Thermaltake Ceres 300 TG ARGB Mid-Tower Case Review

It's only been a few weeks since I reviewed that rather fantastic Thermaltake CTE C750 TG Air PC case, and I absolutely loved that one. Yet, so soon, Thermaltake are back with yet another high-end mid-tower case for us to review! Today, it's the Ceres 300 TG ARGB, which comes equipped with a pair of their award-winning CT140 ARGB Sync PC Cooling Fans, and a new front panel design that features 55% more performation than before, allowing for significantly higher airflow. For air cooling, this case should be superb, but if you did want to go liquid cooled too, it can handle a 360mm radiator in the front and a 280mm in the top, which is more than enough for most high-end gaming builds. Ceres 300 TG ARGB Features Mid-Tower 2 x 140mm Fans Pre-Installed ARGB Fans Improved Airflow Design 360mm and 280mm Radiator Support Supports the Add-on LCD Kit Tempered Glass Rotatable Rear Bracket A Closer Look - Exterior The Thermaltake Ceres 300 TG ARGB is unmistakably a Thermaltake case, as it leans heavily into the design DNA that we see throughout their entire product range. white with a gunmetal grey makes up the bulk of the case, and that honeycomb effect front panel mesh geometry and exposed folded steel make it one of the most aesthetically pleasing front panels I've seen in ages! This is a very nice looking case, and its little details, like the off angles and folds, make it interesting, rather than just another white rectangle. The left side has a lot going on too, with a large and clear tempered glass window to show off your build. But the glass doesn't go all the way down the side, stopping at the PSU shroud, which then has some ventilation on the sides to improve airflow and heat exhaust in the lower section of the case. I think it looks better being broken up into sections like this too, again, just a bit different from the competition. Around the back, there is room for either 120mm or 140mm fans, with elongated screw holes to allow for some minor adjustments. There is a CT 140 non-RGB fan pre-installed here. There are seven expansion slots, as you might expect from a case that supports ATX motherboards. However, the whole bracket is fully removable, allowing you to rotate it 90 degrees, and mount your graphics card vertically. However, you'll need to purchase a riser cable separately. Finally, there's the PSU mount here too, which supports normal or inverted installations, but fan down would be best, as there's a fully dust-filtered intake for it! On the right side, it's a full-height side panel, unlike the glass that stops at the shroud. However, while the shroud has ventilation on the left, on this side, it's built into the side panel, so the aesthetics still match up, and you get more airflow yet again! Up on the top, there's another massive panel of ventilation, with a design that matches that gorgeous front panel. It can be lifted up, allowing you access to the various 120mm and 140mm fan and radiator mounts below it. Of course, that includes getting to the dust filter, which is tucked into it, just like the ones on the front, bottom and side intakes on the case. Finally, the I/O is located right at the front of the top of the case, with a pair of USB 3.0 ports, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and separate HD Audio jacks. Interior The interior of the CERES 300 TG is superbly clean, with a nearly flat back panel that will allow for significantly wider motherboards to fit with ease; (even if the widest would cover the cable routing, they'll still fit. Speaking of cable routing, there's a large and wide cut-out above the motherboard with no grommet, then two large grommeted cut-outs on the right, and three more cut-outs on the SP shroud. There are two 140mm ARGB fans pre-installed up on the front giving us three 140mm fans in total, which should provide you with massive airflow, as well as a pretty light show for your build. There are a few cable cut-outs to the left of them too, and a larger cut-out in the PSU shroud will allow you to use the full height of the case for larger radiators (up to 360mm). The shroud is well ventilated too, so there's no chance of hot air pockets building up in this case! Behind the motherboard, there's plenty going on, with extensive space provided for cable routing. You can get clean cables by using all the channels and cable tie points if you like. However, with this much space, and a PSU shroud, you could just be a lazy arse, cram it all out of sight, and forget about it (I know that's what I would do!). The case is surprisingly limited to just a single 1 x 3.5" drive OR 2 x 2.5" drives, which seems low to me, but now that I think about it, I have three M.2 drives in my PC, zero SSDs and zero HDDs... so I guess, for me, even 2 SSD mounts is more than I need... Obviously, your needs will vary. Complete System Building a system in this case is laughably easy, as there's so much space for a mid-tower. The clean layout of the main compartment has no extruded metal parts to cover cable cut-outs, or any storage bays sticking out, so any size of motherboard will just slide in with no effort. This also makes for a really easy installation of all other major components. The graphics card slides in easily enough, and this case will take up to a 370mm graphics card, but this will be limited to 340mm with a radiator in the front. That's plenty of room, and all but the most bonkers GPU designs would fit easily. Those pesky GPU PSU connectors and modern GPUs being so wide won't be an issue either, this case has a pretty wide stance that can easily accommodate your needs. There's room for the largest CPU air coolers I can think of too, and with 185mm of headroom, you won't have to worry about even the Noctua D15 touching the side panel glass. Cable management is excellent, not that Thermaltake has innovated the world of cable hiding or anything. However, there are large and easily accessible grommets or cut-outs, and as I said before, the space behind the motherboard and under the shroud is plentiful, so it's just easy to get it looking good. Overall, this is a very clean and easy to work with build, and while my system fit easily enough, it's clear that this case is capable of a lot more. RTX 4090 and a 12x13 E-ATX motherboard? No problem! The RGB is gorgeous too, not that I'm surprised, I've worked with the CT fans quite a bit recently, and they've already been tested in my own review of them just a month ago! How Much Does it Cost? The Thermaltake Ceres 300 TG ARGB Snow Mid Tower PC Case is available now from Scan Computers for just £89.99, which I must admit is about £30 cheaper than I expected. Actually, it's cheaper than the optional LCD panel you can install on the left side! Overview Thermaltake has really fine-tuned its designs recently, and while they still have one of the largest product ranges of any component manufacturer, its design philosophy can be seen across many of its products. This is good news for Thermaltake fans, as it means you can get peripherals, gaming chairs, desks, power supplies, fans, cases, and even cycling backpacks from them, and it all goes together really well, and the Ceres 300 TG is no exception. Of course, like most of their cases, Thermaltake has released the Ceres in a choice of black, or in white, which they call the Snow Edition, but that's something they've been doing for over a decade now. I really liked the Ceres 500 TG, but admittedly, I found it just a little bit too big and heavy, plus, at £159.98, it's also pretty darn expensive too. The Ceres 300 TG sweeps in with a solution, as it's smaller, lighter, a lot cheaper, but still incredibly capable of housing a high-end gaming PC. The build quality is robust too, with thick panels throughout, and a strong frame that can easily support modern hardware. There's attention to performance too, with a significantly improved airflow mesh on the front and top compared to previous models. There are mesh intakes on the left and right side panels, there's a ventilated PSU shroud, and there are dust filters throughout. If you're in need of good airflow and a dust-free PC, the Ceres is the way to go. Should I Buy One? Robust build quality and a fantastic overall aesthetic make the Ceres one of the nicest PC cases on the market right now. What's more, if it's too big or too small, Thermaltake has an impressive range of case designs now that offer similar features and aesthetics to suit seemingly every budget, and that's just awesome!