Thermaltake Supressor F51 Case Review

Since its founding in the now distant 1999, Thermaltake has seen many ups and downs. Now she has clearly begun a period of “rise”, because her engineers and designers have seriously taken up the replenishment of the model range with modern product samples. In particular, silence lovers may be interested in the updated Supressor series, which, as the name suggests, is designed to suppress noise coming from computer components. And in this review one of the cases of this series called F51 will be considered.

Characteristics

Packing and scope of delivery

The body is packed in a quite ordinary box with monochrome printing on the sides. On the front there are images of the appearance of the chassis, and on the back you can see its disassembled interior. The main technical parameters of the product are described in the table and in a short text (in 12 languages) on the sidewall. It’s nice that not only the dimensions of suitable fans and heatsinks are indicated there, but also the permissible dimensions for the processor cooler, video adapter and power supply. Internal damage protection is standard – foam dampers and a plastic bag.

The delivery set is assembled in a small plastic bag. In addition to the screws, it also includes several accessories fixed in the case by default, so it was decided to mention them here as well. In total, the kit includes:

• assembly instructions;
• leaflet with information about the guarantee;
• five reusable cable ties;
• two adapter extensions to “molex” for fans;
• a bracket for mounting radiators instead of a 5.25″ bay;
• four long screws for mounting a 200 mm fan;
• diagnostic speaker;
• four screws for standard propellers;
• adapter for mounting racks of the motherboard;
• four motherboard racks (nine more are already screwed into the pallet);
• four screws for the power supply;
• 20 screws for 2.5″ drives;
• 20 screws for motherboard and optical drives;
• a dozen screws to fix 3.5″ hard drives.

Appearance

The design concept of Thermaltake Supressor F51 can hardly be called original. If only because it is very similar to the Fractal Design R5 case, a review of which can be viewed on our portal for comparison. This case looks like a large rectangular black box, in which there is nothing even for the eye to catch on. Fans of big black boxes will probably rave about the F51, while fans of the Marvel comic-style chassis will rage. As the saying goes, you can’t please everyone. However, it is this shape that is, in fact, the most practical for accommodating large components, and it is hard to argue with that. The front panel of the Supressor F51 is made of plastic, trying to pass itself off as brushed aluminum with a surface texture. In fact, this is a door that opens exclusively to the right and is held closed by three magnets.

From the inside, the two-layer sandwich of the front door is also glued with a layer of soundproofing material. The panel opens up to 135 degrees. Behind it are two 5.25″ bays covered with easily removable non-ventilated plugs. Just below is a removable ventilation grill with the company logo at the bottom.

A dust filter can be removed from under the grill, consisting of a high-quality fine mesh glued to a plastic frame. It covers only the front part of the bottom of the case. The power supply filter will still have to be removed from the back, which is not very convenient.

If you remove the front grille (lined inside with a dust filter mesh), then we will see another filter, which is held on by two side latches. Air enters it from the side slots in the front panel when the door is closed. When the door is open, the effect of double filtration is obtained, since the flow goes through the front panel. Why this should be done is not entirely clear. If the internal filter is removed, the user will have access to the fan mounting frames.

There are two interesting points on the left side of the case. In the front part, at the end of the front panel, there are ventilation slots through which cold air enters the case. There is a square hole in the rear lower part of the door, closed with a plug and a metal filter mesh. The plug can be removed, and additional fans can be installed in its place.

The filter, by the way, is held on magnetic tapes and can be easily removed for cleaning. The plug is held by four screws, which can then be used to mount the fans. One 120mm or 140mm propeller can be mounted here.

The guillotine type door opens strictly to the side, without shifting. To facilitate the dismantling process, a stamped handle is provided at the back. In the closed position, both doors are held by thumb screws, which are also fixed to the panel itself, although not rigidly. The side panel is strong enough, glued on the inside with a 2-mm layer of soundproofing material. As well as a removable plastic cap. In addition, there is also a variant of this case with a large side window.

The right side of the case is completely similar to its left side. Unless there is no ventilation hole on the back as unnecessary.

90% of the surface of the top panel is a solid ventilation grill, covered with a magnetic dust filter (metal mesh). Since this chassis was designed as a noise canceling chamber, the upper grille is completely enclosed from the inside with blanking plates that can be removed and replaced with fans or CBO heatsinks as needed. A set of holes allows you to fix almost anything – 120mm, 140mm or 200mm fans in the amount of three or two pieces, respectively. Or radiators with a width of 120 or 140 mm and a length of up to 360 or 420 mm.

External ports are located on the front of the top panel. If you look from left to right, then you will find two buttons for the controller of four fans (the left one supplies a voltage of 7 V to them, the right one – 12 V), two 3.5 mm audio ports (for headphones and a microphone), a dot indicator of drive activity ( red), a square system start button (with blue lighting around the rim), a small square system reset button, two USB 3.0 ports and two more USB 2.0 ports.

The rear panel has three rubberized holes for the outlet of CBO hoses, a landing grill for one 120- or 140-mm fan, and eight ventilated reusable PCI slot covers. In addition, you can find an impressive set of brackets for various kinds of locks. To the right of the PCI slots, above the grille, there is a bracket for fixing cords for peripheral devices. It is screwed on with a thumbscrew from the inside. Useful if you don’t want your favorite mouse or keyboard to be carried away at some trade show or LAN event. On the side panel there is a bracket for a padlock, and to the right of the power supply there is a slot for a Kensington lock – by attaching a chain to it, you can protect the entire system unit from theft. Yes, Thermaltake cares about the safety of users’ property! Mounting holes on the power supply allow you to place it with the fan up or down.

From the ingress of dust, the power supply is closed from the bottom with a good, easily removable filter.

The entire bottom of the case is covered with two separate dust filters, if you remove them, it becomes clear that the bottom panel is ventilated all the way out. A recess for easy removal of the front panel is located at the front.

The legs are plastic, with rubber stickers that reduce noise and prevent the case from sliding on the table. The height of the legs is 25 mm – just enough for good ventilation. In addition – pay attention to the rubber loop in the lower left corner of the front door. It is used when transporting the cabinet so that the door does not open spontaneously. In normal mode, this loop is hooked on the corner of the door itself.

Let’s see what awaits us inside.