Introduction

Remember when we used to make and go to lan parties and how everyone wanted to have the best looking case out there? Yeah, I certainly do. We used to pimp out our cases to look like christmas trees no matter how much money the parts were. We wanted it all. The great cooling, the style, the coloring, the fans and of course the accessibility. Some of us couldn't afford any of it and some of us were lucky enough to have this all. Today we are going to be taking a look at Element V by Thermaltake. Element V is oriented towards gamers and performance. As we perform this review we will show you some of the highlight factors of the Element V and what it has to offer to the general, gamers public.

About the Product

Following information is taken from the Thermaltake website.

Features

• Voodoo - Color shift Fan with 6 color changing pattern for optimal gaming experience.
• Vivid - Three color shifting fans creates most eye catching appearance.
• Vary - Adjustable fan speed control for performance mode or silent mode.
• Ventilation - Excellent thermal performance with optimized air flow.
• Vast - Support up to 11X5.25” drive bay or 5X5.25” and 6X3.5” with 2 iCage.

Specifications

Closer look

Front Shot		Rear Shot

The packaging, is always great with Thermaltake. They take extreme graphics and apply them to the shipping box to show the users just what exactly they are getting without actually opening the box. As you can probably noticed Element V is a black case and it is Create for eSports as the ad says. The color schema of the shipping box matching the unit and make a great first impression. By the way the model number of this case is VL20001W2Z.

Out of the box		Protective bag

Removing this case out of the box was not easy. This case is very heavy. Totaling over 30 pounds this becomes one of the heaviest pc components you would have around the house. With adding motherboard, hard drives, power supply and a cpu cooler, expect this case to become a heavy one over all. When we have opened the box the case was supported by plastic foam for stability while shipping. In addition the Element V was wrapped around with a scratch protective bag to protect the case of any accidental scratches during the shipping.

Small Window		Profile Shot

Element V doesn't have a big window but it has a huge fan on the side door. I was very surprised that the side door doesn't have a big window but regardless, this ia unique door and we will show you why later in our review. The front of the Element V is designed with stylish mesh to provide a better air flow with in the system.

Front Panel		Front Panel

The front access panel of Element V is has to be the most important feature for gamer. The front panel includes 4 usb connections, eSATA connection, reset and power buttons, hard drive activity leds microphone and earphone jacks. And most important, the fan controller. With this controller you should be able to adjust the speed of all of the fans with in the case and the color of them.

Stylish Mesh		Side Ventilation

The mesh in the front is made out of the aluminum. The bottom two sections are dedicated towards two 120 mm fans. Later in the review we will show you the location of these fans. What does make an impression are the side air ventilation's for additional air intake if you will. These stand out like a sore thumb and i ll have to admit are rather stylish.

Side window close up		Beautiful finish

The window is made out of tough plastic, so it would be thought to break it even if you wanted it. The side door is meshed for the 230 mm fan. This is a big fan but don't think it makes a lot of noise. The rotational speed of this fan is only 600/800rpm, 14dBA and it pushes 57.0/76 CFM respectfully. As we noticed before the finish of the case is very nice and very well done. Even though it is totally black, it fits right in.

Rear shot		Locks and keys

The back of Element V is pretty much standard. The power supply mounting is on the bottom and this helps greatly with cooling of the case to keep temperatures low. Element V could be locked at any time. Thermaltake provides a supplement keys for locking your case. The lock mechanism isn't tough but without a key it might take some time to open the case.

Rear Fan		Power Supply bay

The rear fan is a 120 mm fan which is designed to push the air out of the case. Spinning 1400rpm, 17dBA and pushing 50.0 CFM is a pretty good fan to have in the back of your case. Element V can take up to 7 PCI devices and also could be configured with a water cooling system.

Top fan		Door fan

Fans, fans, fans. Element V is practically filled with fans. On the top of the unit we found another quiet fan. With rotational speed 600/800rpm, 14dBA it pushes 49.735/65.3 CFM. So basically lots of air is being pushed out of this case. That always a good thing. Lets take a closer look at the side access door as it has a unique power method.

Unique power access		Door lock

I have never seen this kind of configuration of the power connector so this kind of threw me off. The power connector connects from the door to the power on the actual case. If the door is opened the side fan will not operate. Very interesting and unique design. The lock on the access door is pretty solid one as well. Without a key it would be really thought to open this case.

