Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini PC Chassis

Product Information

Routing cables down and around behind the motherboard was super easy, barely an inconvenience™, with plenty of space to the sides and passthrough holes which kept wiring out of the air exhaust path.

Let’s start with the space issue. Mini-ITX cases come in more unusual, one-off shapes and sizes than other kinds of PC cases, but their one unifying aspect is the class of the motherboard they accept. As noted earlier, the Mini-ITX form factor defines both a size class of motherboards, as well as the cases that fit those boards. Raijintek Ophion Elite Two 3.0 USB and one USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type C ports are placed on the top panel to grant direct access when needed. Externally, that’s about all there is to the The Tower 100 case, but the building experience is considerably different than any other case I’ve worked with so far. Likewise, pay attention to the maximum length, width, and (potentially) vertical height (full-height versus half-height) that the case allows for video cards. Depending on the card you have, or plan to get, that sizing may be a deal-maker or deal-breaker. Some of the smallest cases don't support a video card at all, and if you intend to rely on your CPU's integrated graphics, this can be a real space saver. (Know, though, that some chips, including many of AMD's mainstream Ryzen CPUs, do not have an integrated graphics processor, and that your motherboard will need to have an appropriate video output.)Unlike chassis in the larger MicroATX and ATX sizes, many Mini-ITX PC cases can sit comfortably on desks, in niches, on shelves, or under a monitor without being obtrusive. Some are even designed to mount behind monitors or under desks to hide them from view. The Mini-ITX case isn’t bound by a strict size limit; what makes a case Mini-ITX is its support for the Mini-ITX motherboard form factor, and none larger. (More on that in a bit.) Even with added LEDs, some more conventional PC cases could make better display cases for computer hardware than this one. The thing is, though: Most of those are ATX, and this is Mini-ITX. People may have concern about the cooling performance of a mini-ITX chassis. However, the cold air intakes and hot air exhausts are well-developled, ensuring the interior temperature stays low at all times. The downside? They also have the most hardware restrictions. Most mandate low-profile coolers, half-height add-on cards (if any cards at all), and SFX (or even smaller proprietary) power supplies. This makes them a poor fit for gamers but an excellent choice for a moderate or light-duty work PC (or an HTPC) that relies on processor-integrated graphics.

These cases tend to be among the most compact, with some designed to support a monitor sitting on top. They also tend to be easier than most to build in, as opening one large side of the enclosure grants easy access to all of the internal hardware. Building a system in the Tower 100 chassis led me to believe that Thermaltake was really trying to do some good things here with regards to visual flair and system thermal management. Some of their other past accessories don’t always work out the way they hoped. However, with the Tower 100 chassis, the pieces are well made (even if numerous) solid (except the perforated pieces obviously), and fit together very well. I am personally a fan of the ITX tower design idea, but do realize this is not a small ITX enclosure by any means. Examples: Fractal Design Era ITX , Phanteks Eclipse P200A DRGB Style 5: The Cube (or Near-Cube) Style The Tower 100 is a vertically designed case constructed with solid steel all around, the vertical design allows the chassis to have a smaller footprint, and helps to minimize obstruction to your gaming and workspace area. The vertical design also helps extract heat from the chassis by using a chimney effect, taking cold air from the base and dispelling the heat via the top.For example, Fractal Design’s curvy Era ITX can hold ATX PSUs and standard-height graphics cards. It also has options for adding small AIO liquid coolers. And the Phanteks referenced below is essentially a scaled-down little tower. At this point, the wide range of differences that can exist among a pool of Mini-ITX cases may seem daunting. You are probably starting to wonder how this can even be a single form factor at all. A form factor implies that it should be standardized, but in the case of Mini-ITX PC chassis, it’s mostly the motherboard size and shape that keeps this family a family. The Tower 100 Mini Chassis is the newest member of The Thermaltake Tower Series. It features three 4mm tempered glass windows for a stunning view and two preinstalled 120mm standard fans on top and at the rear for exhaust. It is a much smaller version of The Tower 900 with dimensions of 462.8mm (Height), 266mm (Width), 266mm (Depth). Though it may not be the smallest Mini-ITX chassis on the market, it is a highly capable one that can fit high-end components like the RTX 30 Series Graphics Cards. The Tower 100 Mini Chassis is designed to target users who have a limited space at their workplace or at home, or those who simply do not want their PC to take too much space. No matter if you are a regular users, gamers, or content creators, etc. you will find it ideal and can place it almost anywhere in your room.

You may also see support in a given case for a variant of the SFX form factor, the SFX-L. This is an offshoot, a slightly larger version of an SFX power supply with a longer body. (An ordinary SFX PSU measures 3.9 inches long, versus 5.5 inches for SFX-L.) The extra body size on an SFX-L supply allows for more and larger components and cooling hardware inside, in turn allowing for higher wattages. Don’t assume, however, that you can cram an SFX-L power supply into a case that only supports SFX PSUs. Look for that specific support. This second style of Mini-ITX case stands out for having the smallest footprints; most of the gear inside is mounted vertically. Pillar cases are designed to stand up straight, obelisk-style, and not lie down. The internal layout changes considerably, and in some of these, you can fit a full-height graphics card on end. Corsair 2000D RGB Airflow For one: The case doesn’t have any LED illumination built in, nor does it ship with RGB or aRGB LED fans. (The two included spinners are, curiously, unlit.) The case will do a good job showing off the parts you install into it, but as you can seee here, our finished build looks rather dull without some LED flair.

Phanteks Eclipse P200A DRGB

Beside the motherboard mounting tray and the PSU compartment, Thermaltake left a large space for the video card. The cavity can accommodate a dual-slot card up to 330mm long. The second should be the number and kind of drives you intend to install. Most Mini-ITX cases support at least two 2.5- or 3.5-inch SATA drives, but factor in room for what you have. This won't matter if you go all-in on motherboard-mounted M.2 drives, but cramped Mini-ITX boards have room for just one or two of those. At first, you could easily mistake one of these cases for a larger MicroATX chassis. These are in fact smaller, however, and can’t hold a MicroATX board. This design isn’t as space-saving as most others, but it also means more room inside for hardware. The building process may be easier, too, given the extra interior. Phanteks Eclipse P200A DRGB Examples: Corsair 2000D RGB Airflow , Phanteks Evolv Shift X , SilverStone Lucid LD03 , Hyte Revolt 3 Style 3: The Shoebox Style Today, we are taking a closer look at their vertically orientated ITX style case that some would say resembles a partially glassed in 3D printer. Actually, I am not going to strongly disagree. But I also have to say, I think I like it. Thermaltake simply calls it: Tower 100. It’s a distant relative to their showy and legacy Tower 900, an E-ATX Super Tower Chassis.