Thermaltake has sent over something rather interesting for today’s review. Announced back in April, the CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow is on the table for us to take a deep look at. Designed around the E-ATX form factor with a full tower footprint, and what they are calling the CTE form factor series. Let’s take a closer look…
Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow: Specifications
| P/N | CA-1X6-00F6WN-01 |
|---|---|
| SERIES | CTE |
| CASE TYPE | Full Tower |
| DIMENSION (H X W X D) | 565.2 x 327 x 599.2 mm (22.25 x 12.87 x 23.59 inch) |
| NET WEIGHT | 4.50 kg / lbs. |
| SIDE PANEL | 4mm Tempered Glass x 2 |
| COLOR | White |
| MATERIAL | SPCC / ABS |
| COOLING SYSTEM | Front(intake): 140 x 140 x 25 mm CT140 ARGB fan (1500rpm, 30.5 dBA) x 1 Top(exhaust): 140 x 140 x 25 mm CT140 ARGB fan (1500rpm, 30.5 dBA) x 1 Rear(intake): 140 x 140 x 25 mm CT140 ARGB fan (1500rpm, 30.5 dBA) x 1 |
| DRIVE BAYS | 7 x 3.5” or 12 x 2.5” |
| EXPANSION SLOTS | 7 |
| MOTHERBOARDS | 6.7” x 6.7” (Mini ITX), 9.6” x 9.6” (Micro ATX), 12” x 9.6” (ATX), 12” x 13” (E-ATX) |
| I/O PORT | USB 3.2 (Gen 2) Type-C x 1, USB 3.0 x 4, HD Audio x 1 |
| PSU | Standard PS2 PSU (optional) |
| FAN SUPPORT | Front: 3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm 3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm 2 x 200mm, 1 x 200mm Top: 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm Right (M/B Side): 3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm 3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm Rear: 3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm 3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm 2 x 200mm, 1 x 200mm Bottom: 3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm 3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm |
| RADIATOR SUPPORT | Front: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm 1 x 420mm(AIO only), 1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm Top: 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm 1 x 140mm Right (M/B Side): 1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm 1 x 420mm(AIO only), 1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm Rear: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm 1 x 420mm(AIO only), 1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm Bottom: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm 1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm |
| CLEARANCE | CPU cooler max height: 190mm VGA max length: 370mm (With radiator) 420mm (Without radiator) PSU max length: 220mm |
Product page: CLICK HERE
So, what is the CTE form factor?
According to Thermaltake, “The CTE Form Factor Designed by Thermaltake, stands for Centralized Thermal Efficiency, and is focused on providing high-level thermal performance to critical components. The design utilizes a 90-degree rotation of the motherboard providing more efficient airflow pathways. Since the CPU location has been moved much closer to the front panel and the graphics card moved closer towards the rear panel, independent cold air induction is given for thermal dissipation of the CPU and graphics card respectively. This overall approach has allowed CTE to provide better and more efficient intake airflow through the placement of main components and cooling, as well as optimization to heat extraction from the system.”
Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow: Compatibility
Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow: Closer Look
Nothing new to report about Thermaltake’s boxes, they use a brown cardboard box with a black print clearly showing an image of the case and easy-to-read text. However, I was disappointed to see Thermaltake use polystyrene on this occasion. The CTE C750 is one of the biggest and heaviest cases they’ve ever produced, and when it arrived the polystyrene was absolutely smashed to pieces. Luckily, nothing was damaged but I’d recommend foam be used on bulkier cases in the future.
Here are the front and rear of the CTE C750 case. Both sides are used as intakes with a single CT140 ARGB fan mounted on the top of each panel. The front panel has a full-length tempered glass panel with a gap on the edges to allow airflow for the intake fans, behind the glass panel is a removable dust filter which is held in place with a clip at the top.
The rear panel is locked in place with two clips on each edge and has a full-length dust filter installed.
The front side panel is a full clear tempered glass panel with metal struts running down the edges for support with clips for mounting the panel to the case. The rear side panel is a solid metal panel with one large and one small perforated cut-out for ventilation. All ventilated panels come with their own magnetic dust filter: very nice!
On the side of the back panel, we find a vertical ATX PSU mount and a fairly large cutout above that with a rubber grommet, this grommet is used to pass through all the USB and display cables to the motherboard and GPU IO connectors. At the top of the rear panel, we can also see a nice “CTE Form Factor, Designed by Thermaltake” print.
The top panel has a large removable panel which is entirely perforated for airflow out of the case. On the right-hand side we have the IO which includes a large power button, HDD indicator, 4x USB 3.0 type-A ports, 1x USB type-C port, headphone and microphone 3.5mm jacks and finally a reset button.
The bottom of the case has 2 large feet which span the width of the entire case, making it very stable when put on a desktop or floor. Another dust filter can also be found here which spans the entire length of the case, this one slides in and out with relative ease towards the glass side panel.
The paint on the plastic and metal isn’t quite matching with the metal having a darker tone than the plastic front panel.
Removing the tempered glass panel and taking a look inside: let’s start at the bottom. Internally, there is a removable fan mounting plate, making it a lot easier to mount fan and radiator options. Sat on top of this plate is a pump mounting plate, so, should full loop water cooling tickle your fancy this case can certainly accommodate it!
Moving up along the front and rear panels, we can see two CT140 ARGB fans mounted at the top of each panel. Again, these rails are removable and are held in place with 4 screws: two at the top and two at the bottom of each.
