Thermalrock Eclipse

Posted 08/26/2005 at 9:37am | by

0

Comments

Print

Thermalrock’s slogan is “Innovation Everywhere,” but there’s not a whole lot of that in the company’s first case, dubbed the Eclipse.

One example of this so-called “innovation” is the external CD storage compartment. Every Eclipse case includes a blank CD-R that’s either red or purple (depending on the case color), which can be inserted into a holder on the front bezel. So you have a red or purple circle on the front of your case! Now that’s innovation in the sense that we’ve never seen it before, but there’s a reason for that—it’s useless.

Similarly, a blue LED lights up the front door, which looks cool but offers no tangible benefits.

What is actually cool, though, is the bevy of useful features inside the case. A front door, which sports a stylish split-panel aesthetic, opens to reveal the case’s bezel, which itself opens up to give you access to the drive bays and case frame. Inside, are a removable five-drive hard drive cage, a removable two-drive 3.5-inch bay, and four 5.25-inch bays.

The interior is entirely tool-less, using thumbscrews for hard drives and easy-to-install plastic rails for optical drives. PCI cards are secured via plastic clips that snap into place quickly and easily. Cooling is handled by two 12cm fans—one intake (which also cools hard drives) and one exhaust.

In addition to its lockable front-door panel, the lightweight, all-aluminum case’s side-panel can also be locked—in the event the national terror alert reaches orange or above. And if someone does manage to get the side panel off, it comes rigged with an alarm. PC terrorists beware!

While the Eclipse has some decent features, it’s really no more than an average case—it’s not offensive in any way, but there are certainly better options.
--Claude McIver

+ INNOVATION: Side- and front-panel locks, and a security alarm.
- CONSTERNATION:No mobo tray, no PSU, and a silly CD-storage system.

Month Reviewed: October 2005
Verdict: 7
URL: www.thermalrock.com