Thermaltake S500 Steel TG Case Review

Exterior

The Thermaltake S500 is an absolute beast. Which is funny, as I’ve said the same thing about a few Thermaltake cases in recent months. However, at 15KG out of the box, a diet of Steel and Tempered Glass has not made it particularly nimble to move around. It’s technically a mid-tower, but it has quite a tall design putting it quite close to a full tower in terms of ergonomics.

Ventilation

Pictures don’t really do the finish much justice either. It has a soft texture to the steel that gives it a more matte finish. It’s quite monolithic really and manages to look elegant and understated in one swift move. There’s plenty of ventilation too, despite the closed up front panel. With ventilation running all down the left and right sides.

While there’s no ventilation at the bottom edge, the panel does have a pattern to match the front vents, just giving it a bit more of a unified look, which I love. The glass sits just in front of the vents, so raised a touch, however, it’s otherwise flush with the outer steel panels, so it doesn’t look bloated.

Durable Steel Panels

On the right-hand side, a massive slab of steel forms the right-side panel. It’s very robust, and would likely take a tank shell to burst through. There’s more ventilation at the front edge, as well as loads at the top too for any radiators or fans you may have. You can clearly see the ground clearance here too, allowing airflow to the bottom ventilation. Just like the tempered glass panel, this is mounted with two thumbscrews, so it’s easily accessed when required.

Monolithic Front Panel

The front panel features a super clean design. Thermaltake has given it a rolled top and bottom edge, so it flows into the case rather nicely. There’s a small Thermaltake logo at the bottom, but otherwise, branding is kept to a minimum to keep the design looking smart. Again, don’t worry about ventilation, as it’s plentiful on the sides. Plus, indirect airflow is great for reducing unwanted fan noise.

Rotatable Expansion Slots

Around the back, you’ll find all the usual fixtures and fittings. There’s a 120mm fan mount at the top, with a 120mm fan pre-installed. The fan mount has elongated screw mounts too, allowing for a good range of height adjustment here. Below that, there are eight expansion slots with reusable metal covers. What’s really neat is that the whole panel is removable too, allowing you to set all the expansion slots at 90-degree should you want to show off your GPU.

Front I/O

The top panel has the same slick finish as the front panel. The only thing breaking up the design is that neat and tidy I/O panel. You’ll find the usual audio jacks here, as well as four USB ports and a central power button. Nothing too crazy, but certainly ticking all the right boxes.

Dust Filters

Finally, we have the bottom of the case. There are four wide feet to provide plenty of stability and they feature tough rubber grips. Not that it’s going to slide around at 15KG. However, they’ll prevent the case from scratching up harder surfaces. There’s a full-length dust filter too, which slides out from the rear. This allows clean airflow to both the PSU and the bottom ventilation for the case.