Thermaltake XaserV WinGo V7000D

Reviews: Cases

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Nicholas Hart
Kurtis
ThermalTake
Mar. 30, 2004

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First Looks

When I first opened the box I was surprised to see the front of the case looking back at me. This case is much longer than it is tall. It looks very similar to a Xaser III "SuperTower' but is shorter and longer. The increased length allows for a larger window to show off your computer internals. There are 3 fewer internal 3.5" bays than the Xaser III also, but, as the package says, this is a "Gaming Tower' and most serious gamers I run into have two drives in a stripe set with possibly a third drive for extra storage.

The WinGo came packaged very well and had survived two adventures in shipping before arriving without a scratch. Weighing in at 14.5kg, or 31lbs, this beast is a heavyweight. Even with the plastic front panel it survived the sit down test while I glanced through the 20 page user manual. Adding to the very fine packaging is the care that went into protecting the window during shipment. A plastic film attached to the outside of the plexiglass and a thin sheet of foam rubber on the inside to protect from loose hanging connectors.

The windowed side panel looks pretty impressive. Due to its length, the window is pretty massive. The window is shaped like an "X' which allows a little more viewing area for your drives and power supply. In fact, ThermalTake makes a "Butterfly' power supply which is also lighted and windowed in a similar shape. Aside from the name, the power supply and the WinGo would make a good match. Removing the side panel is quite easy needing only the removal of two thumbscrews. The intake grill for the side fans also is indented to be used for a handle.

If you are into cable management and like to go crazy with zip ties and heat shrink tubing, the WinGo is the case for you. With no less than 5 internal fans, two with variable speed, top panel connectors and a lighted front panel the case looks cluttered before I even think of putting any gear in.

The front bezel of the WinGo consists of two hinged doors. One is the purely decorative cover to the external drive bays which also contains the EL ThermalTake logo and two aluminum fan-control knobs. This may sound strange but these aluminum knobs just "feel' good. Maybe it's the fact that they are made out of metal or maybe it's the smooth turning action, perhaps it's both. But enough about my aluminum fetishes! The inner bezel is pretty standard with power/reset buttons and cover plates for the external bays. This also swivels open allowing access to the metal bay covers as well as the locking mechanism for the side panel. Turn the knob to the lock position and then lock the front panel with the included key and you have a fairly secure case.

The entire bezel assembly of the WinGo is made out of plastic which is not by itself bad, but the color does not match the painted metal surfaces of the case. The blue paint is a very dark hue and the plastic simply doesn't match. This also is true of the top panel cover and the side fan intake over the window. For a case that is marketed as much for its bold looks as its internal design, this is a very serious issue. Aside from this color problem, the fit and finish of the plastic parts is superb.

What about the left panel? In the Opening the Case section, it might be nice to have a little info on removing the left panel, and note anything special about it, etc! then move on to the insides!

Taking a Closer Look

As if to punish me for what I was about to do, my poor old full-tower case gave one final stab (literally) at me. I cut my thumb removing the side panel on my way to gut it out. One band-aid later I was ready to have at it. Perhaps feeling a little leery of cutting myself again, I checked all the edges in the WinGo for rounded edges. All of the edges are smooth and shouldn't present any bloodletting opportunities. I won't say that you couldn't find a way to cut yourself if you really wanted to, but you should be able to swap systems many times within this case and come out unscathed.

There is ample room inside the WinGo. With its long length, even a large dual-CPU board such as mine is swallowed inside. None of the other bays will overlap to block easy access. I am a little disappointed by the standoff situation with WinGo however. Rather than supply standard screw down standoffs for each mounting hole, they include four and then add pressure fittings for the rest. The board holes snap onto these and you are given plastic "push pins' to force into the holes of the fittings which spread the "fingers' of the fitting out to keep pressure on the board and hold it into place. I had a problem with these in that they didn't go in easily and they stick up quite a bit over the level of other board components. I had to leave one out entirely in order for my CPU heatsink to fit properly. If you keep a supply of standoffs from previous projects, then I recommend you use them instead.

