Thermaltake Core P3 SE Snow Edition ATX Open Frame Panoramic Viewing Tt LCS Certified Gaming Computer Case CA-1G4-00M6WN-02

best case for custom build

Great cabinet, feels solid and looks beautiful after you have installed everything together. The one draw back to this was, pcie extender did not work. I has to put it directly to the motherboard.

The design and build quality of the P series cases puts them head and shoulders above anything else on the open case, custom build market. I have built several custom watercooled PCs to order in these cases and they stand out as the best around.

Awesome case. I know some people have a dislike of Thermaltake and claim they steal designs, but that's not important here.This case is perfect, easy to put together, easy to mount everything, looks amazing. You have three options on how to have it, you can wall mount it, you can lay it flat with the 4 feet included, or with 2, you can stand it vertical (the option I went with)It's easily big enough for a good set up with a custom loop. I have a Z87 Pro in it, it fits nicely, I have two GTX 970's in it mounted vertically, although I did need to buy a second PCIe raiser to do this, Overclockers UK sell black ones like the one Thermaltake includes with this case, but you also have the option to mount them horizontally like normal,. I have a 2 fan radiator, my PSU (largeish Corsair RM 1000w) , a 170 pump/res combo, full board of ram 32gb and 2 SSDs, all mounted on the front, with rigid PETG tubing, and everything fits like a dream. I did have to make custom holes to fit the pump/res, but my pump is by EK so not Thermaltakes fault. There's space on the back side of the panel to mount 4 HDDs, and I could mount another SSD on the front if I wanted.So, it looks great, was relatively hassle free to build with, more than enough space for what I have, this easily get's full marks from me.

Let me start by saying this is clearly the best case on the market, but in this instance it is only getting 4 stars.Build Quality:Material quality is outstanding and very durable, but I'd definitely recommend getting the Tempered Glass model. The plastic scratches easily and you'll end up replacing it anyway (fortunately, it's a fairly cheap upgrade).The pre-drilled/tapped holes didn't line up perfectly as they should. I can only render this as a manufacturing defect. I should have sent it back but I worked with what I have and despite the extra work, I'm really happy with the build.Packaging/Instructions: Very well packaged and all pieces are wrapped up nice to prevent any damage. The pack comes with more screws and bolts than you could ever find a use for, but I would have expected a couple of extra risers with it. There are enough for a full size ATX though.Instruction manual is very informative, should you need to reference anything.Assembly: As mentioned earlier, some of the holes were a bit out of line in my case, but apart from that it's very easy to put together and start adding components.Cable management inside the rear panel is exceptional. Plenty of space to for ties and hides.Visual: The case looks stunning whether on a wall or the included feet. It's more of a display cabinet for you components than a case, and looks great with a few LED fans etc inside. A custom liquid cooling kit fits well with this, but not completely necessary.I would definitely recommend this case as one of the best on the market. Quality is high and it'll last. Just get the Tempered Glass front end

TL;DR - If you can afford it get the TG version. Watercooling recommended and builds take time so they look nice. For AIO watercooling you can get brackets or 3D print them. Easy to wall mount. Quality control is seriously lacking for the price of these cases - on the Core P5 I had scratches on various parts of the chassis. The Core P5 TG the blocks to mount the glass did not fit the rods and needed to be dremeled. The finish on some of the mounting equipment is bad - scratched on the chrome glass mounting blocks, some had dents, some looked like they were burnt with a tinge of yellow. Buy a premium shielded GPU riser cable if you are going to vertical mount - the included one is a bit hit and miss.Purchased a Core P5 from Amazon and Core P5 TG from elsewhere. They are essentially the same case, one with tempered glass panels and one with just a single acrylic sheet. If you are willing to take the time you can get a nice clean build and I would definitely recommend the tempered glass panels - they look so much nicer than the acrylic sheet. The downside of the glass is it is not clear but has a slight black tint to it. The cases can be easily wall mounted using regular TV wall brackets (make sure it's one that supports 40+kg) and save some valuable desk space - you can also choose to set it up as a bench case or a tower.Cooling - If you spend some time doing hardline tubing for the water cooling it will look like a nice display piece. You can choose to air cool too - there is plenty of space for a tower HSF - however, the performance of these may be limited as there are no conventional front intake and rear exhaust fans. In the case of the TG version, the front and top panels are solid glass which will likely impede air flow even more and might cause pooling recycling of warm air.Cable management - there is plenty of space behind the case for cable management so the build looks neat and tidy.AIO coolers - you may require the brackets set (you will need to search around - I got some from Amazon.com, alternatively it appears you can 3D print them - data on Thermaltake's website) due to the limited length of the tubes.Quality control - This is an area this case is lacking in. I would normally put it to a one-off/batch issue, however, to have issues with 2 different cases from the range suggests to me that the QC is seriously lacking especially given the cost of the case. The basic Core P5 has numerous scratches to the paintwork, some were deep and had even damaged the metal. The paintwork in areas wasn't even - some places it looked like there was an obvious overspill of black and no one bothered to correct it. The Core P5 TG - this also had scratches and damage to the corners of the GPU and PSU bracket. The glass mounting kit didn't even fit the rods - the holes on the glass blocks were too small. I tried to contact TT, but not heard anything in over 2 weeks - got fed up and took a Dremel to them - now they fit! The mounting kit also had other issues with the finish of the blocks - some scratches and dents - at some points even a yellow tinge - like they had been on/in a fire. Another thing to note for both the cases is the poor quality of the included riser cable - on one case I've now got stuttering and artefacts - there is a thread on TT forums with others also documenting these issues.Bottom line - good case especially if you want to watercool and wall mount, but terrible QC and support from TT for the price. Works well as a 'cheap' benching case too

My first proper build case (by that I mean usually I let a friend of mine build them on my specifications as I am too frightened of damaging expensive components) for my first build I couldn't recommend this case more, although it was a hell of a learning experience with many things going wrong (PCI bridges not working or being the wrong shape, cables not being long enough) the finished product is a work of art. I have mine wall mounted over my desk, a true feature wall! My ASUS Strix 780ti OC is at the very end range of the recommended GPU fitting but there is plenty of space, and the option to have it away from the motherboard itself, and in a different orientation makes it both interesting and cooler too. I can happily stare into the case and watch all the fans turning on and off as they see fit.Two major issues I had with this case that I know many may face **PLEASE READ** is that the case itself is not designed for an AIO cooler, for example my corsair h115i, and indeed I think even thermaltake AIO coolers. Because of this when it is all set up and you come to fit your radiator you will find that the hosing between the rad and the cooling block are too short. If you are building this case with the intention of using an AIO cooler I would recommend also buying the AIO cooler bracket at the same time, as otherwise youll have to wait like I did which is incredibly frustrating. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermaltake-Bracket-Liquid-Cooling-Gaming/dp/B01EOPIFOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514569509&sr=8-1&keywords=thermaltake+aio+bracketThe other issue I and many others have had is the PCI express bridge that is supplied to connect your GPU away from the motherboard is more often than not faulty. I recommend an EasyDiy PCI bridge.As I said, as a pc building newbie I found it an effort to produce the finished product but if you keep in mind the issues I faced you will build a beautiful, unique rig in no time. Pictures attached