Member Review/Opinion Thermaltake Mozart (without medialab)

ellias · **17th June 2006, 05:52 PM**

Ok this is my first review on here, hope someone finds it useful.

Recently I decided to build my parents an MCE box as my wife and I couldn't live without ours. As we had built ours as a budget machine we had bought a non-brand cheap HTPC style case. Looks ok, works fine... at least it did until the PSU died and took 2 months to replace.

I didn't want a repeat of this for a system that, once I've set up, I never wanna fiddle with again! So I decided to go the branded case and PSU route.

Thermaltake are a well known case manufacturer and, like Antec, are well respected for their cases and PSU's. Although I would have preferred an Antec solution, I didn't find one I liked the look of. I had a budget of around $200.

The Mozart case, first and foremost, is a FULL SIZE DESKTOP CASE. It aint small, it aint dainty. This means plenty of room inside for multiple HDD's and other goodies. Good airflow and solid design. It's a heavy beast as there is little plastic inside, everything is solid metal. This is a pro and a con.

My biggest disappointment was the lack of large fans in this case. There are two smaller fans at the rear below the (supposedly silent/quiet) PSU, and another at the front. I would have preferred to see a single large fan at the rear to reduce noise. However the case can definately accomodate other cooling solutions, and if noise is a concern I suppose that larger fans can be fitted without too many hassles.

The front panel interface is not that great, but does the job. It would be nice if there was a way to hide all the USB and other connections... there isn't. Also although there is a slot in the fully metal front for a DVD tray to eject, since there isn't a corresponding button this slot is useless and you have to open the drive panel to access the drive. Until MCE has a way to eject the drive tray using the remote this element is a frustration.

Would I recommend this case for someone to use? Despite the build quality I would not recommend this case, and won't be using it again. For those looking to build their own MCE boxes I would suggest that two of the three biggest criteria are not addressed in this case. Yes it looks good (criteria one), but you can't open the drive bay without opening the front drive panel and ruining those good looks (criteria two) and you can't hide the front input panel sockets to make this appear more like a stereo component than a PC (criteria three).

Good luck with your building.

Ell

rixonm · **21st June 2006, 02:21 PM**

Thanks elias for the heads up. I am currrently looking for a case and this was one recomendced tome by the local shop. Your review will casue me to look further. thanks for stopping me making abd mistake.
Cheers

marquise · **22nd August 2006, 09:18 AM**

Thanks for the review. I also think its quite silly to have that slot for the optical drive, but not allow for a button to open it. But after considering quite a few cases I think I will go with this one.

I don't mind opening the front panel to get to the optical drive, more important to me is the ability to fit components in and the reliability of the PSU.

I considered Antec Overture II but was not available from where I wanted to buy it. Then Thermaltake's Bach and Mystic, but was put off by all the bright lights on the front. The Mozart seemed similar plus have the option to get the VFD panel later on (more a luxury than a neccesity).

So I think I will go ahead with this case, unless anyone has had any major problems with it, such as PSU dying or I/O jacks dying. I'm soooo sick of researching cases! My eyes are hurting.

AlphA · **22nd August 2006, 04:22 PM**

I have this case and personaly think its the best on the market.

Looks awesome and has good features.

See I dont like it how most cases make you flip down a section so you can access the usb ports, this case has two on the front that are not covered up and its not that ugly at all.. The pannel on the right is also an awesome idea.. I hardly use my DVD drive and when I do I dont want the flashing light of the led on the front flashing in my face whilst watchinfg a DVD or copying/burning a dvd.

Im using the stock fans and have not noticed the noise at all.. infact I can hardly hear it at all from 1m away.

I give it a 9 outa 10.

Good review ellias!

fromdastates · **17th September 2006, 09:54 AM**

Bummer, this case was on the top of my list. I was looking at it today on Ebay but saw that Thermaltake now has a slimmer design. It is very hard to find ones with the Media Lab already installed out here. I guess I will look for something else.

Gonzy · **1st October 2006, 10:25 PM**

HI,

I too am considering this case though from the pic it looks like the 4000 series that has been revied. Anybody got any comments on the 7001....its the slimmer version. Granted in the guts arent as spacious as the 4000 series but from what I have read it still takes the full sized boards and cards...with enough space for drives. NOw if only I could find someone who carried it so that I could have a look at one......