Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full-Tower Chassis Review

The front cover comes away cleanly seeing how the buttons and I/O area has been moved to the top panel. The removable dust filter for the fan area is attached to the frame by plastic tabs and the drive bay covers are backed with foam to help keep unwanted bunnies out. I’m not sure what it is about huge fans but this one makes me smile.

Here is an overall shot of the left side, so have a peek before we dive into the individual sections.

At the bottom front are the six 3.5″ or 2.5″ drive bays that have been rotated 90 degrees. Each bay features a blue plastic tray with an arm and latch system to hold it all in place. 3.5″ drives install without tools but 2.5″ drives will need to be secured with screws.

Above the hard drive cage are the tool-less locks for the 5.25″ bays. These are similar to what Corsair uses in its cases and employs the same style of push-to-release latch at the front.

The floor of the case shows a better view of the mounting area for the optional fan and the vents for the power supply. The adjustable power supply brace makes its return to ensure the unit stays in place by reducing any up and down and side to side motion while elevating it to ensure proper airflow.

It’s not quite as comprehensive as the motherboard tray in the Level 10 GT but the Chaser MK-1 features enough of what most users will need. Each of the cable management areas down the right side of the tray, in front of the power supply and above it feature rubber grommets. A good portion of the top edge of the tray is cut away to help with routing cables to the top of the motherboard and there is also a huge cutout in the CPU area to help with installation and removal of coolers.

The rear panel shows off the exhaust fan, pass-through water cooling holes, motherboard I/O area and power supply opening but also the thumbscrews used to hold each of the slot covers and any expansion cards in place.

Up on the top panel are the 200mm exhaust fan and opening for another of the user’s choosing. In total this case could possibly be configured with four 200mm fans if water cooling isn’t a must.

The back of the motherboard tray shows off the small loops where zip ties can be used to wrangle any loose cable, the initial routing for the top panel connections and the area behind the hard drive trays to hide everything else. There is just under 3/4″ of space between the motherboard tray and side panel so that space at the front may be useful.

Included with the Chaser MK-1 are the motherboard stand offs, screws to hold everything in place, extra long screws should an extra 200mm fan be added in one of the open spots, a 5.25″ to 3.5″ bay converter complete with matching cover, a 12V cable extension, a handful of zip ties and a case speaker.

The Level 10 GT was a dream to work in and cooled like a champ, so I have my hopes up that the installation and testing will be the same this time around.