Thermaltake Core V21 Stackable Micro-ATX Chassis Review

Peter Donnell / 10 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The Thermaltake Core V21 is available from Scan Computers for just £50, which is nothing short of amazing! I actually think this may be one of the best value for money chassis I’ve ever tested! You’ll have a hard time finding something that can compete with it in terms of specification around this price.

Overview

Thermaltake have really outdone themselves this time, the Core V21 is one of the best chassis I’ve ever reviewed! As a single chassis, it’s absolutely stunning, the interior has an incredible amount of space to work with, although that comes as little surprise given that this is one of the biggest cube-style chassis on the market. There’s room for an extensive water cooling configuration thanks to front, top and rear fan/radiator mounts, which is helped along in a big way by the modular mounting rails in the top of the chassis. There’s no compromise here at all, with a large high quality fan in the front, extensive filtered ventilation throughout and superb cable management.

Treat yourself to a second Core V21 and things get even better. The chassis is incredibly easy to stack and opens up a wealth of configuration options. You can stack them vertically as I did today, or you can join them horizontally. This is thanks to the interchangeable side panels, as you can put the base of the chassis on the top and turn the case upside down if you so desired, it’s really up to you how you want to orientate and customise your build. For chassis modders, the Core V21 is a blank slate, ready for whatever crazy ideas you want, although it’s just as impressive in its stock configuration.

Having two Core V21’s means you can have two rigs, or one rig that has extra storage and cooling components stored in the top or bottom section. I really like that I can take the window panel from the second chassis and have both windows on the other chassis, while keeping the other looking more discrete; perfect for hiding cables, hard drives and other components out of the way and, keeping your fancy hardware on show in the other chassis.

Build quality is superb throughout, everything locks into place nicely enough, the chassis feels durable and it’s very easy to work with. However, the thing that impresses me the most isn’t the hardware compatibility, the modular design or the unique style, but the price. How this chassis costs so little is amazing and it’s by far one of the best value for money chassis on the market today.

Pros

Great build quality
Stackable design
Modular interior
Extensive cooling support
Dust filters
Rotatable badge
Interchangeable side panels
Very competitive price
Easy to work with

Cons

None

“Thermaltake have proven once again that they can create a unique product that is as appealing to first-time builders as it would be to enthusiast chassis modders. It doesn’t matter if you want an affordable chassis for a LAN gaming rig, or a customizable ultra-high-end stacked gaming rig, the Thermaltake Core V21 has got you covered. You will not find a better chassis for the same money.”