ThermalRock Circle Case Review

There are some pieces of hardware about which I generally could not care less. While I think power supplies are probably the least interesting (though important) part of a computer, then cases have generally been a close second. I would probably, therefore, be the last person you would entrust to write a review for a case, unless you had confidence that there was enough potential in the hardware to transform me, like Scrooge on Christmas Eve, with his three ghosts. I would like to say that the ThermalRock manufactured Circle chassis succeeded in this respect, but there were a few rough patches that managed to make it less than a complete success.

The distinctive front panel CD display.

Adjustable front panel flair.

Features

I must admit that when I found a gigantic box waiting for me in the mailroom, I was fairly excited to take it home, open it up, and see just what it had to offer me. My first impression of it was not how stylish or functional it appeared, but rather how enormous and heavy the box was. The box contained simply the empty case, without even a power supply, and yet it was significantly heavier than my other case, fully loaded with drives and devices. This can be either a strong or weak point of this case, depending on what use you plan on putting it through, as will be discussed later.

So, what stands out on this case?

Aluminum front door with acrylic panel and exchangeable CD storage. 12cm front and back fans (Orange colored, no less). Motherboard orientation rotated 180 degrees for better ventilation. Large, stylish window on side. Numerous tool-less parts. More space than you can shake a stick at. Security locks, and intrusion alarms (if your motherboard supports them). Easily accessible front-panel ports.