Conclusion
Up until this point, I’ve been very complimentary of the CTE C700 TG, and not without reason. Unfortunately, not everything is wonderful. Once again Thermaltake has presented us with a fairly large enclosure. That in itself isn’t the problem. The problem is that they’ve given us a large enclosure with poor optimization of space. The CTE C700 TG is as tall, and quite a bit wider than my personal favorite watercooling enclosure. With the CTE C700, if you’re very careful and specific about the parts you choose, you might be able to get two 420 mm radiators, and a 240mm at the bottom. In the case I’m using as my personal rig, it’s possible to fit two 480mm radiators, as well as two 360mm radiators. Both cases retail at $179.99.
Also, an examination of the CTE C700 front panel with a 360mm radiator installed, it becomes very obvious that if Thermaltake had just taken a little extra time on designing the outer trim, and the interior spine of the chassis, there is easily enough physical space that it would have been possible to place two 360mm radiators side by side at the front. There is almost enough space to do that as the case is, so it could have been a couple of minor design adjustments that would have allowed this, and really increased the cooling potential of this enclosure.
Also, the space at the top of the case, above the I/O, is just too deep. It’s a long reach down from the top to plug in USB devices (especially stubby wireless dongles). It’s obvious that Thermaltake’s idea was to conceal any cable’s coming out of the top of the chassis. Unfortunately, it also means that the cables they decided to hide from the outside are actually visible inside the chassis. Any USBs or display cables plugged into the I/O can be seen through the side panel.
