If you are interested in this beautiful case, you better bend over and grab your ankles because Thermaltake is going to get a piece of your a$$.
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Thermaltake Level 10 Super-Gaming Modular Tower Chassis
A year ago
Thermaltake announced a case that was a combined effort with
BMW's DesignworksUSA that was to be a "Gaming tower showpiece". That result was the Thermaltake Level 10.
This would be a case unlike any to date with a very nontraditional asymmetrical design that not only had form, but function as well. The designers took inspiration from the virtual world and game components to find the Level 10's unique style. It looks like a city turned on end. Some may not like this, some may love it; either way everyone will stare at it. The Level 10 was not made just to be looked at, but to be a good performing case as well. The case is split into thermal zones to help keep components cool and working efficiently.
The Level 10 has an all aluminum construction, and even with the aluminum it's built so heavy that it comes in at almost 50lbs empty. With the Level 10 build quality and "thinking outside the box," the bar got raised a notch or two. Like with all good things there is a "but" and this one is a big one. The price. Currently the Level 10 can be yours for only
$708 shipped. Let's take a quick look at the specifications of the Level 10 and then we can start looking it over to see if it's worth the asking price.
Specifications
Case Type: Full Tower
Material: Aluminum
Front Bezel Material Color: Anodized Black
Motherboard Support: ATX
Motherboard Tray: Yes
5.25" Drive Bay: 4
Ext. 3.5" Drive Bay: 6 - Swappable Tray With 2.5" HDD/SSD Capability
Int. 3.5" Drive Bay: 0
Expansion Slots: 8
Front I/O Ports: USB 2.0 x 4, eSATA x 1, HD Audio x 1
Cooling System
Front (intake) :140 x 140 x 25 mm Red LED Fan, 1000rpm, 16 dBA
Rear (exhaust) :120 x 120 x 25 mm Red LED Fan, 1300rpm, 17 dBA
HDD (intake) :Dual 60 x 60 15 mm Silent Fan, 2500rpm, 19 dBA
Liquid Cooling Capable: Yes
Liquid Cooling Embedded: No
Power Supply Supported: Standard PS2
Power Supply Included: No
Dimension (H*W*D) 666x318x614mm (26.22x12.52x24.17in)
Net Weight 47.11 lbs (21.37 kg)
Security Lock: Yes
Unboxing the Level 10
Thermaltake didn’t mess around with protecting the Level 10 during shipping. The case comes double boxed. The outer box took the hits in shipping to us here at Legit Reviews.
The inner box has all the case specs and a nice image of the case on the front of it.
Upon first opening the box you are greeted with a lifting warning.
Then, you can see the case is protected in several inches of high density foam, 3 inches on the back of the case and closer to 4.5” top and front. The case is wrapped in a nice cloth cover for protection.
External Impressions
With the Level 10 out of the packing we can get a good look at it. The finish is very nice; it’s a textured matte finish so it doesn’t show finger prints as badly as a mirror automotive finish, but if you have dry skin (like I do at the moment) you will leave prints all over the thing. It’s easy to clean them up; just wipe it down with a cloth.
At the very top of the case is the handle. Down the center of the handle is a light bar.
To the right of the 5.25” bays are the front panel connections, reset, and power buttons. There is a plastic cover to protect the mirror finish of the front I/O area. The icons for the I/O ports are back-lit when the system is powered up.
Looking from the side we can see the different compartments. Top left is the PSU cage, to the right is the 5.25” bays and below those are the 6 hard drive bays. On the lower left is the motherboard area. In the bottom center is another handle.
Moving around to the back we can see the rear exhaust fan, expansion slots, and rear vent above the expansion slots.
External Impressions Continued
This shot is looking closer at the rear exhaust fan.
Looking closer at the expansion slots, we see that they are slotted to allow for more ventilation.
Moving around to the right side we can see the locks that keep the different sections locked as well as keeping the right side panel locked in place.
The locks themselves are very sturdy. The labels are painted on rather than stickers so they should last a long time and not come off too easily.
The right side panel is also held in place with two thumbscrews in addition to the locks.
