Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
If this is your first time taking a peek into the Thermaltake Armor A90, then the designers sure know how to make a good first impression. There are not many cases out there running a MSRP of $100 (Approximately $70 after rebate at press time) that is as featured refined as this mid-tower chassis. The fully painted matte black interior is not only sleek to look at, but also constructed well for a solid feel and no noticeable sharp edges during use. Too bad the Armor A90 has such a small side window to give this attribute little value, haha. Other than that, measuring in at 502mm in height, 210mm in width, and 515mm in length, it is slightly taller than other cases in the same size category. It tips the scales at 8.2kg, which is very reasonable compared to similar products as well.
Because the Thermaltake Armor A90 features a bottom mounted power supply bay, the chassis platform is raised about half an inch off the ground to accommodate units with fans at the bottom. There is also a nice little gap between the air intake filter and the bottom of your power supply. As I have just mentioned, an air intake dust filter is included to reduce the amount of dust drawn into your PSU. Unfortunately, even house flies would fit through that filter, so I really don't see it being very effective in practice -- especially if the user is going to be placing their computer over carpet. Sure, most people know you shouldn't put your computer over carpet, but you know -- not pointing fingers or anything!
In order to ensure the installed power supply is secured properly inside the case, a crossbar is situated a good distance from the rear opening for additional support. A clip is located on the motherboard tray and back panel to lock the PSU down. Realistically, this is not necessary since it merely acts as an inconvenience during installation with minimal redeeming benefits.
The Thermaltake Armor A90 features seven 3.5" drive bays to accommodate, well, up to seven 3.5" drives (Place 'Master of the Obvious' picture here eh). A 4-pin Molex powered 120mm LED fan draws cool air over the hard drives and into the system. By default, the fan is installed at the bottom, but there is an extra fan mount right above it. Each drive is placed in parallel orientation to the chassis, which is better for clean cabling, but may be a bit more challenging to add or remove drives down the road -- especially if you have excessively long video cards. Speaking of which, the longest video card you can fit in the Armor A90 is 10.5", meaning the latest ATI and NVIDIA flagships will need to find bigger home to live in. The top 3.5" drive bay is externally accessible, but does not feature tool-free installation. The lowest bay has four bumps at the bottom panel to take on one 2.5" hard drive or SSD.
Six out of seven 3.5" drive bays feature tool-free installation. The one obviously missing from the list is the top externally accessible bay, and I can definitely explain why. For one thing, it is aligned to the center of the chassis, while the rest of the rack is biased towards the outside for accessibility reasons. Secondly, the tool-free installation implementation is not quite up to par in my opinion. It works by simply unlatching the clips and swinging it upwards, slide the device in, and reset the clip to its original position. The clips has two shallow screws that clicks into the drive, which is kind of funny because it is not nearly as secure as even attaching screws from one side of the case. If you want a secure installation, you are much better off in removing the tool-free clips, and just do it the old fashioned way.
The big 200mm LED exhaust fan at the top reminds me of the range hood over the top of my stove in my kitchen, haha. Powered by a 4-pin molex, a large fan in this particular location has an inherent advantage as heat rises as aforementioned, but will also introduce more dust into your system. A low-restriction vent only adds to the damage. An air filter would definitely be beneficial here, despite the fact that this is an exhaust fan, and not an intake fan.
Near the front are three externally accessible 5.25" drive bays. Again, we will find the same tool-free installation design, but this one actually works a bit better than the 3.5" version as far as the snugness is concerned. It is built on the exact same theory, but because the locking distance is larger, you will get better force distribution for a more secure installation.
When it comes to cabling, Thermaltake did not pay a huge attention to make it as easy as possible for the end user. There is no room or any openings to let the user take the cables behind the motherboard tray. Fortunately for us, there is a huge gap behind the 3.5" drive rack -- you can take a peek at what I am talking about in the photo above, as well as the one preceding it. Experienced enthusiasts with good cabling skills should have no problems in managing excellent end results, and the ever modest Yours Truly will show you how it is done Installation section. That does not mean I would not appreciate a few integrated cabling guides in the case, however.
If there is a place where Thermaltake actually cut a corner with the Armor A90, then this is the place where we caught them red handed. Instead of using motherboard risers in pre-drilled mounting holes, Thermaltake resorted to using mainly tray bumps to accommodate the motherboard to be installed (There are three ATX holes that still require risers). To be absolutely honest with you, I'd much rather take the beautiful black painted interior than individual motherboard risers, since this is not detrimental to looks or performance. Each mounting hole is labeled 'A' and/or 'M' for ATX and mATX, respectively, but the only reason why anyone needs this is for installing risers -- when we use in three holes only. Weird eh.
Keeping enthusiasts in mind, there are two more things in particular I want to cover. Firstly, you may be wondering what the thumbscrew is doing under the rear 120mm fan. If you didn't notice that earlier, now that I've got your attention -- the thumbscrew actually corresponds to a small clip on the exterior panel, used for clipping down cables such as those from your keyboard and mouse. This is used to discourage convenient theft of your expensive peripherals at LAN parties (For those on wireless, you are out of luck). I am also extremely pleased to find a large opening at the back of the motherboard tray for easy access to aftermarket heatsink backplates. You will find this feature absolutely priceless down the road, since it eliminates the need of removing your entire motherboard just to install a processor cooler later on. The tallest cooler you can fit in Thermaltake's Armor A90 is 163mm according to the manufacturer; you will have no problems with high performance units like the Noctua NH-D14. The funny thing is that the company's Frio CPU heatsink is 2mm over the clearance limit according to specifications, but Thermaltake actually has that cooler shown inside the Armor A90 quite a bit for their promotional material. I have installed the Frio in the system with no clearance issues anyway.
On a side note, the rear 120mm fan is the only fan in the system powered by a 3-pin motherboard header, whereas the rest are LED fans on 4-pin Molex connectors.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