Thermaltake		Inside of the case

The actual 220 mm fan is designed by Thermaltake and provides enough power to push air out of the case. Since this is not the only fan in the case that acts as exhaust fan it spins only at 600/800 rpm. The Element V is rather spacious unit. It can host various styles of motherboard. What plays an important role here is the ability to host some of the latest video cards which could rather long and not every case can accommodate that.

Clear Colored fan		Power supply mount

There is a total of 5 fans in this case and 3 of them are color fans. With a simple push of a button in the front panel you could change the color of these fans. Pretty cool feature. The case is very spacious and it is possible to install a watercooling system or another additional fan on the top of the case. The power supply is designed to be installed on the bottom of the case for proper heat management. The power supply space comes with a secure mechanism to keep power supply in place.

Plenty of room		Back of the motherboard tray

Element V has plenty of room for everything you could possible wanted to put in it as far as hard drives and 3.5" devices. You can install 6 hard drives and 5 3.5" devices to be exact. I know having 6 hard drives could be over kill but if you absolutely must have them in one case, then Element V is for you. The back of the motherboard tray is pretty much explanatory. One thing that we found odd is that the motherboard tray in none removable however, the motherboard tray has a space for the CPU cooler installation. This could be very handy when it comes to installing a CPU cooler which requires a remove of the motherboard.

CPU Quick Access		Cable Management

The quick cpu access is rather large and should allow you to install pretty much any kind of the CPU cooler. The motherboard tray of the Element V also provides its users a handy easy access hole and couple management holes. For some people it is important to have a nice and clear case. Plus the fact that a neat case has better air flow speaks for itself.

Additional Fans		Colorshift fan

The front of the case has two intake fans. 120 x 120 x 25 mm Colorshift fan (900/1200rpm,17dBA, 35.01/46.67 CFM) and 120 x 120 x 25 mm Turbo fan (1400rpm,17dBA, 46.67 CFM). These guys pulling a lot of air in to the case and that provides cooling for the hard drive bays. The cooler the hard drives the longer they will last.

Ready to go		Powered on

The whole case sits on four very sturdy legs. These legs have rubber base for stability. I wouldn't worry much about stability in this case as with the full weight it would be tough to move this case or even tipping it over. At the end of the case we found some mesh for the power supply cooling. It is important to have an escape space for the hot air from the power supply. The best place to heat to escape is to outside of the case.

Ready to go		Powered on

Installing motherboard was pretty easy and without any problems. As we mentioned earlier Element V support a vide variety of motherboards from mini to extended ATX. So installing out ATX motherboard was fast and simple. If you have never installed a motherboard before, please refer to your motherboard instructional manual for some of the installation tips. The power supply mount was installed to keep the power supply in one place. There are many different sizes of the power supplies and Element V supports them all as well.

Ready to go		Powered on

The case is a bit messy as some of the wires cant be really hidden because of the length however, it doesn't look that bad with the cover off. Installing hard drives was a bit of a challenge. We had to remove the front basel of Element V to remove 1 of 2 hard drive trays. In order to secure the hard drive you need to screw it in the place. That part was pretty tough as there was no room to work easily around the sharp edges. Installing cd drive was easy as Thermaltake provided special sleds that go right in the 3.5" slots.

Ready to go		Powered on

Turning the whole unit on and watching it glow green or any other color of the rambo was a sign of a success:) What i thought was cool is the lightning fast switch of color of the case. Just with a push of the button we had a totally different mood of the Element V. Noise vise Element V did not produce much more noise than couple of the mid range fans. When we have build a whole system we turned down the speed of all fans for that quieter operations. When running a game or application that requires a lot of horse power, it would be advised to ramp up the rpm's on the fans to keep the whole system properly cooled.

Conclusion

Element V is very impressive case. It comes very well equipped with five fans which provide great cooling for the whole case. Not all of the cases out there come with stock fans so this is a rare case. In addition of the fans, Thermaltake has provided a Colorshift fans for that unique look. Element V has a lot to offer to an extreme gamer as myself. This particular unit can host a wide range of motherboards starting with mini ATX and ending with extended ATX. Element V also is able to host up to six hard drives and five 3.5" devices. What did left impression is the unique way Thermaltake allocates power toward the side panel. An easy accessibility front panel is extremely useful in the event of a LAN party. Element V is a great case and has a great potential in the current gamers market. It gives me a great pleasure to award Element V a highest rank of 10/10!

Some pros we found:

Stylish and easy to manipulate within.

Motherboard tray designed for various board sizes.

Plenty of space for hard drives and 3.5" devices.

Colorshift fans.

Power supply brackets for secure installation.

Easy access front panel for gamers.

Some cons we found:

Though to install and remove hard drives.