With the board in place I proceeded to install my add-in cards. Rather than using screws to hold cards into place, ThermalTake has devised a screwless option for securing cards. This solution works well in most situations but if your card is taller than the mounting bracket attached to it (a Radeon 8500 for example), the screwless option will not work. Three screws hold the plastic retainer into place and then you can pull it out. ThermalTake apparently took this possibility into account as the edge of the case above the PCI slots has round cut-outs for making it that much easier to get your screwdriver into position to secure your cards.

Hard drives in the WinGo are mounted sideways using plastic rails. This sideways orientation keeps cabling out of the airflow path for more effective cooling from the front fan. It also makes installing the hard drives much easier. Being familiar with metal rails I was a bit concerned that the fit would be a little loose leaving room for vibration. My concern was unwarranted as the hard drives actually mount quite securely with only the slightest amount of possible movement.

All bay covers in the WinGo are attached to the front bezel with screws rather than simple snapping in. This keeps them from being punched in by a careless knee and they won't rattle when your CD-ROM drive spins up. 5.25" devices are also mounted using plastic rails and again, the fit is quite secure. I had a problem with my case, probably from a manufacturing irregularity, in that the rear rail guides on the top mounting slot were inset just a bit more than the front rail guides. My DVD drive impacted against the rear rail guide and would not fully fit into the case. I moved the drive down a couple slots and everything fit fine.

Now that I have all my devices installed I can proceed with the wiring. This was one part that I was really dreading. With the external connections, the fans and the variable speed connectors, this case has more spaghetti than all-you-can-eat night at The Olive Garden. The wiring from the top panel is actually kept very clean by a clamping clip attached to the hard drive bay. The rest you will have to manage yourself depending on the number and length of the spare power leads from your power supply. All the fans use pass-through molex connectors so you can get away with two spare connectors and wire them together. The fan control wires from the front of the case are plenty long so you can run them along the bottom or top of the case.

The WinGo comes with a generous sized viewing window for gazing at your M4D 1337 hardware but the included side fan bracket covers most of this up. You will see plenty of light from the LED fan, but you certainly won't see your motherboard. This can be removed very simply and not only will you be clearing the view to your board, you will also be losing a lot of cabling mess. Another issue with the fan bracket is that the bottom LED fan, while looking pretty, is mounted right up against the window. This leaves no clearance to draw any air in reducing it to an entirely aesthetic device.

Since we're on the subject of airflow I should mention that it is in good supply in this case. The top and rear fans are exhaust and most likely your power supply will be as well. The two side fans are intake (although one is restricted as mentioned above) and so is the front fan. The front fan might also seem restricted when the front is closed, but it's certainly not airtight and there is plenty of room for air to be sucked in. In total there might be a bit of bias towards exhaust and hence should give plenty of airflow in that direction: past your AGP and CPU heatsinks which is a good thing. Of course, with one exhaust and one intake fan connected to the front panel fan controllers, you have some leeway in adjusting this. As a final note on the fans, each one includes a dust cover to help keep your case and its cooling running effectively. To remove and clean the covers, just pop the fan out of its bracket (no screws) and pull the filter off.

If you run into any trouble during the assembly process, ThermalTake has included a fairly detailed manual to assist you. It is far from perfect, but goes much farther than the single page drawing that accompanies most beige boxes. There are also many diagram stickers on the inside of the case for easy reference. One covers the mounting holes for different board types, one is for the side fan bracket and another covers mounting the hard drives. These additions to the package are certainly a nice touch.

Now that everything is in place, let's light this thing up! I turned the power on to the system and everything came aglow. The switch for the front panel lighting was on "blink' mode which lights up one-third of the ThermalTake logo at a time and then flashes the whole logo before starting again. You can also set it to light the logo full time (my preference) or you can leave it off.

After getting the lighting in order I noticed that I wasn't hearing much. With five case fans and the two 80mm fans for the CPU heatsinks I was sure something was left unplugged. I opened the case to verify that all fans were spinning and sure enough they were. This thing is quiet! I revved up the fans using the front panel knobs and they became much louder. It was still a lot quieter than I would expect at full speed, but definitely audible. Even with the CPU fans at maximum rpm, the case was very quiet. This is a testament to the quality of the fans as well as the build quality of the case.

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Page 1: Introduction:
Page 2: First Looks & Taking a Closer Look
Page 3: Quality Check & Conclusion

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