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Exclusive: Thermaltake's Jaw-Dropping Level 10 Chassis Unboxed!

Nathan Edwards — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Earlier this year, Thermaltake wowed us all with the announcement of the Level 10, a concept case designed in conjunction with BMW DesignWorks. Rather than a standard aluminum box, the Thermaltake Level 10 would incorporate a central pillar, with individual compartments hanging from it for the motherboard, PSU, optical drives, and hard drives. Here's a press shot of the Level 10.

The Level 10. It's high-concept! (click to embiggen)

We haven't heard much about the Level 10 since Computex in June; we were even a bit skeptical that such an outré case would ever come to market. But Friday morning we strolled into our secret lair to find an enormous box on our doorstep. After a hasty unboxing (documented on Page 2), we found a Level 10 of our very own, which we promptly shipped upstairs to our in-house photographers.

The Thermaltake Level 10 in all its glory.

As you can see, the production Level 10 is nearly identical to the concept shots we've seen earlier. Each compartment on the Level 10 has its own ventilation. The large panels on the lower left cover the motherboard mount, PCI-E cards, GPUs, and so forth. The six slots on the right are hot-swap SATA bays, connected to a large vertical heatsink. The bays have mounts for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives. The top right box holds three optical drives, and the upper left box holds the power supply.

We didn't have time to hook up all the lights, but the Level 10 includes a red LED strip that runs from the case's front panel across the top and to the rear, as well as red LED intake and exhaust fans in the motherboard compartment. Each of the six SATA hard drive bays includes a red LED that lights when the bay is occupied (we stuck a hard drive in the top one to show how it works).

The Level 10 with power supply, motherboard, optical drive, and three hard drive bays open.

The locks on the rear panel keep the component bays secure.
The upper right lock secures the PSU and motherboard compartments,
while the left locks the hard drive trays and optical drive bays.

Next: The gut shot, plus the initial unboxing of the Level 10!

The guts of the Level 10: individual compartments keep components thermally isolated. And it looks wicked.

The right side panel on the Level 10 comes off for access to the rear of the motherboard tray, just like on a standard case. Note the holes for cable routing as well as the backplane cutout for installing CPU coolers.

Now, step back with us in time as we show our initial unboxing of the Level 10, and give our first impressions of the case. Plus a bonus game: spot the cool stuff in our lab!

The Level 10 shipped in a 66lb box, fresh from the factory in Taipei.

In the top of the box was a nifty design book.

When unboxing heavy components, it's best to lay the box on the side.
The Level 10 came well-protected.

At this point we started humming Also Sprach Zarathustra (aka the 2001: Space Odyssey theme)

Dun DUNNNNN!

The panels seem a tad saggy but sturdy when secured.

Here's the Level 10 with the rear panel removed.

The front-panel connectors include your standard 4 USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port, and standard audio jacks.The case fits standard ATX and micro-ATX boards. The motherboard tray is thankfully removable: we wouldn't want to install a board in a case you can't lay on its side. We dig the hard drive trays that light up when they contain a drive, and we especially dig that they can hold either 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives without additional hardware. We're not as keen on the back panel- specifically, how difficult it can be to put the panel back on; you sometimes have to fiddle with the hard drive locking mechanism before it will go back on.

One thing that might not come across in the pictures: the Level 10 is huge. It's 12.5 inches wide, two feet deep, and 26.2 inches high, and weighs over 47 pounds. The carrying handle on the top will definitely come in handy; we doubt any of the component bays can hold the whole weight of the case if you try to lift from them.

The Thermaltake Level 10 is stylish as hell, but how well will it work as a case? We'll find out! Look for our full review on MaximumPC.com in the next few weeks! The Level 10 will be available in mid-October for $700. For more information, check out the official product page and stay tuned to MaximumPC.com!

BMW and Mercedes to Adopt Intel Atom Based Infotainment Systems

Ryan Whitwam — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:32:27 -0500

If you’re in the market for a luxury car in the next few years, they might try to upsell you an Atom-based “infotainment” system. BMW and Mercedes-Benz expect to get the units in cars sometime in 2012. Mercedes-Benz will make the systems available to buyers of its S-Class and C-Class vehicles. BMW will have them in the 7-series.

Intel’s Paul Otellini said these would be just the first of many in-vehicle entertainment systems based on the Atom platform. It’s possible this is the beginning of a trend. Maybe these carputers won’t be relegated to luxury models for long. This is yet another creative use for the Atom chip, but will anyone be interested?

BMW Shows Off Augmented Reality Concept for Mechanics

Paul Lilly — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:24:03 -0500

Remember when virtual reality was the hottest concept on the tech block? These days, augmented reality has become the new go-to fad for future tech talk, and even BMW is getting in on the action. Researchers for the German automobile manufacturer have developed a pair of augmented reality glasses designed to "assist BMW Service staff in their highly demanding technical work."

We'll admit the concept seems cool enough, but there's also something unsettling about a mechanic donning a pair of augmented tech-specs and being fed step-by-step instructions as he pokes around under the hood. We'd feel the same way if we spied a 'Car Repair for Dummies' book sitting in the Service center garage.

Coming Soon: Customize Your Next Bimmer with Microsoft Surface

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:53:49 -0600

Configuring your next BMW isn't as easy as touching a table yet, but in the near future, it probably will be. BMW has released a video of its prototype BMW Product Navigator (aka BMW Konfigurator), which is powered by Microsoft Surface and designed by Vectorform, which created the interactive 2008 election map used by MSNBC.

As with the 2008 MSNBC project, Vectorform's BMW Product Navigator uses Microsoft Surface to manipulate video that is then shown on an HDTV. With the BMW Product Navigator, you place chips representing product options on the Microsoft Surface tabletop computer, and the changes you make affect the BMW shown on the video screen. And, just so you can make sure you're buying the Bimmer you want, Product Navigator can email you your custom configuration, print it, or copy it to a USB flash memory drive.

Although there's no official word yet on how soon Navigator will make its way to your local BMW dealer, the combination of interactivity and video presentation it represents makes for a powerful sales and product research tool. As this parody of the original Microsoft Surface promotional video suggests, Microsoft Surface makes a lot more sense as a business tool than as a home computer, at least at current prices.

So, are you ready to gesture your way to your own personal "ultimate driving machine?" Hit Comment and tell us.

Image courtesy Engadget.