Installation
I decided that my roommate’s case needed an upgrade so I went ahead and installed his system in the Element G. It is comprised of a MSI motherboard, Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB memory, 8800 GTX video card, 4 hard drives and a DVD burner. We started off installation with the motherboard, go ahead and install the included motherboard standoffs then place your motherboard in the case. Secure it with screws and you are ready for your optical drive.
Installing the optical drive is pretty simple, just take off one of the front 5.25-inch bezel covers and side your drive in. The just secure it on each side with screws.
Next we have our 4 hard drives. The hard drive cage in the Element G is removable. To remove it take out the top and bottom screws then you will notice tabs on both the top and bottom. Press them both in towards the cage and at the same time slide the cage out. Once you have the cage out you are ready to install your hard drives. These drives are very simple to install first you are going to want to put the screws on each side. On the left side of the drive you are going to want to put screws in the first and third hole, while on the right just the first 2 holes. Then go ahead and slide each drive into the cage. Notice we installed all of the drives with the connection side facing towards the back, you will see why later in the review. Once you have your drives installed just slide and cage back in.
The power supply is next, for easily installation you can remove the panel that separates the power supply from the rest of the case. Then you just install your power supply. Before you put the panel back on you should feed some of your power supply wires through the back of the case. Once you have done that you can put the panel back on and start connecting everything.
Finally install your PCI and video cards and you are good to go. I really like the opening in the middle of the case. They allow you to easily route wires, which makes for better airflow. I was even able to route the ATX power cable, which we all know is a pain to hide and keep out of the way. One thing I did not like about installation was popping the PCI covers off the back of the case, it’s annoying and sometimes you can cut yourself doing it. Also say you take off the wrong PCI cover you are not able to reinstall it and since Thermaltake does not supply any extra covers you are left with a hole in the back of your case.
When it was all said and done there were only 2 cables that I did not put through the back of the case. If we take off the other side panel of the case we can see how all of the cables are routed. It is great that Thermaltake has made cable management so easy with this case.
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