Thermaltake Matrix VX All Aluminum Case Review

Exterior

The first thing I noticed about the case was that the I/O ports were located at the top of the front panel. There is Dual USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 Firewire, Mic & Speaker ports. I really like this feature. I am constantly plugging in and removing my headphones, camera, and external hard drive. This makes it very easy to access the ports without having to move around the PC.

Below the I/O ports you?ll find two 3.5 drive bays and four external 5.25. What is different is that the four external 5.25 are between the 3.5 drive bays. The entire front panel is made of mesh. This enables airflow to pass through the front of the case easily.

To help stop all the dust from entering the case there is a screen just behind the mesh to help catch and trap the dust. This screen is easy to remove and clean. At the bottom you?ll see a 120mm intake fan.

The fan has its own dust cover that pops out to be cleaned. The fan also glows blue once powered up. Another nice feature is the use of a connector plug on the wires that run from the front panel to your motherboard. This enables you to fully remove the front cover without having to disconnect anything from your motherboard.

The side window is a nice feature to showoff what the case is carrying. The window is a good size and has a handle you can get a grip on when opening the side. This should cut down on the finger prints that occur when trying to slide the side off.

The back of the case is fairly standard. The top is pop rivited onto the chassis, with the sides having thumb screws to allow easy side panel removal.

Once you remove the side panel you?ll find a chassis intrusion detector. This will alert you when the side panel is unexpectedly opened. Great for LAN parties when you want to get up a stretch a bit.