Thermaltake Core G21 TG Review

September 21, 2017 | 14:00

Tags: #atx #case #tempered-glass

Companies: #thermaltake

Interior

Both side panels are attached with four thumbscrews each, although we found them to be a bit fiddly when reattaching them, as you have to slot them into little plastic clips at the bottom of the case while aligning them correctly at the same time. It's not rocket science, but it seems a little unnecessary.

Inside, we have a classic dual-chamber layout thanks to a PSU shroud, although the horizontal part of this doesn't extend all the way to the front. The primary reason for this is to make way for front-mounted radiators, as both 360mm and 280mm models are supported - as is common, there are no hard drive or optical drive mounts up front either. This means most all-in-one coolers on the market are catered for, and a bit of creativity will allow for a custom loop to go inside too.

Motherboard mounts are pre-installed to save you a little more hassle, but PCI expansion slots rely on traditional screws rather than quicker thumbscrews. You will also need to attach a bracket to your power supply before sliding it in from the rear and then attaching the bracket to the case itself. The PSU does not rest on rubber or foam but rather plastic – another indication of cost-cutting. In short, there's some room for improvement in terms of hardware installation, but it's still quick and easy to work with this chassis.

All drives are installed on individual metal trays, each one secured with just a single thumbscrew. This is something that should be commended, as it makes removing or replacing any one of them a quick and painless task. There are two 3.5”/2.5” trays fixed to the right-facing side of the panel up front that's also used to hide cables, and two 2.5” trays secured to the floor of the PSU shroud. These latter two can also be moved to behind the motherboard tray for an even cleaner look. Our only gripe with this system is that no rubber grommets are included for mounting mechanical drives.

Given that you can see through the right side panel, it's important that Thermaltake has ensured all internal cables are sleeved in black – this is basically a standard nowadays, but it can still be overlooked by certain budget cases. For cable routing, there's a hole above the motherboard for the EPS12V and fan cables (a little on the small side), and you also have room below the motherboard to feed I/O and 2.5" drive cables through. The main bit, however, is a channel formed by a vertical steel panel toward the front of the case. It's not as elegant as a series of holes covered by rubber grommets, but along with a set of anchor points and zip ties, it still does a good job.


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