Concerned about the growing size and weight of heatsinks, I posted a poll in our forums asking what type of case most members preferred to use for their home computer (whether a tower, cube, or even the old desktop styles). I wasn't surprised when an overwhelming majority of folks said that they prefer to use a tower, citing room as a major factor. Myself? I miss the old days when the hardware was slightly smaller and you could sit your monitor right on top of it.

After a bit of a hiatus I'm back, and what is better way to receive a warm welcome back than to treat me with a beautiful desktop style case from the folks over at Directron. Introducing, the ThermalTake Tenor VB2000BNS HTPC Case. Finally, I get my chance to try out a new generation of desktop style cases to see if I remember them as fondly as I did.

The Tenor is ThermalTake's initial foray into the flourishing world of Home Theater PC's. Right off the bat, some of you may quickly recognize the many similarities between this case and their ever popular Tsunami Dream. Both are built with a sturdy steel chassis combined with an aluminum front panel; plus they also stuck with the same "wave" looking design. Given this information, logic would follow that the performance of the Tenor should match that of the Tsunami Dream. Let's find out, shall we?

Package

The Tenor case arrived on my doorstep just as I was walking out the door for a business trip. A quick glance over showed no initial damage to the box and a slight shaking yielded negative results for loose parts. Unfortunately, my eyes just happened to wonder over the bottom corner of the box to notice some pretty severe damage but I had an angry taxi driver honking at me and I needed to get to the airport before my plane left. The torture that ensued over the course of the next two weeks was unbearable.

My number one priority when I got home was to see if the case had been damaged en route. I opened the sturdy shipping box to reveal that the Tenor had not only been sandwiched in between two pieces of polystyrene, but had been lovingly wrapped in a fabric bag to prevent any minor scratches. This immediately spoke volumes to me about ThermalTake's homework covering the demanding HTPC crowd. Home theater aficionados, in general, tend to demand more out of their products instead of simply "just settling". This fabric bag wrapped around the case is very much like a garment bag you receive when you buy an Armani suit. Thankfully, the case remained intact with no damage whatsoever. The express consignment gods had smiled upon me.

Once removed from the box and it's fabric bag, you'll find little else in the way of extras. Of course, there is the standard "bag o' screws" containing chassis screws, motherboard standoffs, and the odds and ends one would expect. In addition, there is also included a simple manual and a very nice polishing cloth that does wonders for the steel sides but little for the front aluminum panel. For some reason the front aluminum panel just seems to absorb the moisture from your hands and teases you mercilessly as you get arm cramps from trying to rub the fingerprints out.

Specifications

Let's take a look at the specifications as listed on the Tenor page over at the ThermalTake website:

P/N	VB2000BNS	Color	Black
Case Type	Desktop	Drive Bays	Front Accessible 3 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5" Internal 3 x3.5"
Front Access	Dual USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 Firewire, Audio & Speaker ports	Expansion Slots	7
Net Weight	8.5kg (18.7lb)	Motherboards	ATX, Micro ATX
Dimension (H*W*D)	170 x 430 x 460 mm (H*W*D)	Features	Thermally Advantaged Chassis- Prescott Ready Standard ATX motherboard & ATX PSII PSU Drive bay capacity : 3 x 5.25" drive bay & 5 x 3.5" drive bay Stylish front bezel : Aluminum made Reliable EMI shielding Dual USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 Firewire, Audio & Speaker ports
Power Supply Unit	Standard ATX PSII
Cooling System	Front (intake) 80 x 80 x 25 mm silent fan, 2000rpm, 19dBA Rear (exhaust) Dual 60 x 60 x 25 mm silent fan, 2500rpm 19dBA.
Material	Chassis 1.0 mm SECC Front Bezel Aluminum made	Container Load	452 pcs / 20' container 934 pcs / 40' container 1062 pcs / 40'HQ container