Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
As usual, building with the Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow started with my power supply. This involves plugging in the necessary cables and mounting the power supply into the mid-tower. The power supply in question is the Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 Snow 750W, which is 16cm in length. Thermaltake recommends a maximum 22cm length for supported power supplies, but you could get away with even longer ones if you remove the drive cage. During the routing process, I appreciated the plastic holder at the top for the CPU cable. There was also a metal lip at the back to keep the CPU cable in place. Otherwise, I routed the PCIe power cables through the hole above the drive cage. I also directed the front I/O and fan cables to the right spot at this point.
My next step involved installing my motherboard, which is an ASUS Prime X470-Pro with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X installed and a set of Patriot Viper RGB DDR4-3600 2x16GB sticks onboard. On top of the processor, I installed a DeepCool AK620, which has a height of 160mm. Thermaltake limits a maximum height of 185mm, which is more than enough clearance for even larger coolers like the Noctua NH-D15. I then installed my video card, which is a EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING. There was more than enough space at the front for the card, as the manufacturer specifies a maximum length of 395mm with a radiator installed or 425mm without. Afterwards, I plugged all of the cables into the motherboard or my graphics card. I also installed the video card support bracket, which prevents sag and unnecessary stress on your PCIe slot. This was straightforward to install and made a notable difference for my thick GPU.
At the back, I then installed my two drives, the Patriot P200 512GB and OCZ ARC 100 240GB into the drive cage. Otherwise, I managed the cables a bit by slotting them through the included channels and clips, while also bunching extra cables in the basement of the Ceres 500 TG. I ended up installing my own addressable RGB controller, as my motherboard does not have the necessary headers. Even so, I think this is relatively organized, although I could have cleaned up some cables in the bottom area. I think Thermaltake did an excellent job in making the overall build experience quite a positive one with more than enough space to work inside the Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow. With everything plugged in here, I closed up the side panel easily and placed it near my desk.
Afterwards, I plugged all my peripherals into the back and turned on the system. All of the fans spun to life and my system illuminated white from the fans. I really liked the lighting, as the fans added a nice glow to the rest of the machine. The other thing I noticed when powering the system on was the high airflow nature of this case, especially when it came to the noise. According to our standard APH Networks sound scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is loud, I would rate the Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow around a 6.0/10. Under more regular loads, the noise was closer to a 4.0/10, as it was still audible. Unfortunately, the many included fans made a notable hum, especially when the system was under full load. The case also does not block or reduce this noise through any dampening foam or other means, so users should be aware of this.
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The Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow clearly covers all of its expected functions in a unique look. Its airflow focus is quite clear from the outset with its perforated panels throughout. This is further backed up with four included fans, which is not commonly found in this quantity. Those wanting to give their components as much cool air as possible would definitely be drawn to this case. Internally, there is even more space for different components, including multiple long radiators, a tall CPU cooler, large graphics cards, and a lengthy power supply. The included GPU support bracket and vertical mounting possibilities is also appreciated. When it comes to using the Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow, Thermaltake has provided many creature comforts. The amount of working space definitely helps, but Thermaltake has also included many cabling holes, a variety of clips and channels for routing cables with Velcro tiedowns, and a sufficient amount of cabling space. All front fans are pre-routed and daisy-chained together out of the box. However, there are still several areas of improvement. For one, the mesh filters on all of the perforations were quite flimsy and used weak magnets. Furthermore, the fan noise was audible, even under nominal loads. The other area of concern comes from the tempered glass panel, as the side window would benefit from having a stopper to prevent it from swinging around too freely. Thermaltake should also address the visible gap above and below the clear pane of glass and the rest of the frame. Finally, I wish there were more rubber grommets inside and a fan or an addressable lighting hub for easy setup. At the time of the review, the Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow can be found for around $170, which is a bit to pay for a chassis. Even so, the Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow meets and exceeds what most users are looking for in an airflow-focused computer case.
Thermaltake provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.3/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB Snow is a capable high airflow enclosure that can hold large components while keeping them cool.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
