Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
As you might expect, I started by putting the power supply into the basement. The power supply in question is the FSP Hydro PTM Pro 1200W, which comes in at a length of 19cm. While this is quite a large power supply, the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow is capable of handling units up to 20.0cm in length, although this limitation is probably due to the location of the cabling hole on the back wall. You could probably get longer units in here, but you would have to be a bit more creative with your routing of cables since it could block this side hole. Next, I routed all of my necessary cables out the back of the Core P6 TG Snow and to their expected places.
Next, I mounted my motherboard into place. The standard ATX ASUS Prime X470-Pro motherboard was mounted here with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and a set of Patriot Viper RGB in white and black. I thought this alternative white and black RAM would complement the rest of the motherboard and build. I should note that if you have a detached motherboard I/O shield, you will not be able to install it here, as there is no rail to insert the shield into. Thankfully, more modern motherboards have integrated the I/O shield onto the motherboard itself. After, I mounted the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 240 to the right side of the motherboard. As we have mentioned in our internal inspections, there are many places to put radiators and fans in this case, with quite a bit of space above and to the side of the motherboard. If you end up choosing to go the air cooler route, Thermaltake also has provided up to 180mm in height space for large heatsinks.
Afterwards, I mounted the water pump and CPU block combination to the processor. With the large opening at the back for the motherboard, it was easy to install the backplate and mount everything with the motherboard already installed in the case. At this point, I also plugged in all of the front I/O cables, which had more than enough length to route nicely and plug in. I then looked at installing my graphics card. Thermaltake has provided a video card bracket to help reduce video card sag and alleviate downward stress on the PCI Express slot. As my EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING uses a thicker 2.7 slot design and is quite heavy, I am happy for this. You can either mount it to the back of the case, as I have done, or mount it above the power supply shroud. With everything plugged in, I connected all of the power supply cables.
Flipping to the back, you can see there are many areas for cable routing with all of my parts installed. There are several valleys for you to lead cables along without necessarily needing a cable tie while still looking mostly neat. At this point, I also mounted and installed my two 2.5" drives, which are the Patriot P200 512GB and OCZ ARC 100 240GB. These drives were installed onto the top drive sled and mounted in place.
Overall, I was quite impressed with the cabling capabilities of the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow, as there was ample space and cable tie points for you to route cables and keep them neat. The build experience was generally a positive one, with my only gripe being some of the screws were tightened a bit too much. There were some markings of over-torquing on some of the screw holes, which should not happen.
Before I powered it on, I decided to add some addressable RGB fans to my build, especially with how many tempered glass panels we have here. I put three Cooler Master SickleFlow 120 ARGB fans in white to the front of the case and an additional Fractal Design Prisma AL-12 fan on the exhaust side. These were all connected to a single ARGB controller to synchronize all of the fan color effects.
In terms of noise output, our standard APH Networks sound scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is loud. According to this, I would rate the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow, at stock configuration, around 0/10 under daily use, but only because no fans are included from the manufacturer. The Core P6 TG Snow does not do much to suppress any noise, though this is not the purpose of the case. Otherwise, I have to say the computer, when powered on, looks really good, especially if you have a lot of lights inside. Even if you do not, I think the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow does an excellent job at giving a full view of your components.
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What do you get when you have an enclosure with three tempered glass panels? Thermaltake has answered this question with the Core P6 TG Snow, which is a case that elevates the internal components without being a distraction. To start, the build quality here is immaculate. Users can see everything inside through the 4mm tempered glass panes and build with confidence with the solid white steel panels. Internally, Thermaltake has made provisions for large components, including several areas for mounting fans, radiators, and other liquid cooling components. There is a large number of places for storage options, both inside and on the back. Other showpiece items include a fully rotatable expansion slots and power supply area to vertically mount these components, if you so desire. Building in the Thermaltake Core P6 TG was a fun experience because of how much space Thermaltake provided for the components and for managing cables. This really made building my system and keeping it clean a breeze. I also appreciated the large graphics card bracket provided to reduce GPU sag and relieve pressure on the PCIe slot. After everything is done and dusted, there are only a few things I would want to see refined on the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow. The first is to reduce the rattle on the top and front glass panel. Second, I would like stronger magnets on the mesh filters included, especially the bottom one, to ensure it stays in place. Finally, I think Thermaltake could work on ensuring screws are not overtightened from the factory. At a retail price of $230 USD, the Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow is not made for every user, especially given its larger size and hefty price. However, I think the cost is fully validated by the enclosure's head-turning appearance, ease of use, and accommodation of parts.
Thermaltake provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Recommended Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
9/10 means Excellent product with very minor drawbacks that do not affect the overall product.
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 8.1/10
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 Core P6 TG Snow is a showpiece of a computer case with excellent build materials and great compatibility.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
