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Old 25th July, 2009, 12:22 PM
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ThunderRd ThunderRd is online now
Irreverent Query Chairman
 
Join Date: June 2007
Location: Formerly NYC; now 17 years in northern Thailand
Posts: 1,321

If you have a Thermaltake Armor I need your opinion

The factory blowhole at the top of the Armor needs a lot of improvement if you ask me, although the case is magnificent otherwise.

For those familiar with it, you know that there is a metal grille under a plastic grille both covering a 120mm fan. Almost no air can get through there with the two grilles overlaid the way they are. It's simply poor design. The combination of the above elements really restricts airflow out the top of the case where it is really needed. Unscrewing the plastic top panel allows access to the metal grille.

I removed the metal grille and cut a hole in it to accommodate the fan, and the airflow was clearly increased. Modding the plastic grille is another matter, though. It's 1/8" thick with 3/16" round holes in a grid pattern. Does anyone know a way to open this area up for more flow? It has to be cosmetically clean, though, as the top is completely visible. I have thought of the possibility of drilling the holes bigger, or cutting the webbing out somehow, but I have little experience working with plastics.

On a side note, the bottom front grille that pulls in air over the drive cage is also extremely restrictive. The solution for this is quite easy though, since the metal grille is quite soft. A quick Dremel cut will remove the 140mm hole. In the absence of a Dremel I'm sure that a sharp pair of wire cutters would also do an adequate job since the grille isn't visible from the outside of the case.

I've done this already as well, and it also made a significant increase in the incoming airflow.

If you have one of these boxes let me know what you think about the top. There are a boatload of model variations but mine looks like this:

http://www.computerdirectcorp.com/cd...rmor_MX_02.jpg
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Last edited by ThunderRd; 25th July, 2009 at 12:35 PM.
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