Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini PC Chassis

Product Information

For as long as I can remember, I've had love of all things tech, spurred on, in part, by a love of gaming. I began working on computers owned by immediate family members and relatives when I was around 10 years old. I've always sought to learn as much as possible about anything PC, leading to a well-rounded grasp on all things tech today. In my role at PCMag, I greatly enjoy the opportunity to share what I know. How could it be corrected in a future revision? A vertical motherboard mount like this necessitates the I/O positioning up top, to be sure, but some extender cables to the most commonly used ports (such as to a subset of your USB ports or to the display output) would be very thoughtful accessories to include. Or perhaps some L-adapters for stiff cables like HDMI or DisplayPort.

People may have concern about the cooling performance of a mini-ITX chassis. However, the cold air intakes and hot air exhausts are well-developled, ensuring the interior temperature stays low at all times. Beside the motherboard mounting tray and the PSU compartment, Thermaltake left a large space for the video card. The cavity can accommodate a dual-slot card up to 330mm long. The downside? They also have the most hardware restrictions. Most mandate low-profile coolers, half-height add-on cards (if any cards at all), and SFX (or even smaller proprietary) power supplies. This makes them a poor fit for gamers but an excellent choice for a moderate or light-duty work PC (or an HTPC) that relies on processor-integrated graphics. The biggest one is whether you will (or will ever) install a video card. The absolute smallest Mini-ITX cases support no video card and assume your CPU’s integrated graphics will handle video output and acceleration. That factor will eliminate (or recommend) a whole swath of cases. Otherwise, look to the maximum video card length supported, as well as the number of lateral slots the card can occupy, and shop accordingly. Nvidia's newest top-end RTX 40 Series cards are huge and some occupy three slots across; Mini-ITX cases are generally not their friend. A whole host of other variables also limit what you can and can’t put inside a Mini-ITX system. Some of them have nothing to do with the Mini-ITX case itself.Likewise, pay attention to the maximum length, width, and (potentially) vertical height (full-height versus half-height) that the case allows for video cards. Depending on the card you have, or plan to get, that sizing may be a deal-maker or deal-breaker. Some of the smallest cases don't support a video card at all, and if you intend to rely on your CPU's integrated graphics, this can be a real space saver. (Know, though, that some chips, including many of AMD's mainstream Ryzen CPUs, do not have an integrated graphics processor, and that your motherboard will need to have an appropriate video output.) Setting the aesthetics aside, the case isn’t particularly difficult to work with; we've wrangled with far more difficult Mini-ITX cases in our day. The cooling options are quite limited, however, and the unusual rear I/O panel placement means you'll want to plug in what you must from the outset and mostly rely on your front USB ports from then on out. (Another reason to make sure your motherboard has that modern USB 3.2 Gen 2 header for the USB-C port.)

Unlike chassis in the larger MicroATX and ATX sizes, many Mini-ITX PC cases can sit comfortably on desks, in niches, on shelves, or under a monitor without being obtrusive. Some are even designed to mount behind monitors or under desks to hide them from view. The Mini-ITX case isn’t bound by a strict size limit; what makes a case Mini-ITX is its support for the Mini-ITX motherboard form factor, and none larger. (More on that in a bit.) Today, we are taking a closer look at their vertically orientated ITX style case that some would say resembles a partially glassed in 3D printer. Actually, I am not going to strongly disagree. But I also have to say, I think I like it. Thermaltake simply calls it: Tower 100. It’s a distant relative to their showy and legacy Tower 900, an E-ATX Super Tower Chassis. The Thermaltake Tower 100 is a statement chassis that’s priced right. You get a lot of ITX case for the money – which comes across as a somewhat funny thing to say. The thermal design seems quite functional, and I definitely appreciate the unique looking visuals. There is room inside to get inventive.Even with added LEDs, some more conventional PC cases could make better display cases for computer hardware than this one. The thing is, though: Most of those are ATX, and this is Mini-ITX. The motherboard gets mounted vertically in this case, positioned so that the board is on full view through the front glass panel. With all of the glass panels removed, getting access to all of the various headers to get them connected up is made fairly easy; you have easy access from three directions. The same goes for the RAM slots on your board, and the PCI Express slot for your graphics card. Examples: Corsair 2000D RGB Airflow , Phanteks Evolv Shift X , SilverStone Lucid LD03 , Hyte Revolt 3 Style 3: The Shoebox Style These cases tend to be among the most compact, with some designed to support a monitor sitting on top. They also tend to be easier than most to build in, as opening one large side of the enclosure grants easy access to all of the internal hardware. Today's PCs come in enough shapes to dazzle a dodecahedron, but in the realm of desktops, three main classes of aftermarket PC case reign supreme: full ATX, MicroATX, and Mini-ITX. These three case “form factors” make up the bulk of the market for modern desktop chassis, and you can simply think of them as big (ATX), medium-size (MicroATX), and small (Mini-ITX). Each of the form factors has its own strengths and weaknesses; in this guide, we’re going to go compact and focus on the Mini-ITX ones.