thermaltake cases, there will be more than one version of the Spedo. The more expensive “advanced package” that we will be looking at today includes a transparent window, CRM3 partitions, ATC3, black painted interior, and a total of eight fans, where as the standard version comes with just two.
