Thermaltake’s Overseer RX-I – a big case for big cooling

Keeping Hardware cool inside the Thermaltake Overseer RX-I

We hold the belief that one of the most beautiful things about a case is when it is filled with hot-running hardware and it is still cool inside. The Overseer RX-I has the same inside dimensions and it is set up basically the same as the Chaser MK-I which already passed our extreme cooling test with overclocked FX-8150 and HD 6970-X4 Quad-Fire.

 If an end user is going to use three video cards featuring four very hot-running GPUs in such close proximety to each other, we would highly recommend installing an optional 200mm side case fan.  However, there were no thermal issues whatsoever using two video cards featuring three GPUs as in HD 6970-X3 Tri-Fire and our overclocked FX-8150 in the identically set up Chaser MK-I as in our February evaluation.

The “Look” and the Interior

The first thing we note about the Thermaltake Overseer RX-I is its look. It is definitely not a kid’s PC and is it more conservative-looking than the Chaser MK-I. It has four USB ports and sound inputs and outputs, and the top metal and plastic grills serve both for aesthetics and also as dust filters, which is especially important when they are used for intake fans.

The Overseer RX-I case is spacious inside.

There is room for a total of 3 optical drives in the provided tool-less bays as well as five hard drives cages, one less than the Chaser MK-I. Running the 2 largest fans’ blue-colored LEDs are attractive, day or night.

The paint job of the Overseer RX-I chassis is outstanding – inside and out – and there are no imperfections that we could find. Neither the paint nor the clear plastic of the side panel are easy to scratch. Hand prints wipe off easily and we give very high marks to its exterior and interior and we really like its look.  It has recently become our favorite case with just a few caveats as we compare to the Chaser MK-I and the Element G before it.

The Features:

Key Features of the Thermaltake Overseer RX-I include:

• Excellent airflow with 3 large, dual-speed fans with dust filters covering every intake that counts
• An aggressive looking gamer’s case with a variable LED lightshow
• Well-finished black interior and exterior
• Superior cooling performance including retaining holes for watercooling
• Well-managed interior space for extra long video cards
• Excellent cable management system
• Easy customization for adding additional cooling fans
• Tool-free design
• User friendly
• Three year warranty

Cases and Cooling

The PC case has evolved over the years from from its original passively-cooled closed white or beige box. All of the hardware has become hotter and hotter over the years as evidenced by the growing capacity of power supply units – especially for gamers.  As PC cooling has developed over the years, so have cases to meet the growing cooling needs.

PC hardware outputs all of its heat into the case and there must be a good way to transfer and remove this heat or else the inside case temperature rises. In turn, a hot case increases the temperature of the hardware inside, leading to their possibly shortened lifespan or instability if overclocked. When we tested the Chaser MK-I, we needed two PSUs for a total of 1625W – more wattage than a typical consumer space heater uses!

Cooling thus becomes critical to an overclocker. If we lower the case temperature, we lower the hardware temperature and generally we can overclock better with cooler components. The latest PC cases come equipped with fans that intake and exhaust large volumes of air, thereby lowering the temperature of the hardware inside. Many modern cases come standard with an intake fan and an exhaust fan. Even more extreme cases such as Thermaltake’s Overseer RX-I will have these fans as well as adding fans or provisions for them to the top, bottom and case sides.

The Thermaltake’s Overseer RX-I big top 200 mm fan exhausts hot air from your case which otherwise tends to pool at the top of a case. This top fan can move a lot of air. There are provisions for another 200 mm fan or you can use the space for a watercooling system’s radiator as we have.

With watercooling, there is a choice to install the fans and radiators inside the case: in the drive bays; at the back of the case replacing the back 140mm exhaust fan; or as we have installed it, at the top of the case.  Installing it in the top of the case means that you will lose the top two slots for optical drives as we had to move our DVD drive to the bottom (third) slot.

We have the air coming in from outside the top of the case and cooling the water for our overclocked Core i7-3770K and exhausting above the GTX 680 where the front 200mm fan provides enough of a draft to move the hot CPU-heated air out the top and back fan exhausts.  In this way, we keep two fans as intake and two as exhaust.  Another good option is to buy an optional 200mm side case fan so as to bring air into the case and reverse the flow of the watercooling fans so air can be exhausted through the radiator out of the case at the top.

Installing an optional 200mm side case ColorShift fan might also look good for a case lightshow as well as be functional for extreme graphics. The top section has wire dust screens since you have the option to install a watercooling unit or another big fan, but we would have preferred a finer mesh to keep dust out of the watercooler radiator better.

An important thing that a PC builder will appreciate – besides the Overseer RX-I’s reasonable price, ability to customize it and good looks – is its attention to detail. The very worst thing a builder will encounter is sharp edges inside a case and there were none that we found in building this one. And never – ever – grab the cheapest budget case that you can find.

It is important to consider that a well-designed case properly holds the components in exact relationship to each other; there is no mismatch or straining anything anywhere to add or remove hardware. And we give high marks to the Overseer RX-I for being a solidly constructed and sturdy case.  It feels solid and it is quite heavy at about 23 pounds when completely empty.

Thermaltake Overseer RX-I continues Thermaltake’s tradition of quality enthusiast cases. We have been using it for many months – switching hardware in and out many times – and it is a real pleasure compared with smaller cases. Now that it has been properly introduced, let’s explore the Overseer RX-I and unpack it.