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Mid-Tower Mega Roundup

 by Joshua Buss on September 8, 2005 12:05 AM EST
48 Comments | Add A Comment
48 Comments
ThermalRock Eclipse

As a smaller division of ThermalTake, ThermalRock's aluminum Eclipse pays many design traits to other ThermalTake cases. Breaking off from tradition though, the front of this one is primarily taken over by a CD holder, which includes a blank red CD-R. No, it is not an actual drive or reader of any sort, unfortunately; it simply holds a CD for storage and looks.


Click to enlarge.

To get at the real drives, the front of the Eclipse opens up with a dual-hinge design and reveals four 5¼” and two 3½” bays.


Click to enlarge.

Notice how the Eclipse uses several different finishes to give it a unique look that's classy, yet will still appeal to most gamers out there. The revealed front for instance is a sparkle black not unlike a lot of guitar or even automotive finishes.


Click to enlarge.

Power and reset buttons are hidden to clean up the look of the case when closed, and towards the bottom, the vents for the intake fan can be clearly seen. Getting back to the front before opening the doors, we can take a look at the intake vents there as well along with a couple of other items.

Besides the plastic-embossed "ECLIPSE" insignia, there are also strips that will light up showing that the case has power and there is hard drive activity above the vents as well. Turning the case to the side slightly gives us a better look at the port cluster, which may or may not be the best placement for one's particular setup.

We really wish that manufacturers would space the ports out a bit more on the clusters like this, since more and more devices are coming out that have little to no cable at all, making plugging in more than one peripheral difficult or even impossible. Moving on, there is also the option of locking the entire front bezel here on the side. When unlocked, the bezel can be swung open to allow unrestricted access to the removable dust filter.

Turning the case 180 degrees, we can see how the Eclipse looks from the rear, and are happily surprised to find massive thumbscrews in typical ThermalTake/ThermalRock fashion.


Click to enlarge.

We can also tell from this one picture that there are two included fans with the Eclipse, both of which are 120mm in size.

Antec Sonata II (cont’d) ThermalRock Eclipse (cont’d)
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  • xsilver - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    just because you like the "stealth" look it doesnt mean everybody else does
    why is there a market for car neons?
    why is there a market for phone covers and ringtones?

    but good god, that thermalrock case needs to DIAF! :P

  • smn198 - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    quote:
    why is there a market for car neons?
    quote:
    why is there a market for phone covers and ringtones?
    http://www.chavscum.co.uk">Chavs

  • imaheadcase - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    Well its evident there is a market, but your comparing apples to oranges. Its computer part not something everyone builds themselves. If you have people buying power ranger cases that built computers, then they need a new hobbie..

  • xsilver - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    who says you have to build a system yourself?
    dont your local pc store (not best buy etc) stock their cases from somewhere?
    if some 10 year old (or some tryhard that doesnt know how to build his own) wants a pc, what case is he going to choose, crappy bling neons or real aluminium?

    dont get me wrong -- I prefer stealth too - but I do realize that there is a market for crappy neons :P

  • raildogg - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    ThermalRock Eclipse looks sweet, although I'd still get a P-180.

    why would you pay that much for the V1000? rather get a cheaper case like a P-180

    oh and primo posto! :)

  • OvErHeAtInG - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    I was going to to correct you with "primer poste" until I realized you typed the Italian... a race fan should know... *hits himself...*

  • ksherman - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    I personally dont think any case should be worth so much... unless it was the MOST amazing theng ever to hit the world... which I dont think the V1000 lives up to. I personally dont like the look of the Eclipse... to flashy, and it actually looks kind of cheap. But it might look different in person. I am a big fan of the Sonata 1 so, I would guess the #2 would be better, but it doesnt seem to include a PSU from what I have seen...

  • Furen - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    The Sonata 2 does include a PS: a SmartPower 2.0 450w. The problem with it is the fact that it's quite a bit louder than the original TruePower and the TruePower2 of the newer Sonatas.
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