Thermaltake Spedo Advanced Chassis
by Christoph Katzer on January 5, 2009 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Performance
We ran our standard system configuration consisting of three 8800 Ultra GPUs, a quad-core CPU, and 2x2GB of RAM in the Spedo, with and without the A.T.C.3 cooling installed. Our results are as follows:
Temperatures with A.T.C.3 installed
Temperatures without A.T.C.3 installed
As you can see, the graphics cards reach very high temperatures; this is not only the fault of the direct contact of the plastic cover of the power supply but the whole A.T.C.3 unit. We ran the tests again without any plastic parts installed and the difference is 15°C in idle and almost 20°C with full load. Other components run slightly hotter without A.T.C.3, but the 2-3°C increase elsewhere is far less of a problem than the dramatic GPU temperature increase. Of course, our system always runs quite hot and few people have three higher-end video cards in their systems; however, if you do have a similar setup we suggest you skip the A.T.C.3 cooling -- or just look for a different case.
The change in acoustic noise is only caused by the higher fan speeds on the GPUs under load. 33dB(A) may not seem particularly loud in comparison to some systems, but if it's sitting next to you all day long it can easily drive you crazy. Those who don't care about noise (or perhaps use a headset while gaming) probably won't mind as much, but silent computing users will need to look for other options -- like fewer GPUs and perhaps water-cooling.
Closing Thoughts
The case shows very good artisanship, without a doubt. It's well built and caters to users looking for other options in the full-size tower market. There are plenty of people that love fancy cases with all sorts of features, even if some aren't actually necessary. In our opinion a case doesn't need all of the extra fluff and the Thermaltake Spedo has a case of feature overkill, but there are surely people out there who will love the appearance and design. The Thermaltake Spedo Advanced is available in stores starting at around $200 in the U.S. or 170€ in Europe.
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Sadasius - Friday, January 30, 2009 - link
Nice review! I am wondering very badly actually who makes that contact switch at the bottom of the case for the fan on the side door. I need one pretty badly to hide some wiring in a new build with two 250mm fans on the side door. Would love to hide the wiring with this switch. Please and thanks. Already contacted Thermaltake and they will not sell me the switch but are more then happy to sell me the whole case.alexopth69 - Thursday, January 8, 2009 - link
I would like very much to know the temperatures with side door openv12v12 - Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - link
testing123v12v12 - Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - link
Bah this is nothing but an overpriced server box, masquerading as a "desktop" that's all these "large" boxes are. And the lemmings will leap off the cliff to pwn one! BTX? LLMFAO that ANTIQUATED and FAILED intex attempt at changing the ATX market? It's long proven INEFFICIENT Vs ATX designs. What a joke: PSU at the bottom = more dust, requires LONG ass cables, horrible cable management, upside down PSU = sucking even more dust and grime collected at the bottom of the case. TERRIBLE hardware placement for water pumps and other items that would normally sit at the bottom of an ATX case.And the price: Yes noobs will continue to buy cheaply produced boxes for top dollar b/c it looks cool. $100 for a box made from scrap yard quality "alloy?" Geesh when is it going to stop?! Do I want one, CERTAINLY... IF it's below $90 + tax.
Strid - Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - link
Are the graphs supposed to say "Room temperature - lower is better"? :-PI have a really cold room, is that good? Soory, not very important, but still ... fun, lol.
Zak - Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - link
There is a cheaper version of this case too:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Unpainted interior and plain side panel, no window, just cutouts for two 12cm fans and I'm not sure about the top fan.
Z.
theartofcreation - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
its good to see that at long last there is a windowd case ont he market where they designers have remembered to paint the inside of the case too! - i always ojected paying a fortune for a windowed case only to have it sowing off all the unpainted metal insideZak - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Nice case. I like the black interior:) I guess 3 more hard drives can be installed all the way on the bottom, below the two hard drive cages. But 3rd cage would be nice. I think I'll go with the Antec Twelvehundred though.Z.
aaronfmd - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Accoustic Noise Graph "Y" axis is labled wrong. Otherwise, thanks for the great article.GiantPandaMan - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Naming a computer gadget similarly to a company that's known for tiny banana holders...yeah, bad marketing.