A Trio of Thermaltake Towers
by Joshua Buss on August 16, 2006 2:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Thermaltake Aguila - External and Internal
Making a welcome re-appearance, the famously easy to use Thermaltake "handscrews" show up again holding the side panel in place, but they're entirely optional given the decently strong keyed latches at the top and bottom of the panel. The back panel itself is actually two pieces which are each removable and re-configurable to allow BTX motherboards to work as well, keeping this case's prospective audience nice and large.
As for the bottom, the Aguila also has the telltale Thermaltake rotatable feet, and in addition to the area behind the door there is also ventilation holes on the bottom of the case. Now let's take a closer look at the inside of the Aguila.
In terms of overall size, the Aguila proves to be just big enough for a full ATX system, which will appeal to anyone who has only a small area to work or needs to transport the machine a lot.
Hard drives in the Aguila mount sideways like the Eureka's, but they're in a removable cage like the Eclipse's that first locks into place and is then secured with a single case screw. In practice the cage was easy to use and the drives stayed quiet thanks to the rubber grommet mounts.
Unlike many of the more compact cases, this cage holds four drives instead of three, but that's still one less than the Eclipse's five. The bay under the hard drive cage is great for tucking extra cables or putting in one of Thermaltake's 5.25" "accessory trays". Speaking of 5.25" drives, let's look a little closer at the optical drive installation.
The Aguila supplies plastic and steel rails that friction-mount to each optical drive to be installed. These rails helped our drive (which unfortunately has been missing its tray cover for a while now) slide in very easily and lock in place securely. While playing around with the different drive configurations, we decided to try moving the front door to the right hinge entirely, and this proved very simple.
In addition we tried the vertical 5.25" bay just for fit, and while it was a little tight it certainly worked. Note that this pretty much kills the usefulness of the hard drive cage, but there is one free 3.5" bay in the included power / reset bay, so if one only has a single hard drive they could certainly use the vertical mount if they chose.
Without the door attached at all, the Aguila still looks very nice, resembling the latest Mac computer with the similar perforated look, or the Armor with simply smaller flaps. Again though, these can be removed completely if desired with a standard Phillips screwdriver.
Making a welcome re-appearance, the famously easy to use Thermaltake "handscrews" show up again holding the side panel in place, but they're entirely optional given the decently strong keyed latches at the top and bottom of the panel. The back panel itself is actually two pieces which are each removable and re-configurable to allow BTX motherboards to work as well, keeping this case's prospective audience nice and large.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
As for the bottom, the Aguila also has the telltale Thermaltake rotatable feet, and in addition to the area behind the door there is also ventilation holes on the bottom of the case. Now let's take a closer look at the inside of the Aguila.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
In terms of overall size, the Aguila proves to be just big enough for a full ATX system, which will appeal to anyone who has only a small area to work or needs to transport the machine a lot.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Hard drives in the Aguila mount sideways like the Eureka's, but they're in a removable cage like the Eclipse's that first locks into place and is then secured with a single case screw. In practice the cage was easy to use and the drives stayed quiet thanks to the rubber grommet mounts.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Unlike many of the more compact cases, this cage holds four drives instead of three, but that's still one less than the Eclipse's five. The bay under the hard drive cage is great for tucking extra cables or putting in one of Thermaltake's 5.25" "accessory trays". Speaking of 5.25" drives, let's look a little closer at the optical drive installation.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
The Aguila supplies plastic and steel rails that friction-mount to each optical drive to be installed. These rails helped our drive (which unfortunately has been missing its tray cover for a while now) slide in very easily and lock in place securely. While playing around with the different drive configurations, we decided to try moving the front door to the right hinge entirely, and this proved very simple.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
In addition we tried the vertical 5.25" bay just for fit, and while it was a little tight it certainly worked. Note that this pretty much kills the usefulness of the hard drive cage, but there is one free 3.5" bay in the included power / reset bay, so if one only has a single hard drive they could certainly use the vertical mount if they chose.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Without the door attached at all, the Aguila still looks very nice, resembling the latest Mac computer with the similar perforated look, or the Armor with simply smaller flaps. Again though, these can be removed completely if desired with a standard Phillips screwdriver.
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raskren - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I'm tired of these Nite Brite cases designed for the 15 year old boy. Come on! How about something a little more professional? I don't need or want giant holes, windows, or cases covered in LEDs!JoshuaBuss - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
despite what the majority of comments seem to point to, the fact is Thermaltake's cases sell like hot-cakes. people like them.. and no, I'm not just talking about 15 year old boys. different strokes for different folksOperandi - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Nickelback, the Chevy Cavalier, and Huffy bikes sell like “hot-cakes” too yet all three suck, hmm… how about that?People like them sure but based on the comments here not the Anandtech demographic.
JoshuaBuss - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
trust me, the 'active anandtech comment posters' demographic is nothing like the 'active anandtech reader' demographic ;)Le Québécois - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
Amen !Forbin85 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I have to agree. What's with the doors on the front too?I actually just bought myself a Coolermaster Centurion 534 for my Conroe build.
bob661 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I have a red Aspire aluminum case. I can't find my case anywhere anymore so I'm assuming it's been discontinued although steel versions can be found. Very simple design with side facing hard drive trays damn near the same as the Aguila. I'll have this case for a LONG time before I give it up. BTX will probably be the only way I'll change it.AMD4ME2 - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
I personally like screws! to hold in my expansion cards! I work on alot of machines daily and seriously... I'm sick of opening computers and finding expansion cards bouncing around in the case because of some wimpy screwless design.SilthDraeth - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
"Once our install was completed we noticed how much the honeycomb grill acts like a standard case window, but frankly we appreciate the ventilation and EMF shielding it provides more than just the cool factor."Just how much EMF shielding do you think an aluminum grill provides? And you mention that you like the ventilation, while at the same time, you express your worry over your hard drives getting to hot???
and
"This decision is interesting for a case designed more for sever use though, considering it sacrifices airflow over the hard drives, which shows up as considerably higher temperatures for our system hard drive and MOSFETs."
I guess you can say the case is designed for servers. I actually thought it was a small form factor case, instead of an ATX case for building your own standard computer in.
On a positive note I like the Aguila's design, but I still do not think it touches the Coolermaster Praetorian.
JoshuaBuss - Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - link
good point. I'll see if I can re-word that.