Conclusion:
The Armor Junior is yet another great case from Thermaltake, and Armor Senior should be proud of his little fella. While the overall styling is taken straight from the original,
full size Armor case, there are many special touches and improvements that make the Junior appealing.
While the full size Armor case is great for a stationary system, the compact design of the Armor Junior is ideal for use with a system that travels to LAN parties (or anywhere else for that matter). In addition to being compact and lightweight, the Armor Junior is packed with features that make it desirable. The bulk of the installation features are tool-less, it has vibration isolators for all 3.5" drives, it uses two 120mm fans for quiet/effective cooling, and it just looks really sharp.
A search of
PriceGrabber shows that this configuration of Thermaltake Armor Junior sells for about $130 (shipped). I was expecting something lower actually, but this is the highest priced version. For example, if you want the black (steel) model with no window you can expect to spend about
$25 less. Although it is quite an attractive Aluminum case, it doesn't include a power supply, and $130 seems a bit higher than other cases that I perceive as being direct competition. The Armor Junior does offer many nice features, and if you are looking for a unique Aluminum case to show off your system in, the Thermaltake Armor Junior is an excellent choice.
Given the unique styling, convenient installation features, and excellent cooling performance I award the
Thermaltake Armor Junior Mid-Tower ATX Case a final score of 4 out of 5 stars and the distinction of being "Recommended".
Final Rating (4 out of 5 stars):
Pros:
» Attractive styling
» Sharp looks
» Light weight Aluminum construction
» Low noise output
» Excellent cooling (includes 2x 120mm fans with room for another 92mm fan)
» Convenient, mostly tool-less installation features
» Vibration isolators for all 3.5" drives
» BTX compatible with upgrade
» Big side window shows off everything
Cons:
» SATA cables press against side window when in 3.5" drive cage
» PC speaker is in odd location and cable barely reached header
» Close quarters can make installation and cable management a bit tricky
» 3.5" drive installation is not tool-less
» Big side window shows off everything
Special thanks to
Thermaltake for providing the Armor Junior Mid-Tower ATX Case to Bigbruin.com for review!
