First Impressions
I was very impressed by how light the case was when I first got the box. I’ve never seen a box for an enclosure with a handle on it. Yes, the LANFIRE is light enough to pick up with one hand. Peering closer, I noticed that I didn’t get the version with the PSU. There is a variant of the LANFIRE that does come with a 420W PSU as mentioned in the spec sheet.
Exterior
Taking the LANFIRE out of the box, we see the nice silver finish on the case. The front panel of the case is made out of ABS plastic, and the rest of the case is made is made of aluminum. The X window mod on the case was nicely protected by a plastic coating, and you can easily see the “Thermaltake, Cool Your Life” etched into the side of it. On the bottom side of the case are 4 small plastic feet that you can rotate out to add stability to your case if the need should arise.
Taking up the top 5”1/4 bay is the Hardcano fan control variable resistance fan control device with integrated temperature monitor. The temperature monitor glows blue while in normal mode and red when in warning mode. The VR fan control device supports up to 4 fans, which coincidentally is the number of case fans supplied with this case. You can also put your CPU fan on one of the controllers if your CPU fan is making a racket and want to deaden the sound.
There is a door covering the remaining 2 5”1/4 and 2 external 3”1/2 bays. This door is reminiscent from the early Antec cases. On the front door is a lock that allows you to secure away your valuable peripherals located within.
The bays are covered by removable plastic bezel covers. These are designed in such a way that they are easily removable as well as replaceable with two fingers. I like this feature, since it allows you to make modifications to your bays. If you remove your DVD-ROM for example, you’re able to replace the plastic cover without any difficulty, and don’t have to leave an unsightly hole in the front of your case. Behind these covers are aluminum placeholders that are easily removable with your index finger. These as well are replaceable.
The front panel houses 2 USB ports as well as a FireWire port. These are nicely hidden in a tiny compartment covered by a tiny door with the words LANFIRE printed on it.
Right below the USB and FireWire cavity, is the Fireball EL modification. This is basically another light modification on your case. The fireball lights up in a set pattern, and looks cool. The Fireball EL can be turned on or off by an inverter switch located inside the enclosure. However, to do this, you’d have to open the casing which is somewhat of an inconvenience.
On the right side of the case, there’s an intake port for one of the case fans. This fan blows directly onto the hard drive rack, cooling down your blazing hard drives while you frag. This is the first time I’ve seen this on a case, and is a welcomed addition.
At the back of the case, we find some security features keeping all your hard earned hardware safe and sound from busy fingers. This is achieved by both a secure pad lock loop as well as a locking hole designed for a Kensington lock. These two features, added with the front panel lock, keep your components safe and sound while you’re going to the bathroom after having too many bottles of BAWLS.
The fans mounted on the rear of the case as well as on the window are 90mm fans. This help cool the case better than your standard 80mm fans you find on most other cases while keeping the relative noise level down.