Taking a look at the top we can see the final included CT140 ARGB fan, along with the IO plates and cutout hinting that the CTE C750 has been designed around a 90-degree rotation of the motherboard which, Thermaltake claims, provides more efficient airflow pathways.
The rear IO plate housing can also be rotated 90 degrees giving you more mounting options for graphics cards. A GPU riser cable plate is also included in the accessories (pictured later in this review). This plate attaches to the housing with the included screws.
An HDD/SSD mounting plate can also be found in the rear of the side panel. This is held in place with a single screw and is easily removable should you wish to install additional fans/radiators. The plate itself can accommodate 5x 2.5″ SSD or 3x 3.5″ HDDs.
A view of the rear panel with the plate removed shows plenty of room for fans and radiator installs, which are designed to exhaust through the perforated cutouts on the rear side panel.
A better view of the whole rear side panel of the case shows a lot of cable management is pre-installed by Thermaltake running along the top and right side edges of the case towards the areas they would be installed on the motherboard, nice!
An additional mounting plate can be seen next to the rear cutout for motherboard backplates. This plate can mount 2x 2.5″ SSDs or 1x 3.5″ HDDs.
The lower section of the case houses the vertically mounted PSU, pictured is a Thermaltake 850w GF1 PSU to give you some aspect into the size of the CTE C750 TG ARGB.
Finally, 4 long rubber grommeted cutouts are housed in the lower section of the panel which allows for plenty of cable management based on what you choose to install.
The CTE C750 TG ARGB is a well-thought-out case so far!
A view of the top panel with the metal and dust panels removed shows us the CT140 ARGB fan installed, with space for an additional one should you wish. Below the fan, we see the motherboard IO and PCIe IO slots.
Taking a look at the accessories: a ton of mounting screws are included, along with rubber grommets for mounting HDDs, a BIOS speaker, many cable ties, and the GPU rider plate mentioned earlier. You will need to provide your own PCIe riser cable though if you wish to make use of the 90-degree GPU mounting plate.
Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow: The Build
The build itself went really rather well, with a stupid amount of space internally to mount just about anything with ease!
I decided to push the boat out and install my daily driver PC which features a X670E Aorus Master, a Founders Edition NVIDIA GeForce RTX4090 along with an Arctic Freezer II 360mm AIO and they fit inside the CTE C750 TG ARGB case with plenty of room spare!
Due to the thicker-than-usual radiator on the Freezer II AIOs, I had to move the front fan rail over to the left-hand mounting slot. Thankfully Thermaltake had thought of this and provided the option to do so!
I especially like that all the rails have these cutouts where screws would line up with radiators and fans!
Taking a look at the rear side panel: it’s a similar style to the front, with masses of room and options for clean cable management throughout! It’s clear Thermaltake has put their experience to good use here!
It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t install a few extra fans into the front and rear of the CTE C750 to improve the airflow!
Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow: The Verdict
Building in the case was very simple and easy. Thermaltake has introduced a new CTE Form Factor which rotates the entire PC 90 degrees internally and there was plenty of space which made installing components inside it a good, simple experience. You get cut-outs in expected locations making cable management a pleasure. With everything tucked away tidily the overall aesthetic of the build is very nice. The other thing we like is the choice to rotate the rear PCI-e IO should you wish to mount the GPU side facing towards the front, especially as Thermaltake has included the GPU riser support bracket in the box. Though you will still need a riser cable, the inclusion of the GPU support bracket is another nice touch, and its easy installation and rock-solid support it provides is excellent.
The rear panel also has enormous space to route cables behind the tray, which is something Thermaltake are on the ball with, having plenty of experience designing cases. This helps with running the additional motherboard and GPU IO cables into the case through the rear panel and up into the top sections, and here starts one of my two complaints:
The holes in the top section to pass through USB cables to the motherboard along with DisplayPort or HDMI cables are atrociously small making it a nightmare and some serious bends on said cables once they are connected. The cutouts need to be much larger along with a bit more depth. I’d go as far as to say that I recommend you purchase yourself a USB dongle and run a single cable through the back into the motherboard port to reduce stress on the connectors.
It’s clear that the case has been designed for airflow through the top, bottom, front and rear, with perforations to almost the entire case, paired with the three CT140 ARGB fans that offer good airflow to cool the latest CPU and GPU offerings, just be sure to get some more fans to really take advantage of the cooling potential Thermaltake have provided, it’s fantastic and really works!
Front panel IO is a typical affair here too, which ticks all the boxes. With 4x USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, headphone and microphone jacks, power and reset buttons, and indicator LEDs.
My second complaint: Thermaltake missed a trick here by not moving the front IO onto the front panel of the case. Considering its size, a full tower case, the current location of the IO puts it out of reach of anyone that plans to use it on top of a desk. I found it annoying that I had to stand up whenever I needed to plug or unplug anything.
Again, Thermaltake knows better as they’ve designed the IO into the front of other full tower cases like their Core P8, for example. Though, they managed it better on the T500 TG ARGB which is another of their CTE form factor cases, also launching.
The launch price is £190, at the time of the review, which makes this case a rather expensive but attractive option for a full tower case with Thermaltake’s CTE form factor. But once you factor in the design aesthetic, the three CT140 ARGB fans, and the airflow and cooling potential, the price is good, competing well against other cases in the price range.
Overall, the Thermaltake CTE C750 TG ARGB Snow case is an attractive offering, is priced competitively, and is one of the best we’ve seen from them in a long while. It’s certainly worthy of your consideration.
Thanks to Thermaltake for sending the CTE C750 TG ARGB in for today’s review.
Related Reading:
