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Charlie loses his heart to a Thermaltake case

CeBit 2009 Level 10 - best in show by a long shot
Tuesday, 3 March 2009, 16:55

Look-out--here-comes-demerjian

THERE IS OFTEN a product that as soon as you see it, you know it is the best product of the show you are at. This CeBit, the one that made me sit up and take notice was the Thermaltake Level 10 case, by far the best thing at the show.


The case is being kept under wraps at the Thermaltake booth, but if you act quickly when the PR folk are not looking, you can get a glimpse of the next big thing in cases. Just watch out for the 'no photos' sign, it is really reflective and screws up pictures.

Tt_level10_side
Thermaltake Level 10 side view

If you think the Level 10 looks good from the side, look at it from the front. Have you ever seen anything that looks like this? Anything close? All I can say is wow. Wow, and damn nice.

Tt_level_10_front
Thin and beautiful

The idea behind it was to break up the case into it's elements, packaging those in a new and elegant form factor. Unless you are blind, you will see that they hit both marks dead on. Thermaltake did right in a way that very few companies do any more, and the results stood out as a clear best in the show.


Other than that, they won't say much, this is just a sneak preview. It will be a very limited edition case meant to promote their 10th anniversary, and I think it will do that well. The official unveiling is at Computex in a couple of months, so look for specs then. When it comes out, there won't be many, and it will probably be very expensive. And worth every cent. The line starts behind me. µ

 

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All hail the tech shrine

And lo, Level 10 was achieved and the Gods gave humatity a shrine to pray upon

That is one nice looking case. Bags 2nd in line :P

posted by : Mike, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Rarely...

...do I agree with Charlie D, but I'm in line behind him for his case, even if I have to spend my upgrade budget on this only.

posted by : DarkElfa, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
It's nice, but..

it's going to be a PITA to take appart, unless the whole left side comes off in one peice, which doesn't seem to be the case. for that reason it probably isn't the next evolution of case design, but it will still be nice for the enthusiasts

posted by : craj, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
That thing is ugly!

If I put that in our house my wife would go medievil on me.

posted by : Hen Pecked, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
huh?

That's the freakin ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life.

posted by : Ed Borden, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
So much for no photo

Look at the bottom of Picture #1.

So much for not taking pictures.

posted by : Christian, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
this is unreal...

where are the rest of the pictures?? i really dig this case. just hope that all the power cables are pre-routed from factory.
do you have any more info on this chassis? availability? price? other features (other than it looks awesome)?????

posted by : IAteTheRich, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
@Craj

Look at the parts Craj, you can see you can unscrew the components separately.

posted by : neliz, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Looks bad

Typical Thermaltake fugly as can be stuff.

posted by : LowRun, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Ooof!!

It's like a cyber-age office block. It kicks ass. I wouldn't know whether to put my components in it or go buy 25mm space marine minitaures and play Warhammer 40K with it. If you think that case is ugly, you dont deserve anything above a pentium II procesor in your build!

posted by : DM, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
...followup

looking at the picture, looks to me that the display model is a mockup. the dull finish and some rough edges all point to it.

can other confirm this? if this is true, it would be a while until we can see this on the store shelf.

posted by : IAteTheRich, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
In a word...

ugly.

posted by : dweezil, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Really ugly?

Damn that's one ugly case.....that's why i like it!!!

posted by : Matsoe, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Huh.

Looks neat. So their idea was to wrap plastic tightly around most objects that fit inside the case.

There goes airflow.

posted by : Mike Green, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
OMG, that is really really ugly

very very ugly. looks like what people will make fun of 20 years from now when they look back at what people today thought was futuristic-looking.

posted by : dave, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Review

I'm suffering madly from jet lag, and to top it off, I've forgotten my Rx, so I had to try and find an English speaking pharmacist in this backwater known as Hannover. At least that burning sensation is gone for a time.

Well, those incompetent, dishonest losers at Thermaltake are at it again, attempting to fleece all those customers who didn't learn the first time. Or the second time.

The crooks at Thermaltake are the ones that people are talking about when they use the phrase, "On the take." I'm not suggesting anything underhanded is going on. Oh, no. I'm stating it quite clearly. Read my fat lips: liars and crooks!

