Thermaltake Matrix VX VD3000 Chassis

Lightweight and Hungry For Hardware Look Ma! No Screws!

As you can see, there's nothing ultra fancy about the Matrix VX VD3000, generally speaking. While some cases may be bigger, or have some sort of crazy animal or alien design, Thermaltake has opted for a more traditional look with the Matrix VX VD3000. The wire mesh covering in the front of the case gives it a unique look when you see it up close. And there's a blue LED 120mm fan located at the bottom of the case, which is clearly noticeable when it's powered up. The back of the case also sports a 120mm fan, although there's no glow to it. The clear side panel is a nice touch, which is great for showing off your hardware during a LAN party. And the Thermaltake Matrix VX VD3000 only weighs in at 3.8KG, so it's a breeze to move around, even with a full complement of hardware inside.

On the inside, you'll find plenty of room to fit you're hardware and manage whatever wires / cables are inside. The case is built on the principle of a tool-less design. Of course, you'll still need screws to secure the motherboard in there, but swapping drives and PCI/AGP cards is a breeze thanks to the use of the screw-less drive rails and screw-less expansion slots. Thermaltake has provided enough rails to fill all the drive bays, but no extras, so be careful not to lose or break any.

We did run into one small problem with the screw free PCI slots. For our system, we used a Thermaltake PurePower 480W PSU which comes with a speed control nob for the PSU's fan. The small plastic spikes that are used to secure hardware, instead of screws, weren't able to secure the fan control bracket tightly enough. It was in no danger of falling out, but it wasn't a tight fit either.