Thermaltake Element V Full ATX Tower Case Review

Conclusion

When considering build quality I haven’t got much to go on given how long it has been since I have owned a case. One thing I noticed, however, is a wide range of what I’d consider to be garish and sometimes downright absurd. Thankfully, the Thermaltake Element V was just flashy enough to be unique but not excessively annoying. In my uneducated opinion I wasn’t able to find any glaring issues regarding how the case was assembled and delivered. The packaging was top notch, the box art was descriptive of what was contained within the box, and the case arrived in one piece.

Once actually digging around inside of the case a few issues did, however, present themselves. The first was the opening in the motherboard tray meant for bolt-through heatsink assembly. I appreciate the thought, but unfortunately some motherboards don’t have the socket in that area. In fact, I believe none of my X58 or P55 motherboards have the socket that far to the left. This, however, isn’t a fatal flaw; it is more like one of those features that in theory is awesome but in execution is a slight letdown. Don’t let that phase you though. How often do you re-mount your heatsink? In a similar manner the issues I had with the hard-drive caddy aren’t fatal flaws but it would have been nice to have the drives mounted on rails so I could easily slide them in and out of the case.

When considering a case, frequently it all comes down to aesthetics given the sheer amount of cases available. Since the Thermaltake Element V is a full-sized tower case it has plenty of room for a great gaming or workstation build with multiple expansion cards and hard-drives, and plenty of room for a hefty power supply. The airflow coming in and out of the case also provides plenty of ventilation for all these hot components. Priced at $160, the Thermaltake Element V sits in the middle of the pack of full-tower ATX cases while providing a safe appearance.

Legit Bottom Line: The Thermaltake Element V combines smooth dark aesthetics with light accents to create a beautiful, yet functional, case.