Thermaltake CORE P5 Chassis

[HardOCP News]

There is a review of the Thermaltake CORE P5 chassis posted at Modders Inc. today. For comparison purposes, you can see our evaluation here.

Every once in awhile something new comes out that changes how the PC world looks at things. Thermaltake has put a new spin on computer cases with the CORE P5 an open air mid tower case that has normal PC enthusiasts excited about making their computer look outrageous. We will be taking a closer look at the Thermaltake CORE P5 and show you how to assemble the CORE P5.

 

[Richard R]

I really only have one suggestion for this, and that is to have the MB tray separable from the frame. This way the MB and expansion card connectors, normally at the rear of the 'case' can be rotate to be 90 degrees, or even oriented in the same facing as the 'Front' panel connectors. For wall mounting, I think I'd prefer the heavy cables (video, power, etc.) to be connected on the bottom, with the 'front' panel connectors either also on the bottom, or to either side.

 

[rsquared]

Has Thermaltake expressed any intention to make smaller versions of this case? Like maybe a micro-ATX Core P3 and a mini-ITX Core P1. I like my Lian-Li PC-O5SX but would like to see more liquid-cooling options in the "wall-hanging PC" space.

 

[RazorWind]

Has Thermaltake expressed any intention to make smaller versions of this case? Like maybe a micro-ATX Core P3 and a mini-ITX Core P1. I like my Lian-Li PC-O5SX but would like to see more liquid-cooling options in the "wall-hanging PC" space.

Yes. There is supposedly at least a Micro ATX version set for release later this year, called the P1, I think. Maybe also an ITX version?

 

[Dekar12]

Does having that ribbon for pcie cause any issues with video cards? I have seen them in more builds lately and just wondering if there are draw backs to using them.

 

[RazorWind]

Does having that ribbon for pcie cause any issues with video cards? I have seen them in more builds lately and just wondering if there are draw backs to using them.

Yes.

I actually own a P5. The ribbon cable that the case comes with just flat out didn't work at all with my 290X, and barely worked with an older HD6870. Thermaltake offers a revised version of the cable that worked a little better, but still only at PCI-E 1.1 speed. There are apparently third party ribbon cables that DO work, but I'm yet to try one. There's a thread in the worklogs forum where a guy posted an Amazon link for one that worked for him.

I love my P5, but I really wish Thermaltake would have tested the cables more thoroughly before releasing the case to market. The fact that it doesn't work is obviously a real letdown.

 

[rsquared]

Does having that ribbon for pcie cause any issues with video cards? I have seen them in more builds lately and just wondering if there are draw backs to using them.

FWIW, I've not had any issues with the PCI-E ribbon cable in my PC-O5SX, with either a GTX 660 or a GTX 980 Ti. GPU-Z reports that the 980 Ti is running at PCI-E 3.0 x16.

Getting a good PCI-E x16 extender cable is expensive. As I remember, one of the "here's my plan for a small mini-ITX" threads around here (I can't remember which one) has a fairly involved discussion about this. I'm sure a good chunk of the PC-O5SX's high cost is for that cable.