ThermalTake Xaser VI case review
Front
The front of the case is made out of aluminum and features two big black mesh areas with chrome accents. Prominently featured is the X from the Xaser brand and the bottom of the case features some more ThermalTake branding. The case also has two "eyes" in the front which shine when your system is on.
The Xaser VI features a large door that covers all the drive bays. By default the door opens to the left but with a minute of work you can change the opening direction of the door.
The door could use some improvement: it opens too easily which can be pretty annoying when you're transporting the case. Some stronger magnets could fix this problem.
It looks as if there are 11 5.25" bays but that's not that case - the bottom four covers are vents for the 140mm intake fan.
The bay covers allow lots of ventilation and they all have small dust filters.
The installation of 5.25" devices is completely tool-free. You only need to remove the cover and gently slide the device into the bay - it will automatically lock. No clips or screws are necessary but in case the drive isn't stable enough it's possible to secure it with screws.
The accessory box can be installed in one of the 5.25" bays. This little gadget offers some room for screws or small devices like your phone or digital audio player.
One of the Xaser VI's unique features is the push-and-open I/O cover. It's a pretty nice concept but I'm not really impressed by this feature as the plastic feels pretty cheap.
Under the cover is a FireWire port, four USB 2.0 ports, 2 e-SATA ports, a mic input, headphone output and a HDD LED. Another unique feature of the Xaser is the power button: it's an X. The X is quite big but unfortunately it's pressable surface is kinda small if you have big fingers, it would have been better if the power-on button was a bit bigger. The same is true for the reset button, it's very tiny and hard to use.
Added: December 7th 2007
Product reviewed: ThermalTake Xaser VI case
Reviewer: Thomas De Maesschalck
Score: 8.75/10
Page: 2/6