Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Now, for the fun part: Building my PC. I began by installing my motherboard into the case. The Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow supports E-ATX, ATX, mATX, and mITX-sized motherboards, which was perfect for my MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk in the ATX form factor. My motherboard has an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, XPG Spectrix D50 DDR4-3600 2x8GB memory kit, and Corsair MP600 CORE 2TB and Lexar NM710 1TB SSDs installed. To make the most of the various mounting options, I installed the DeepCool AK400 Digital for cooling. The cooler had no problem fitting in the case.
Installing my power supply at the bottom of the case was a very simple process. I settled with SilverStone's Decathlon DA850 Gold 850W for this build, which has a length of 140mm. I simply slotted the power supply against back of the case and used a screwdriver to insert the Phillips head screws to securely hold the PSU. Thermaltake recommends a maximum PSU length of 220mm, which mine cleared with ease. After installing my PSU, I routed all the necessary cables via the back of the motherboard tray. I also took this opportunity to daisy-chain all the pre-installed case fans. The back itself was quite clean thanks to the space beside the PSU slot that extraneous cables can go into. I appreciate Thermaltake's attempts to make cable management easier with their Velcro straps and additional zip ties.
I finished the build by installing my EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card onto the top PCIe slot on my motherboard. The maximum GPU clearance length is 420mm without a radiator and 370mm with a radiator as outlined by Thermaltake, which was not a problem for my RTX 3060 Ti. If you choose not to go with an air cooler, liquid cooling is also quite flexible. It is important to quickly note that if you place a radiator at the bottom, you will have less clearance space for your GPU. This only applies for liquid coolers. I proceeded to plug in all necessary cables from the front of the case into their appropriate motherboard headers. The cable cutouts were large enough to fit multiple cables through, making for a clean setup. I proceeded to plug in all required cables from the power switch to I/O headers into their appropriate headers.
With the installation complete, I put the side panels back on and brought my PC back to life by hitting the power button. The tempered glass did a great job at displaying the internal components, especially the ones with RGB LED lighting. The front panel also clearly displays any RGB LED lighting coming from the intake fans thanks to the see-through mesh and glass window on the side. The Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow was made for performance and some flash.
How does it hold up with noise though? The standard APH Networks sound scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is a war zone, the CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow is not the quietest of cases, although it is not deafening by any means. Even when using my PC for more intensive tasks such as gaming or intensive simulations, the case still managed to suppress the noise for the most part. According to the APH Networks scale, I would rate the Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow at 3.5/10 under daily use.
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How did the Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow hold up against APH Networks' standards? For one, the case is solidly built with very little intentional gaps between panels. The white finish on the case looks clean and lends to the "Snow" part of the name. The tempered glass panel is a familiar feature, but it is still nice to have for those who want to see the flashy RGB LED lighting in their components. On the topic of RGB LED lighting, the three pre-installed RGB LED fans look great when in operation. The three included fans are 140mm, 4-pin PWM controlled, and with daisy-chained cables. At the front, we have four USB 3.0 Type-A ports and a USB Type-C port, which is generous, but may not be supported by most motherboards as they do not have enough USB 3.0 headers. Internally, the cable management system is spacious and well-thought out. The dust filters work fine and are well-placed. There is an impressive amount of storage options here with the case, both in the front and back of the case. The 90-degree rotated form factor is unique, giving more opportunities for cooling the graphics card and processor with the placement of the pre-installed fans. It is also nice that the expansion slots are rotatable, which gives you options for what orientation you want to mount your graphics card. On the other hand, it leads me to the other criticism of this case, which is the fact you will need long cables for your peripherals to reach the motherboard I/O. Finally, you should note that this chassis is larger than a typical mid-tower ATX case, which may make it harder to fit in your space depending on where you plan to place this case. At a retail price of $173 at press time, the Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow comes at a fairly hefty price. If you are looking for a solid design and a thought out cooling solution, this case is certainly worth being on your shopping list.
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 7.5/10
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 CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow is a solidly built mid-tower case with a unique yet logical design for optimized cooling performance.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
