As part of its 20 year anniversary, Thermaltake has marked the occasion by releasing a range of new cases to celebrate the milestone. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at 3 different models from the Level 20 range, starting today with the Level 20 GT.
Thermaltake Level 20 GT Specifications & Features
| Model | Level 20 GT |
| P/N | CA-1K9-00F1WN-00 |
| Case Type | Full Tower |
| Dimension (H x W x D) | 580 x 294 x 592 mm (22.9 x 11.6 x 23.3 inch) |
| Net Weight | 19.1 kg / 42.10 lb |
| Side Panel | 5mm Tempered Glass x 4 (Left & Right & Front & Top) |
| Color | Exterior & Interior : Black |
| Material | SPCC |
| Cooling System | Front (intake) : 140 x 140 x 25 mm Riing fan (1400rpm, 28dBA) |
| Drive Bays -Accessible -Hidden |
2.5” x 4 or 3.5”x4 (HDD Rack) 2.5”x 6 or 3.5” x 3 |
| Expansion Slots | 8 |
| 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 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1, Type-C x 1 |
| PSU | Standard PS2 PSU (optional) |
| Fan Support | Front: 3 x 120mm, 3 x 140mm, 2 x 200mm Top: 3 x 120mm, 3 x 140mm, 2 x 200mm Rear: 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm Bottom: 2 x 120mm |
| Radiator Support | Front: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 420mm, 1 x 360mm(For 200mm fan) Top: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 420mm, 1 x 360mm(For 200mm fan) Rear: 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm Right: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 420mm (AIO: 1 x360mm, 1 x 280mm) Bottom: 1 x 240mm |
| Clearance | CPU cooler height limitation: 200mm VGA length limitation: 310mm(With HDD Rack) 410mm(Without HDD Rack) PSU length limitation: 220mm (Without Bottom Fan) |
Thermaltake Level 20 GT Closer Look
The Level 20 range is being marketed as a Premium line of products…and if sheer size & weight is any measure of such an accolade, then Thermaltake has gone all out to prove it’s point. The outer packaging of the Level 20 GT is absolutely HUGE!
The pic above was shot on exactly the same 1.2m desk as every other case I have reviewed over the last 2 years, but the GT makes it look like a side table, such is the size of this thing.
Weighing in at an official weight of 19.1kg, removing the GT from it’s packaging is no mean feat. Unless you are a muscular powerhouse like myself, you are going to need a second pair of hands to help you. Once out, you start to understand just why it weighs so much…this thing is huge and is dripping in 5mm thick tempered glass.
The silhouette of the design itself is perfectly symmetrical, so not only do you get identical tempered glass doors front & back, but you also get twin front IOs. To the front side we get a power button, HDD led, reset button and headphone & mic ports. To the rear we then add 5 USB ports; two 2.0, two 3.0 and one Type-C.
Flipping the case over we can see that the GT stands on four equally substantial feet, capable of taking the sheer weight of the combined weight of the case and the final build. A removable dust filter runs the full length of the base of the GT.
Swinging open the hinged front door exposes the cavernous main chamber of the GT, which unsurprisingly accommodates all motherboard sizes all the way up to E-ATX. Four 3.5” drive caddies are pre-installed towards the front of the case, which can be mounted in numerous positions along the height of the chamber, or removed altogether. A partial PSU shroud sits in the base of the GT, with one SSD tray mounted on top of it. Given the wealth of tempered glass present on the outside of the GT, it’s a little strange that Thermaltake has plumped to add a small Perspex window on the PSU shroud.
Towards the rear of the interior chamber, we find the one (and only) fan that comes pre-installed with the GT. Whilst there is an RGB edition of the GT, which includes more fans, having only one fan included in a “premium” case is more than a little stingy in my opinion.
Unsurprisingly in a case this size, radiator options are endless!
Moving around to the rear of the motherboard tray, and it’s all pretty standard fare here. Three further SSD mounts are secured to the tray with thumbscrews, and other than a few cable tie points, that’s about it. Given the fact that this side could also be visible through the tempered glass door, I think Thermaltake have missed a trick by perhaps not including some kind of shroud to ensure that even the worst cable management is hidden from sight.
The Thermaltake Level 20 GT Review: The Verdict
Building in the Level 20 GT was for the most part, a pleasure. This thing is built like a tank, and the materials used are of the highest quality. With tempered glass as far as the eye can see, it certainly makes a statement.
There is no denying though that this thing is huge, and also weighs a ton…so you won’t be transporting it to a LAN anytime soon.
What’s hot:
- Perfect for enthusiasts, tons of cable management room behind the mobo tray, looks great and has plenty of room for beast gaming systems!
- All the panels ( both side, top and front) come off and clip back in easily
- Rock solid build quality, with all the tempered glass you could possibly want
What’s not:
- When using an eATX board, it covers the cable management grommets
- Couldn’t mount a Tt 360mm Riing AIO in the front as block/tubing didn’t stretch far enough
- Try not to misplace the keys for the door locks like I did, otherwise you’ll end up picking the locks!
However, the build process wasn’t always plain sailing. Installing a PSU requires you to remove the PSU cover which isn’t hard to do, but is fiddly for very novice users. Then again, the Level 20 GT is unlikely to be the go-to case for someone who is new to building a PC, especially considering it’s RRP of almost £190 in the UK.
There were also a couple of niggles when it came to the sheer size of the interior chamber…one that was easily unavoidable, and one that probably wasn’t. When using an eATX board, the cable management grommets are obscured. This could and should have been avoided, given the amount of space that is to be worked with on the motherboard tray. A further issue came when trying to mount a Tt 360mm Riing AIO in the front. Due to the size, the block/tubing didn’t stretch far enough, so it had to be mounted in the top of the case.
These are however fairly minor niggles, and shouldn’t take away from the fact that this is indeed a premium case, and therefore gets the Play3r Gold award.
Thanks to Thermaltake for sending a sample of the Lever 20 GT in for review.
Buy from Scan Computers in the UK: £188.99 (at time of review)
