Thermaltake Core V51 Mid-Tower PC Case Review

Established in 1999, Thermaltake has been in the computer case industry for years. Being a part time computer tech, I built plenty of rigs with their products. They typically offer plenty of value combining a high level of user convenience with their designs at low prices. Their new Core series of cases are no exception. Following the launch of the Core V71 and Core V1, Thermaltake launched the Core V51, which happens to be the center of attention in today’s review.

Thermaltake’s website markets the Core V51 as “an enthusiast’s grade mid-tower that creates unprecedented space for high-end hardware and liquid cooling expansion.” At the price point of $109.99, let’s find out if that holds true…

PACKAGING, FEATURES, AND SPECIFICATIONS

The Thermaltake Core V51 arrived at my door in its standard packaging, a double-walled corrugated cardboard box. On the box is a list of the case specifications and an exploded view of the case showing some of its features and modularity.

Inside, the case is protected by a hard foam packaging, rather than superior closed cell foam, which is something users will want to take note of if they plan on building in this case and using the original packaging for shipping. As a final layer of protection, the case is covered in a plastic bag, however, my Urban T81 was wrapped in a cloth cover, just something to note since this case is marketed at enthusiasts.

When handling the case in the packaging, there was a lot of static electricity built up. So just as a reminder, be sure to always ground yourself and the case before you build your PC!

Included with the case are a Ziploc bag of screws, zip ties, and a speaker for your motherboard. These were located in a 3.5″ HDD slot as with most cases.

EXTERIOR

The chassis is made of SPCC steel while the removable front faceplate and feet are made of plastic. At the rear  it features 8 PCIe expansion slots, bottom PSU mount, three water cooling tube pass through holes, and some extra ventilation holes.

The front faceplate has hexagonal holes in it to allow for air to pass through and covered in a metal mesh for styling.

The front has two 5.25″ bays and above them it has a headphone and a microphone jack, reset button, HDD activity light, power button, and two USB 3.0 ports. The 5.25″ bay covers also have a foam insert in them to filter out dust.

Underneath the front panel there are two pre-installed 120mm intake fans. All three of the pre-installed fans are rated at 1000rpm, 16dBA. The front faceplate is also covered in a non-removable dust filter screen.