Gadgetory

this video was brought to you by NCI X great technology selections and service hello everyone this is Dmitry with Hard Rock Canucks and today we've got two highly requests the chassis from Thermaltake this is the urban t81 priced at $108 and I think it's a little risky for thermaltake to approach this price bracket as we are seeing more value oriented the closures really dominate the market and set the benchmark for what to expect in each price bracket so let's hope there's enough functionality and unique features packed into the t81 for this to be awarded the competitor in today's oversaturated list of cases so first let's start with the aesthetics and Thermaltake sure does not disappoint with very handsome full tower their urban line is really meant to fit in the modern space with brushed aluminum accents curvy bottom and glossy frame edges and ensure got character up top I'm really happy to see six USB ports two of which are USB three on your jacks PR buttons and the fan speed control for a low or high setting as the t81 features a fan hug behind the motherboard tray 4/10 fans this is molex powered only and not PWM unfortunately so the hub does not connect to your motherboard and therefore you cannot monitor or control the fans from the BIOS on your motherboard the top cover is removable that has a built-in dust filter so really glad to see that further removing the top frame we get access to the fan area a large 200 millimeter fan is included plus we get support for triple 120 or dual 140 or 200 minimum fans so flexible cooling and radiator options here and that is exactly what we need to see for this size and of course the price the front panel opens wide at 180 degrees behind which we find to optical slots and two large removable dust filters that are realistically more plastic than mesh and I think you would actually do more harm with restricting airflow plus the panel closes flush right against the filters with practically no spacing in between so total front intake is reliant on the side ventilation alone and then we definitely would like to see this changed now on a better note though a couple of 200 millimeter fans are included in the front so it seems a stock cooling is pretty much maxed out with a variety of other options available like triple 120 or dual 140 lumen our fans are supported as well with their corresponding radiator sizes coming around to the back we get large water cooling grommets two keys included for the side panel the 140 member exhaust fan eight PCI slots with plenty of ventilation and in the bottom large case feet throw with rubber pads and this massive dust filter spending the entire floor removal of which may get problematic and I wish it's let out from the side instead so coming to the side panels they are a little different you can actually lock them the window itself is quite revealing while the smaller panel covers all of the hard drives after unlocking you push a button to release the panel at the bottom the window panel swivels open and is removable while the drive cover opens only at about 90 degrees and one thing I wish they were independent so you can maybe access the drives without needing to open the main panel internally I'm very happy to see many cutouts with quality rubber grommets pre-installed motherboard standoffs and EA TX support thanks to the roomy design the drive cage system is modular with a total of eight drive caddy supporting both SSDs and mechanical drives the cages are secured at the rear with thumb screws and removing them opens up clearance for a radiator and notice the mounting strips for extra flexibility for both 120 and 140 millimeter fans there is an additional bracket that holds a single SSD and the mechanical drives so you're not completely left without storage the bracket can also support an extra fan for improved air flow and two positions for installation depending on your configuration now with the bracket in place holding them can could drive you still have over four inches of spacing inviting thick radiators and push-pull setups furthermore the two optical bays are easily removable with thumb screws leave enough clearance for a thick top 360 or a 420 mm radiator and one in the front this wall which is pretty impressive and I really love how the t-80 one is so water cooling ready supporting dual 420 radiators simultaneously plus it's very user friendly with everything that is removable secured with thumb screws plus you can remove the panels themselves and the support frame in the middle if required for modding or potentially repainting with the bottom platform removed you can still mount a 240 or - 80 ml radiator allowing some water cooling while not totally getting rid of storage potential with still enough clearance for a long hour supply that actually sits on the raised padded platform for better cooling and silence with the cages in place we have over 15 inches of clearance so there are absolutely no issues with GPU compatibility and even with the bracket installed there's plenty left for enthusiast systems even if you place a fan on the bracket and coming around to the back this is one of the things get a little bit disappointing and I'm not really happy with the direction thermal tech has gone for a cable management system first there are no standard cable type points instead we get these built in flexible hooks that are only on the left side and none in the center so as you can see my 24 pin cable was left unsecured and I would rather see standard cable tie mounts all over the tray plus these additional hooks as otherwise the t81 really just fell to the bottom of the list for such terrible implementation of cable management and career furthermore as you can see there is no spacing between the motherboard tray and the bottom so you cannot tack your cables but the side panel is spaced out about an inch away from the trace you can still have some room to work with but it's always unpleasant having to deal with unsecured cables and also the hassle of closing the panel because of it and with the build assembled I love the spacing of all the cutouts and from the power supply and right below the motherboard for outing all the little things and this is what a full tower should really feel like you know ready for expansion without compromise there's over three inches up top for water cooling with these large cutouts for routing of any type of case and it really feels like it has potential within the enthusiasts water-cooling market and that's the thing with the t81 it has impressive list of water cooling support but proper drive cage system to complement any configuration plus removable optical base that really proves thermal tank design this with water cooling in mind the fan hub is always a bonus although it's not pwm so fan control is limited with just the two settings and I have to give them this unique side panel design it's refreshing and it totally fits the urban character however the t81 is surprisingly unoptimized for cable management behind the motherboard tray for its size without any proper cable tech points and very inconvenient rear panel that is just a hassle to closed front design is incredibly restrictive first with the panel itself then the dust filters that are more plastic than mesh and the overall build quality seems off with quite a bit of flex and also rattling side panels all for almost $200 is expensive considering this feels only partially polished and I really wanted to like this case giving the unique form and the crazy water cooling support but the t81 is a good example of how a few small details can really ruin the functionality of the entire enclosure and that really hope we'll see major improvements in the urban line from thermal thing but we would love to know what you'd like to see changed in this specific case and I'm sure Thermaltake would be happy to receive our feedback along with yours so leave your comments down below as always thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one