These jokers couldn't manage to wake up from their stupor and open up a book on basic engineering and have produced the worst PC case product ever produced, that is, since their last stinker. This elephantine paperweight is a fire hazard of the first order. Any first grader will take one look at it and know instantly that the criminals at Thermaltake have screwed up royally by separating each PC component into its own airtight box. These morons couldn't manage a coherent thought even if you filled their empty craniums with a pastry bag of stem cells.

No doubt the lawsuits will start any minute.

By the way, I attempted to ask the PR cretin where they have hidden all the bodies. He pretended to look confused and denied knowing what I was talking about. Isn't that exactly what a guilty person would say? They may think I look dumb (just about everybody says so, so why not them too), but I am smarter than everybody, and I'm determined to convince you through sheer arrogance and ad homonym attacks.

Thermaltake should go back to butchering babies and stealing socks, which they apparently are good at, and leave engineering PC cases to somebody, anybody, else. Like a 3rd grader.

(OK, I give up on this parody. Being Charlie must be hard. It is exhausting to think up so many ways to slander one company.)

posted by : Charlie Derangedman, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Do it!!!!

@Mike Green

Packed into airtight cases? the HDDs maybe, but they have heatsinks on either side.

The power supply has front and back fan holes for airflow

I think this case might be ugly, but it'll be one hell of a cooler with all that metal round. Seperating the motherboard from the other components is genius.

posted by : Doit, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
The paragraph style is hideous

I'm glad comments have paragraph breaks. However, the styling is terrible.

By having a horizontal line between each paragraph, the flow of the reading is broken up and the horizontal line which separates each comment looks very similar.

Please change this css (around line 1096):

.articles_comment p {
border-top:1px solid #E4E4E4;
font-size:1.1em;
line-height:20px;
padding:10px 10px 10px 0;
}

to this:

.articles_comment p {
font-size:1.1em;
line-height:20px;
padding:5px 10px 5px 0;
}

Thank you.

posted by : Jim B, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
What's it like for cooling?

Those hard drive enclosures look like they store heat. Unless there is some dual fan thing going on at top and bottom pushing and pulling the air through all the those chambers.

I doubt it will fit a large graphics card. ;-)

posted by : interested_party, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
troll article?

Looks like someone glued their tower (lower left) and some lunchboxes (top) and some desktop hubs (lower right) to some plywood and spraypainted it flat black. Fugliest case ever.

posted by : Bounty, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
don't care

where the heat goes, where the holes are, how it works. I want it and I'll get it. Technolust!!!

posted by : b, 03 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Can you please smack all case designers for me?

WTF is with these people and their retarded drive bay designs? It's not just one manufacturer, it's all over. Have they not noticed RAID cards come in 8, 12, 16, and 24 ports? Why the hell do we keep getting these 6 and 7 bay case designs?

Even Lian Li has become infected with stupidity and discontinued the 12 bay PC2000 series and keeps making these ridiculous 7 (SEVEN!? WTF IS THE POINT?!!?) bay hotswap backplanes!

They need to use a proper number like 8 or 12 and just ditch a useless 5.25" bay (who the hell uses more than 1 or 2 anymore anyway? For what?). Or maybe wake up and realize that 3.5" HDs are about to follow 5.25" full height and 8" models into history now that SSDs are gathering momentum (and will be surpassing magnetic platters in density this year, never to look back) and go for 16 2.5" bays.

posted by : Gldm, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
IBM + Acid

Looks like something the case designers at IBM would have designed if tripping on acid.

posted by : Sentinel, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Damn GIna

IBM + Acid that is exactly what i was thinking. This does look a lot like the ibm workstations thought. netvista anyone?

posted by : missingxtension, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
YUCK

Ugly case! How would you watercool that thing? You can't. Not without cutting it up. It'll burn faster than a laptop! Did enough of us mention that it's UGLY?!?!?! Cuz it is...

posted by : GonnaVomit, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
What?

Charlie dear:

Please ...
Next time do remember to take your meds with you.

That case is an ugly, dust collecting and probably quite expensive POS.

Cheers,

Chuck

posted by : Chuck, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
It's a box...

Since when has the external appearance a box been elevated to such importance that it would cause you to part with hard-earned readies just on that basis ??

My god, people are *SUCH* suckers... iPhones, iPods, Pretty boxes...

I've got this bridge for sale, if you are interested... and very attractive, it is.

posted by : Justin Time, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
MILF

Boy is this one Mother (of a case) I would I Like to F$%^. Sexy!!

posted by : Jamie, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Woah!

