10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Good airflow, capacity and build
Date of Review: Jan 19, 2006
The Bottom Line: Bottom line, the Shark is of excellent quality, killer looking but has an issue with dust and noise, depending on your configuration.
The Thermaltake Shark is a unique breed between several cases; it offers features as a removable motherboard tray, high quality aluminium construction and great device capacity due to its overwhelming size, but how does it stack up in the real world?
When extracting the Shark from of its Styrofoam enclosure for the first time, the first thing you'll notice is how big sturdy it feels. Most of the weight is shifted towards the front of the unit as the door is of thick and solid aluminium construction. The rest of the chassis is also very sturdy with the exception of the side panels which tend to bend easily due to their slimness. On the other hand, this renders the panels very light and easy to manipulate and the use of thumbscrews allow them to be removed quickly and painlessly.
The motherboard tray is another interesting option found on this model; it is screwed onto the chassis using a rail and thumbscrew combination. To undo the tray, the user has to remove the two thumbscrews and then slide the tray towards the front of the unit and pull it up. It's a very easy and efficient system. However, the motherboard tray has a lipped edge to ease the motherboard's installation but I have found that in early production, a few units were found to be faulty and this lip touched the motherboard's edge which did not allow it to screw in properly. After contacting Thermaltake, I was told that an RMA on the tray was available at the expense of shipping and handling. I simply grinded off the tray's lip using an angle grinder and the motherboard fit in snugly, although this option may not be for everyone.
So the case is sturdy and light, what else is there? The Honeycomb, EMI shielded side panel is a nice feature and looks killer but I have found that these allow allot of dust to be sucked into the case by the processor's fan which calls for cleaning on weekly basis. Obviously, this would depend on where you case is located. If it's sitting on carpet rather than your desk, then expect a good amount of dust clinging on to your side panel and exhaust fan. Luckily, the front intake fan comes standard with a 120mm filter.
Speaking of that filter, the front fan is covered behind the front door so cleaning it can be a chore if you have never, or rarely, dissembled a case. To access the filter, the front door needs to be clipped off by pressing on the plastic tabs found on the case's interior which in my case required a flathead screwdriver. Once the panel is loose, it can be pulled off of the frame. Be sure to disconnect the front panel connectors such a USB, LEDs and power/reset switches when doing this as they are attached to the door.
The Thermaltake Shark is big, high capacity case. You'll have no problems fitting in your components and will have more than enough room for cable management throughout the shell. However, very little room can be used on the back panel because if fits tightly on the frame.
Overall, the Shark is a great looking case. Albeit a bit noisy and dusty due to the honeycombed side panel, I would definitely recommend it for its sturdy, full aluminium construction, high capacity and overall build quality. It comes standard with two 120mm fans which are pre-installed on the case and the front intake fans sports a nice plastic fan filter. No power supplies are included with this model.
