A Closer Look
Thermaltake’s website describes the Element Q as: “Cute-cute small size that requires minimum space.” Yeah, I have to agree, it is pretty cute. I really like the simplicity of the design, two buttons, two LEDs, and everything else is stealthed. The red stripe breaks the lines a little so it isn’t all black.
The stealthed front I/O panel contains two USB ports and audio. If you notice the lock, it works well and locks the door tightly, but the door must be pressed on the side of the lock to activate it. I would imagine pressing the door in the center over time would bend it out of shape.
In the bottom of the bezel is a large opening for ventilation. As we’ll see, the only fan is the power supply fan. There is no room for any other fan.
Both sides of the case have expansive vents to give us all the cooling it can.
Not much extra space on the rear of the case…the I/O shield, one expansion slot, and the power supply opening take it all. What small extra space there is, Thermaltake vents with honeycomb.
To open the case, remove the screws in the back of the case and slide the cover back. There is nowhere to grip the opening, but it isn’t that tight. It should loosen up some after being opened a few times.
Not a lot of room inside, but besides the power supply, there is space for a 5.25” drive, a 3.5” floppy, and a 3.5” hard drive. A little more about that in a minute.
Looking from the side, we see that here is actually some room towards the front of the case to stow cables, at least it appears that way. All electronics are protected.
The case weighs just shy of 6 pounds. Probably half of that is the power supply, which is probably the heaviest sub-400 watt power supply I have held. Yeah, it is only 220 watts, but should be plenty enough for any hardware that will be placed into it.
Included with the case are the feet, the cord for the power supply, rails for the hard drive, screws, a zip tie, and a speaker for the motherboard. So many companies have dispensed with the lowly motherboard speaker, but there are many of us that still use them. It wouldn’t be a big deal, but there are nowhere to buy them. Thermaltake always supplies a speaker, and it is greatly appreciated.
