The ThermalTake Armor series has been around for a while now, and given the fact that there is at least 7 versions (8 counting a BTX version) of it listed on; the ThermalTake website it is safe to say that it has possibly become their most popular design. Today we will take a look at the newest addition to the lineup, a mid tower version of the popular Armor+ chassis design, the Armor+ MX. Now those who really love the Armor+ design, but do not have enough room for a rather large case, can have the killer looks of the Armor+ in a smaller package.
First Impression:
I received the Thermaltake Armor+MX in a retail box, that seemed to be huge for a mid tower case. The box itself, as you can see in the image above, though scuffed slightly held up well in shipping. Personally, I rather like the way Thermaltake designed their packaging. The front with a nice image of the case powered on and the back showing many of the case features. The trademark black color scheme of Thermaltake packaging, goes well with the Armor+MX case and in fact had me thinking of the ominous Black Knight right from the start. lol
As you can see above, the box is much bigger than the case it contains and we can now see why it seemed to be so big. Thermaltake has made sure that there are several inches of empty space surrounding the case, so that it will not get dented.
In fact once we remove the case from the box with the foam protection still on it you can see that it provides several inches of clearance all around the case. And what is not free air is protected by foam, this provides a very cushy package for shipping indeed and also aids in sliding the case from the box as well. The case was covered with a cloth-like protective cover to keep it from getting scratched and you will also find the instruction manual and a dust cloth in a plastic ziplock bag attached to the cloth-like covering. Although some may argue that it foretells of dust bunny woes and finger print smudges to come, the included dustcloth is a rather nice touch, adds a touch of class I think.
With
the Armor+ MX out of the box and the cloth-like protective cover
removed, we find that the side panel window is protected with plastic
(which has become the norm).
As
we move around to the front of the case we see that Thermaltake added a foam block
between the doors and the drive covers to keep these from being
damaged also. Overall Thermaltake did an extremely nice job on outside packaging and external protection of the Armor+ MX.
Accessory Pack:
Wedged between the side panel and the motherboard tray we find the accessory box.
Inside the accessory box we find the usual screw pack containing a multitude of screws, brass standoffs and fiber washers to facilitate your motherboard installation. We also find, needed wire ties and stick on cable ties for cable management, as well as HDD tool-less installation clips. Thermaltake pretty well has you covered here.
Lets take a quick look at the listed specifications and features and then we will move on to the the fun part of the review. : )
