External Examination (continued):
The second item of interest would be the bay covers. Each one includes a black metal grill, foam filter to keep out dust, and an unparalleled ease of use. Just reach in to the recess on the cover and pull to discover a simple hinge mechanism that securely locks the cover in place. The blue led fan provides a cool, subtle glow behind the black mesh of the bay covers.
Included with the case is a plastic hardware draw that fits in to any of the 5.25" bays. You also receive a 5.25" to 3.5" bay converter, which may be a flaw to those of you with more than one external 3.5" device. The Armor+VH6000 comes with seven 5.25" bays, zero 3.5" bays, and only one of the conversion units.
From the top of the
Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000BWS we can see a handful of conveniently located connections. There are four USB 2.0 ports, one IEEE 1394 port, one eSATA port, and two 1/8" jacks for audio. This is where you will find power and reset buttons, as well as LEDs to indicate power and hard drive activity. The lengths of the cables for the front I/O connections should be slightly longer, as the audio leads did not reach the header on a EVGA 790i Ultra motherboard.
Right behind the top mounted connections is a panel that slides back to reveal a built-in, but removable, compartment. Removing this tray allows you to install additional cooling (fans, ducts whatever). Measuring with a metric scale confirms that it is pre-drilled to accept 120mm and 140mm fans. The rest of the topside is perforated for ventilation.
From the back you can see the right side panel is removed in the same manor, minus the keyed lock. You are provided with 6 easy punch-out openings for additional cables and liquid cooling tubes (4 circular knock-outs specifically for liquid cooling). We will look at the expansion slots and other items in this area more closely from the inside a bit later.
Circling around to the right side there are no details to comment on, other than that the panel is very sturdy, black, and shiny.