Looks freakin' sweet to me! Id love to see some specs and prices and see if its worth it.

posted by : Jeremiah, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Now I understand a lot of things

If Charlie likes that case, than it tells something of the distorted personality he has

posted by : Titius, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Ugly

That is one ugly case. I wouldn't even waste my angle grinder on that.

posted by : Anonymouse, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
at least it has you talking!

surely some bold design has to be better than all the same look-a-likey boxes....

PCs have become like cars, you can hardly tell one from another these days...

posted by : bongo, 04 March 2009 Complain about this comment
hmmm

Me thinks me will put the money on a better vid card.

posted by : David, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
This looks like a failbox.

Why?

motherboard tray? Useful functions? All of the cases I buy now have some sort of feature I need/want. My antec super lanboy is a light aluminum case with some neat features for travel.

My Coolermaster CM stacker has a MOTHERBOARD TRAY which is a godsend. Go buy all those fancy cases with all the doodads and wachamacalits but I will relax and slide my motherboard tray out as I please.

posted by : viscountalpha, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Livin' in the 80's!

Looks like a "Wargames-esque" take on what a super computer was supposed to look like back in the 80's...

I can't imagine the geek who buys one of these ever dusting it and there is a LOT of surface area to catch all them errant ramen noodles, dirt, dust and tha' short and curlies inevitably cast off during late night fap sessions...

U G L Y

posted by : vince, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Shipping more?

Charlie - could you ask them for a discounted shipping rate? To pick up all of your da*(^$% cards off the floor we'll need a truckfull of these guys. I really am tired of the piles of boards and cards.

Thanks, MN gal

posted by : MN gal, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
@Charlie Derangedman

Hilarious! A very good impersonation. I suspect you tried your best to overdo his style, yet you failed miserably. But have heart - there is but one Charlie in this world and no one else can be expected to be held up to his... uh... standards.

posted by : Charlie Fan #1, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Awful

That is far and away the worst looking case I've ever seen. What are you all smoking?

posted by : Robinson, 05 March 2009 Complain about this comment
It's a goddamn case.

What's with people and all these pimped out cases? It's a friggin' case. You hold your components. It's not beauty, it's not style, IT'S A GODDAMN COMPUTER. Just put it in the case and USE it. Who cares what color it is or if it's got a fancy grill or weird shapes. As long as it makes for an easy build and good airflow, that's what matters - not some BS fancy ass design.

posted by : frodo, 06 March 2009 Complain about this comment
This looks like...

A mutant Xbox 360...

posted by : Dave, 06 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Ugly ass case

That is the ugliest case I've ever seen in my life. Its like two PS3's on top of each other with a bunch of useless crap glued to the side. While you lost your heart Charlie, I lost my lunch. You're seriously off on this one!

posted by : Sam H, 06 March 2009 Complain about this comment
On Style

This is what happens when BMW gets input into computers, though it is more in the style of Ferrari.

I agree with less 5.25 Drive bays, One or Two is enough, I can't wait for SSD's to increase in GB size and lower their price point.

The style idea might not be my favorite, but at least it gets the case makers to start getting creative again.

posted by : JOD, 06 March 2009 Complain about this comment
better pic

Nice...I like the sexy look. But not sure it would be worth $250+ which it's likely to be.

I do have to agree with the cooling concern. It does have some ventilation but still makes one wonder if its enough. So with that, I buy on functionality with a little style. Though I like it I doubt I will be getting one as I would not even think of it until I read reviews on it's airflow ability and by then they will probably be sold out if TRULY Limited Edition.

It does kind of look like a mock up in these pics.
here's a better pic of the case.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTIzNjM3NjQxM0N2NHk2TUVWOUxfMV8xX2wuanBn

posted by : Brandon, 07 March 2009 Complain about this comment
1980's

wtf, are you taking the p1ss, honestly?

posted by : :/, 11 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Holy Jesus!

Dubya Tee Eff. the designer of this monstrosity should be fileted and served raw to a village of Namibian pygmies.

posted by : jake, 17 March 2009 Complain about this comment
Torn...

I am torn.... Watercooling would be next to impossible, and Yes, it looks like it was designed by IBM on acid, but I still think I would pay to have it!
P.S. Should I put a W.O.P.R. sticker on it? Will it have bunches of flashy lignts?

posted by : Henry , 27 March 2009 Complain about this comment
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