Thermaltake VD4000BWS Kandalf Case with Build in Liquid Cooling Kit and Window
Thermaltake is a respected leader in computer thermal solutions technology. Thermaltake has increasingly enjoyed the adoption of its thermal strategies by OEM and ODM companies worldwide. Its engineers are masters of airflow analysis, material conductivity and efficiency design. Thermaltake's unwavering devotion to quality and customer satisfaction has earned its products the approval of computer enthusiasts everywhere.PRODUCT FEATURES:All aluminum front door;Full tower case with building liquid cooling system;Utilize thermal concept of automobile and place radiator in front of computer chassis;Offers more extra space within case while radiator in the front door;Minimize installation time with partial pre-assembled liquid cooling components;ATX/BTX compatible (BTX upgrade kit is optional).
With optimized air flow, thermal management, and maximum flexibility, the Thermaltake Kandalf LCD VD4000BWS ATX/MicroATX/ExtendATX/BTX Full Tower PC Case is ideal for water-cooling your hardcore gaming, workstation, or server rigs. This black PC case boasts 11 flexible drive bays and seven expansion slots. The power and reset switch can be relocated into any drive bay to suit your preference. The case offers a massive fan and high efficiency ventilation system to keep the air running through your system cool and dense. The integrated water-cooling system features a powerful yet silent P500 pump to keep the coolant flowing. Using the thermal concept of the automobile radiator in front of the computer chassis, the 360-by-120-millimeter radiator features triple 120-millimeter cooling fans to boost the air flow to maximum power. This ATX and BTX compatible case supports future graphic card liquid cooling upgrades, including Northbridge, nVIDIA SLI, and ATi Crossfire. The Kandalf LCD comes with a 3-year limited warranty. Among many included features, this PC case offers:
- Transparent front and side panels
- All aluminum front door
- Solid copper acrylic capped CPU water block
- Front-accessible drive bays and seven expansion slots
- Standard I/O, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 FireWire, and audio and speaker ports
- P500 liquid pump
- 3/8-inch transparent UV tube and industrial-grade rubber tube
Thermaltake VD4000BWS Kandalf Case with Build in Liquid Cooling Kit and Window Accessories
 Bigwater Coolant Uv
Thermaltake AquaBay M1 CL-W0031 2U Liquid Level and Flow Indicator
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775
Flow Tx Plus
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, 3.5grams
Western Digital WD5000KSRTL Caviar 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
Lite-On SATA 20x Super All Write LightScribe Internal DVD/Dual Layer RW Drive (LH20A1L06)
Western Digital WD3000GLFS 10K 3.5-Inch 300GB SATA Velociraptor Hard Drive
Thermaltake Itube 6 Uv Sensitive Water Tube
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 nForce 780i SLI 3xPCI-Express x16 PCI-Express 2.0 Socket 775 A1 Version Motherboard
Thermaltake VD4000BWS Kandalf Case with Build in Liquid Cooling Kit and Window Reviews
Its a monster.the pump works well.actually have an extra bottle left over they give you two. The radiator sytem works excellent and you can't put togehter a water based cooler and system cheaper.so as you might be I was worried it was going to be average or just junk.boy was I surprised.love the unit and highly recommend it for home based systems.but if your lanning.go to they gym before you even consider this thing. Specs on mine: asus MB, 8 gigs G Skil 2x4 800ddr2, g-force 8800gts, 6 samsung 500gig 7200 sats, 150gig raptor, 2 samsung dvd sats lots of water cooling and some other modds for fun I have a water block on the north bridge (modded), a vidio card water block, and an aquos on my drive too.plus the chipset block it came with. don't mind that then this is the case for you. This thing has lots of room, is quite.easily modded, I cut in 3 more fans and added a fan controller as well.
Now for the not-so-good: This case is heavy, clocking in at a whopping 51 pounds. First off, it's a TANK, made primarily of 3mm rolled steel with aluminum doors on the front chassis. The seven expansion bays have removable honeycomb-grilled covers with foam inserts to keep dust out; if you've ever had to clean a computer once a month you can definitely appreciate this feature. Even its all-aluminum twin, the VD4000SWA, comes in at 32 pounds. With that, the main USB and Firewire ports are mounted on top, so they will be inaccessible if your desk (or keyboard tray) barely clears the top of the case. No more having to muscle and pull side panels off from the rear.
This case has a lot of nice features, in actuality it's a stroke of genius. On that note, the tubing is 3/8", adapters will be required for 1/2" loops. With the exception of the size and weight, these are mostly minor annoyances which are simple enough to overcome, but those possessing less brawn and smaller desks will definitely want to look elsewhere. Inside there are also pre-drilled screw holes on the bottom panel, enabling the installation of almost anything you can conceive. The radiator being mounted on the doors both cools the water loop and increases airflow inside the case itself. The side panel is easily removed by depressing the two latches (lockable to keep little hands out, w/ 2 keys included) and swinging the panel outward. Finally, due I suspect to precision machining, the installation of larger power supplies is trying to say the least, I had to lubricate the rails with isopropyl alcohol to get my 750W Thermaltake Toughpower in.
The size makes working inside this case very easy and it has enough room and expansion slots to handle all your upgrading needs for years to come. This isn't bad mind you, but if you're a hardcore enthusiast or overclocker you'll want a more high-end water block and pump, such as the D-TEK Fuzion and Swiftech MCP655 respectively. The doors are held closed with small magnets and both of them open, making the installation of drives a breeze. The fastening tabs for the PCI expansion slots are nonstandard, possessing opposable prongs instead of straight tabs, so intelligent use of screws is necessary to secure most graphic and sound cards, USB cards, etc. The two removable HDD cages (one forward, one rear) are a nice touch, just load 'em up and slide it in. The watercooling components appear to be well made, if somewhat 'average'. Plus with the feet installed it's 20 1/2" tall, so it may not fit under all desks.
For a LC novice however, this setup will be more than sufficient.
4/ It is difficult to install the power supply, specially the bigger ones like mine. 1/ Heavy. 2/ Screwless assembly is not always true(I have a USB PCI card that won't clip, my Creative X-fi controls on the drive bay won't clip as well). I have to slice a portion of the clip in order for it lock). Cons:. *The best thing about this product is better heat control and big space - this two compensated for all the bad stuff. 4/ Screwless assembly. 2/ Good cost for having both LCS and Case (instead of purchasing separately).
5/ The top fan won't lock since my power supply is long. 3/ Very adequate air circulation. 5/ Almost quiet operation. 1/ Lots of space. 3/ Difficulty clipping my 8800 GTX card. Pros:.
Beware that all put together, this does weigh a lot, so have a cart or something to move it to it's final location where you intend to use it. Add water cooling to the mix, and it's a great setup. I've dealt with this manufacturer years ago and have been pleased with their products, and this is no exception. I took the advice of a friend and used a TEC for the CPU as opposed to the water cooling, I'll use the water cooling aspect for other components. Read the manual thoroughly so you understand how to put your components inside, ie: plan it out, it'll go much smoother, and take your time, don't rush it.
As reviewed by others, this is a huge case, which is what I was looking for. Don't hurt yourself carrying this. Delivery was quick. The ad about needing no tools is not quite right, you will. Even without the water cooling, the TEC took 12 degrees C off CPU temp at startup, and never looked back.
I've had heat issues and needed more space to cool my system. If you have the money to spend and have need of a good case, by all means, buy this one.
This case rocks. Nice clean system. With the radiator at the front of the case the heat from the computer is not passing over it like the cases with the radiator mounted on the top.
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