My Experience Building in the Thermaltake Core P90 Case
There is nothing more satisfying than building your own computer from scratch. The whole experience of picking out the parts, to assembly, to the first time it spins to life satisfies my needs quite well. Recently, I decided to try out a more unconventional build by using the Thermaltake Core P90 case and I was not disappointed!
Before I get into this, I want to state that the picture above is the current state of the machine. I am not done with this build just yet. I plan on replacing the NZXT Kraken X62 with a custom loop that will cool the CPU and the GTX 1070 TI you see here. Additionally, I have cable extensions coming that will replace the black cables with white variants which will allow me to further add to the white theme of the build.
The system consists of the following major components:
- Thermaltake Core P90 Case
- MSI z370 Gaming Pro Carbon Motherboard
- Intel i7 8700K CPU Overclocked to 4.9Ghz
- 32GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3600MHz
- 500GB M.2 NVMe (OS) & 250GB Crucial SSD (Storage)
- EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 1070 ti
So with the details out of the way, onto my thoughts on this case. I found this case to be a breath of fresh air, not only due to its open-air design but also because of how easy it was to work with. The case has PLENTY of room to route cables, water lines, and to mount radiators and the like.
The included manual did a decent job of explaining what went where and how it all came together. It was slightly easier to understand than an IKEA instruction set. The most difficult part was deciphering what part they were referring to as there are plenty of options. All in all, there were near twenty optional accessories to be used depending on your implementation choice.
Currently, the build houses a 240mm radiator, although the custom loop will implement two 240mm radiators in two separate loops, one for the CPU, the other for the GPU. There is plenty of room for this option if you stack the radiators on the right-hand side of the case, although I do wish they would have left room for side by side radiators rather than vertical only.
The tempered glass is slightly tinted which I appreciate, although it does hide some of the RGB brightness. If you plan on having a lot of RGB then take this into account when you design the overall look and feel.
The back side of the case opens up and exposes the inner workings and has a TON of space for cable routing, hard drives, and other accessories. All of which can easily be accessed even with my meaty paws. If you need additional room to move around you can remove the cross frames from the back of the case which does give a lot more room to add larger components, although I do recommend adding it back before you seal the case up as it adds a lot of stability to the case.
The major complaint I have with this case is its overall stability. A good bump can easily cause this case to go toppling. While it does have stands and legs to help with this, they do cause a certain degree of concern if the case is in a place where it can easily be bumped into. You can use the case without the legs though by laying it flat on its back, although I found it to be more appealing while standing. Just be careful.
Another small complaint is that the case when fully built out is incredibly heavy, easily over twenty pounds. This is a minor issue for me though because I prefer the case be well constructed and with that request comes weight. Provided you never break the glass this case should easily last five or more years under normal usage.
The last complaint, and it is not specific to this case, but rather an open-air case is that you cannot, or should not, put this case near liquids. Make sure you have the case off your desk, away from open containers, and preferably in a place with minimal dust unless you want to clean it out monthly, which you should probably do anyways.
To summarize, creating a build, in this case, was by far one of the best build experiences I have ever had. The plethora of options, accessibility, and appearance have made it the centerpiece of my office. I cannot wait to add the custom loop and additional RGB lighting to polish the build off. I wish that we had more cases like this in the world.
I will post more photos once the build is complete.
