Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Slowly pulling off the black fabric as if it is the debut show, we find the Thermaltake Armor Revo Gene standing tall, full of pride and glory. Measuring in at 51cm tall, 25.2cm wide and 55cm deep, the Armor Revo Gene is pretty large for a mid-tower case, yet it only weighs 17.2 lb. For a price tag at press time of $189.99, I would expect Thermaltake not to cut any corners, and fully utilize all assets possible. The front of the chassis features, once again, the aluminum wing bezel design. The first thing you will notice is that this interferes with the removal and installation of the four 5.25” drive bays. Thermaltake works around this by installing the wings on pivotal hinges, giving us more than ample room for this process. Despite needing to move the bezels every time we power up a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drive, the 3.5” drive bay is not affected by it at all. This single 3.5” drive bay allows compatibility with a multimedia drive and, by all means, even a floppy disk drive -- if you still have one. The entire front face is in a black mesh design, giving it a sophisticated appearance for a gaming case. In my opinion, this looks elegant in comparison to the typical out-of-earth designs. If we scale the face of the case to the top, we find Thermaltake’s gaming logo. At the bottom is a pre-installed 200mm intake fan that illuminates blue when powered on. Next to the intake fan we have a set of plastic blades extending out of the chassis to stop the wings from reducing airflow into the intake when closed.
On the side of the Armor Revo Gene, we have a transparent side panel with an optional 140mm fan, which can be upsized to 200mm for extra cooling at the cost of noise level and dust. As a gamer, the only thing I can really say towards noise level is: What noise? I have a headset on, and thus dust is my main focus here... or is it? As other friends complain about taking apart the computer to clean out the dust that has accumulated inside due to the intake fans, you can proudly say you have an air filter, and laugh at their sorrows (Of course, not literally for the sake of keeping healthy friendships). The transparent window has a rather unique shape to it, as the triangular end near the hard-drives is a tad longer, allowing for greater visibility of the internals which is rather nice. On the other hand, from afar, it just does not sink in well, thus sacrificing aesthetics for visibility. Personally, I would dig a window that balances both function and design, without losing either. Unique is good but simple might just be better in this case. To the upper right of the side panel by the window, we have the headset holder, which is a lovely addition, but is expected for a case in this price range.
Turning it another ninety degrees, we arrive at the back of the chassis, and the first thing I noticed is that it is all screwed up -- literally -- with twelve visible thumbscrews; eight of which are designed to securely hold the seven expansion slots in place. Thermaltake took a bold step in bringing the expansion screws to the exterior rather than the traditional interior. Once again, simple might have been better in this situation. The last four thumbscrews are meant for the side panels with, another well-thought touch, extended handles to ease the removal process. Next to the I/O panel, we have a 120mm rear exhaust fan held on by four screws and rubber bushings to reduce noise levels. This is the only fan where I could not find an air filter. Being an exhaust fan and all, you do not need it, haha. Above the exhaust fan, we can find three cable management holes for your water cooling tubes.
At the very top of the case, we will find the power, reset, 3.5mm sockets for the mic and headphone, and four USB ports. Two are color coded blue to distinguish themselves as the ports with USB 3.0 SuperSpeed transfer mode, as indicated by the ‘SS’ symbol. A top-mounted HDD ‘hot swap’ docking station, as Thermaltake calls it, is also present. Behind the raised head unit, you will find the last pre-installed fan there is to the Armor Revo Gene. A 200mm exhaust fan is present to remove all the heat conjured up as you game the day away and if, by any chance, you were thinking if a filter exists here also, it does. Despite all the awesome features it provides for us, the top profile or side profile is ugly in my honest opinion -- truth be told, the case reminded me of a red dragon head fish. The console where you find the majority of the features comes to a steep end. and what’s left is an extravagant horizontal surface for putting your collection of movies, which will inhibits the efficiency of the exhaust if you may. As someone lazy, I’d probably end up resting my headset or external hard drives there. This sort of makes you ask yourself, is the headset holder really necessary?
Tipping over the Thermaltake Armor Revo Gene and laying it on its side, we arrive at the bottom of the chassis. With the PSU located at the bottom of the case, proper ventilation will be needed to funnel the air towards the exhaust fans, and thus, we have four heightened foot stands to enhance intake airflow to the vents located in the center of all four. The stands are plastic and rotatable in an octagonal pattern to suit your desk, but regardless of the versatility of the stands, for $189.99, they should have rubber feet. Since the foot stands are hollow, the rubberized feet will act like a suction cup, unless you still put your tower on carpet floor. Whether you put your case on carpet floor or a desk, the entire vent for the bottom is covered with a removable air filter. Still, this is not an excuse to put your tower on carpet! Towards the front, we will find an opening under the front 200mm intake fab, where removal of the facade is applied.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
