[section_title title=Conclusion]Conclusion
Now that we have had a chance to look at both the Thermaltake Core V31 and V51 its time for a quick recap, though it is safe to say I was thoroughly impressed with both of them. They both have a lot to offer and at very attractive price points!
Jumping into the performance to get things started off and everything was right on point. Both cases come with at least one front intake fan and they both have rear exhaust fans to get the airflow going. They also have vents running front to back from on both the top and bottom which helps to get the air moving and let the heat out through the top. As these cases are designed for water cooling I decided to switch things up a bit and use the Thermaltake Water 3.0 ultimate to test their thermal performance and was very happy with the results. While the Water 3.0 Ultimate will play a bit part in the CPU temperature there was good airflow throughout the case keeping all the internal components nice and cool, even when loaded and overclocked. Both the V31 and V51 are highly modular so it is also easy to move things around, or totally remove them from the case to allow for more cooling and just better airflow in general.
In terms of design, it would be very hard to fault either one of these cases. They both follow the same type of design and as such are equally impressive. Being designed to be modular and tool less while still allowing for the accommodation of custom loop liquid cooling solutions is quite the impressive feat in itself and Thermaltake have done a good job at making it happen. Both of the cases leave plenty of room for hardware and cooling whether it be water or air and even as such they shouldn’t look overly crowded which is good as they have a nice big windowed side panel so users can show off all the hardware on the inside. There are a lot of aspects to cover when considering design – exterior, interior, cooling compatibility and cable management options to name a few, all of which the Thermaltake Core series seems to have done a very impressive job with. There are plenty of pass-through holes and room on the backside of the motherboard tray for cable management on top of everything else previously mentioned.
As far as value is concerned they are both great for the money they cost. The V51 coming in at just under £80 while the V31 is just under £60. They both have all the features most will need for just about anything, plenty of room for hardware and a many of cooling options are present. However, while the V51 is great value especially when comparing it to similar sized and/or priced cases on the market, the V31 steals the show as it offers an exceptionally superb value for its price tag! The V31 isn’t that much smaller than the V51 and while it may not be able to house as much cooling as the V51, it is £20 cheaper and will still allow for users to install a custom liquid cooling loop if that is there thing. The V51 value of course comes with the bit bigger size and the sheer amount of cooling options it will allow users to set up, both of these are just truly spectacular all around.
To end things off I must say both of these cases are great and it may be a tough decision on which to choose when the time comes. As mentioned the V51 is of course bigger, has a bit more room for hard drives and can definitely accommodate a much bigger cooling solution. With that being said the V31 is still an exceptionally designed case and as such can still house some good hardware and a more than suitable cooling solution.
I would like to thank Thermaltake for sending both of these in for review and look forward to seeing what they come out with next, especially in the Core series.
Core V31 Award:
Core V31 and V51 Shared Awards:
