Rosewill Thor v2: The God of Cooling and Silence?
by Dustin Sklavos on August 24, 2011 2:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Full-Tower
- Rosewill
Introducing the Rosewill Thor v2
Most enthusiasts are familiar with Rosewill as a brand of inexpensive parts of decent quality. They've had enclosures on the market for ages, but those cases are almost always for budget builds. But today we have something that you may not be prepared for: an enthusiast-class full tower enclosure, competitively priced but clearly not for just any build. Rosewill's beast is able to support the largest of ATX motherboards and can handle quad-SLI and quad-Crossfire rigs with room to spare. In a market of SilverStones, Antecs, Corsairs, and Lian Lis, should you be giving Rosewill another look?
I'll be candid: I wasn't expecting a case like this from Rosewill. This thing is a monster, clearly designed with performance in mind, and priced that way. The plastic and steel build is actually remarkably staid, while connectivity is among the best of breed. It's not a bad looking case at all, and from just glancing at the specifications, the Thor v2 looks like it may have what it takes to perform with the best of them.
| Rosewill Thor v2 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX, XL-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 6x 5.25", 1x3.5" (shared with 5.25" using separate faceplate) |
| Internal | 6x 3.5"/2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 230mm intake fan |
| Rear | 1x 140mm exhaust fan | |
| Top | 1x 230mm exhaust fan (supports 2x 120mm/140mm) | |
| Side | 1x 230mm intake fan (supports 4x 120mm) | |
| Bottom | 1x 120mm/140mm fan mount | |
| Expansion Slots | 10 | |
| Front I/O Port | - | |
| Top I/O Port | eSATA, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, fan controllers, mic and headphone jacks | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearance | 13" (Expansion Cards), 180mm (CPU HSF), 200mm (PSU) | |
| Weight | 30.42 lbs. | |
| Dimensions | 22.84" x 9.14" x 21.89" | |
| Price | $149 | |
In addition to the staggering amount of expansion space within the Thor v2, the front 230mm fan glows red, a feature you can toggle on and off using a recessed button on the face. The fan controllers also support up to three fans per channel for six total. What perplexed me from the get-go was the venting on the top, though: there's a slider switch you can use to open or close the top vents, which seems like a cool idea until you realize that with those vents closed, there's nowhere for the top exhaust fan to channel air. Just from a cursory examination, though, it seems like airflow should be the last of the Thor v2's problems.
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bobbyh - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Great review, I might have to pick one of these up for a new build.And first!
piroroadkill - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
It gives you the option to disconnect the top fan and close the top vents, which is actually important for some people - if you own a cat, it'll love sitting on the top of your warm PC. Top vents aren't always a blessing.piroroadkill - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Oh, that's not even to mention the possibility of spilling beer into it.Blaze-Senpai - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Could always install one of those 40mm server fans and rev it past 9000, if that don't scare your cat then somethings wrong :3Can I get one in literally half the size though? I only want a Micro ATX build s:
Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Surprisingly I have yet to see my cat perch on top of my FT02. She mostly settles for perching on the subwoofer or the scanner.OwnedKThxBye - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I also think being able to close the top vent is a great feature. Will be looking at this case when building the next system.Typo on page 3: "I wound up either accidentally or deliberately popped them out"
Great Review!
jonup - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I cant agree more with you. Disconnecting the fan and closing the vents is what I would do. I might even put some sound dampening material undernit it. From my experience with mini P180 are horrible for acoustics - I can hear the airflow from every single fan inside my case.jonup - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
"From my experience with mini P180 are horrible for acoustics "should read:
"From my experience with mini P180 "top vents" are horrible for acoustics "
Mitch101 - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Lots of cat owners here. Anyone for dog slobber in the top?mooseunc - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
It could also be so that you can close the vents when powered off to prevent dust or the aforementioned pet hair/liquids/etc from getting inside. Sure it might be cool if they auto opened when powered on, like some sort of jet exhaust, but it's only cool until it breaks.