Thermaltake’s original Level 10 chassis was a remarkable collaboration with BMW DesignWorks in which the companies fundamentally restructured the PC chassis into a series of isolated compartments suspended from a central load-bearing wall. It was stunning, cost $800, and wasn’t actually that practical to use. With the Level 10 GT, Thermaltake has taken the basic look of the Level 10, slapped it onto a more standard full-tower frame, and slashed $500 from the asking price. The end result isn’t quite as sleek as its progenitor from an aesthetic perspective, but far outstrips the original in ease of use and practicality, and is not without a certain sci-fi flair of its own.
At 11.1 inches wide by 23 inches high and 23.2 inches deep, and weighing 28 pounds empty, the Level 10 GT is a hefty case. The case’s frame and right-side panel are made of black-painted steel, and the right side has a ridge with a handle cribbed directly from the Level 10, although it’s not part of the central pillar as on the Level 10. The front panel is made of plastic and contains four mesh 5.25-inch optical bezels and one 3.5-inch external-drive bay. The optical drive bays are toolless, with the latching mechanisms on the right side of the bays.
Like a skyscraper from a sci-fi flick, the Level 10 GT has a certain gaudy charm.
The left-side panel is where the action is. The rear two-thirds comprise a hinged-door panel that locks with a barrel lock, featuring a 20cm color-shifting fan (with directional shutters like a car’s heating vents) on the bottom and a clear plastic window on top. The front third of the panel is devoted to drive trays: five slide-out plastic 3.5-inch trays (with 2.5-inch mounting holes, as well) mimic the solid-aluminum drive trays of the original Level 10, but feature hotswap SATA pass-throughs, prewired with a five-head SATA power cable.
The 20cm color-shift intake fan on the side panel is matched by another on the front panel, as well as a 20cm color-shift top exhaust fan (which can be replaced by a 240mm radiator) and a 12cm rear exhaust fan. All intake fans, as well as the PSU intake, feature slide-out dust filters.
The Level 10 GT includes two USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks on the front of the right pillar, with two USB 3.0 ports, fan controls, and one eSATA port above the optical bays.
Inside, the Level 10 GT is almost conventional, with plenty of routing options.
The Level 10 GT features a much easier install process than its predecessor—almost on par with the Corsair 800D. Its motherboard tray includes eight rubber-grommeted cable-routing cutouts, plus a large CPU backplane cutout. It has eight PCI expansion slots and supports ATX, microATX, and E-ATX motherboards. The motherboard compartment is sufficiently spacious to make installation of even the bulkiest systems a breeze, and the case easily accommodates 12.2-inch GPUs.
Thanks to its plethora of fans and capacious motherboard compartment, the Level 10 GT’s thermal performance was the second-best of any case in this roundup, bested (only slightly) by the Silverstone TJ11, which retails at $600.
If you admired the original Level 10 but couldn’t stomach its asking price or performance compromises, you’ll find the Level 10 GT more to your liking. It’s less sleek and, well, design-y, but in every other aspect it’s the superior case.
$280, thermaltakeusa.com
Easy install; interesting design; great cooling
Still expensive; garish design isn't for everyone
ryantmer
June 13, 2011 at 2:39pm
That had better be Plan 9 from Outer Space you have as the negative, and not Plan 9 from Bell Labs :P
Phrish
June 13, 2011 at 12:54pm
Personally I love this case, but I like the sci-fi look and feel.
Look and feel aside, my top consideration for this case was thermal performance, which I could see was a definite advantage even before seeing the MPC review. I have a Gigabyte dual X16 SLI mobo that only leaves maybe an eighth of an inch between the GPUs, so side cooling was a MUST! With a 20 cm top fan, side fan, and front fan, and with the side fan being flow direction adjustable, this was a no-brainer for me.
BTW Nate, I believe the rear exhaust is a 14cm fan, not 12, though the port has both 12/14 cm attachment holes for either size of fan.
My one ding for this case would be that its top USB 3 ports are not connected with the new mobo headers, but via a passthrough extension cable for the rear external ports. You basically route the USB extension cables through one of the watercooling tube holes in back. Not a real biggie for me, since my Gigabyte board has about 630 USB 3 external ports, not including the mobo headers. =)
In general, though, tons of room, great thermals, and I like the look. I'm not much of a glowy flashy lightey sort of fan person, but I just keep the fan lights off.
Omegasupreme80
June 13, 2011 at 12:24pm
We are the Borg. Lower your antivirus and surrender your PC. We will add it's technological distinctiveness to our own...
Or am I the only one who thinks this may have been Borg-inspired?
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