Rosewill Thor v2: The God of Cooling and Silence?

Conclusion: Rosewill Comes Out Swinging

I'll make this clear: despite my quibbles with the case's build quality, Rosewill's Thor v2 made me a believer. The thermal and acoustic performance of this case just can't be understated: Rosewill has somehow managed to make $150 for an enclosure seem like a bargain. At this price point you'll have a very hard time beating the performance, and that's ignoring the stellar expansion and just general size of the thing. If you're looking for a full tower and don't want to spend up, Rosewill's engineers have produced an enclosure that hits a reasonable price point while not being particularly ostentatious.

Of course, there are some sacrifices to be made, because yes, that build quality may be problematic for some users. Most of the users on NewEgg seem very happy with the Thor v2, and I can see why, but the plastic used for the enclosure ultimately does feel pretty chintzy, and the mounting system used for the 5.25" drive bays needs a lot of improvement. The top vent doesn't feel that cheap, but it doesn't make sense either: there's no other way for that top fan to exhaust if it's not open. And then the rubber grommets in the motherboard tray aren't held on with any glue or anything at all, and they pop out at the slightest provocation.

Rosewill has a stellar rough draft with the Thor v2. Thicker, better building materials would be appreciated but aren't top priority: what they need to do is glue in the grommets, replace the 5.25" drive bay locks with more secure designs, swap the 5.25" bay shields with classic style "snap-in-snap-out" shields, and kill the hinged vent at the top of the enclosure entirely. While we're building a wish list, switching the USB 3.0 routing cables to a motherboard header would be appreciated, and I'd actually rather see a top-mounted hot-swap drive bay than an eSATA port if possible.

If you think you can deal with the rough edges of the design, or if you want the most case you can get for the least money, the Thor v2 should definitely be on your short list. Able to compete even with enclosures nearly twice as expensive, I'd actually take it over Thermaltake's Level 10 GT just due to the comparative ease of assembly coupled with the less garish appearance. It's a better performer both acoustically and thermally than Corsair's 650D or 600T, too, at roughly the same price. Rosewill's Thor v2 isn't a homerun, but it's a very solid base hit, and there's no reason to think one more revision couldn't make it a top flight enthusiast case.