We begin our interior tour by removing the right side panel and having a look behind the motherboard tray and drive bays. To remove either side panel requires only the removal of an upper and lower thumbscrew located on the back of the case. Once the thumb screws are removed the panels swing open by pivoting at the front of the panel, then simply slide off. Immediately noticeable upon removal of the right side panel is the huge access hole which is terrific for getting at the back side of a CPU cooler, thus eliminating the need to remove the motherboard from the case to perform a swap out of a CPU fan or water block.  You can also see the five large rubber grommets used to route all the cabling behind the motherboard tray and out of sight. Nicely organized and wire tied together are all of the MK-1’s top panel connection harnesses. There are two SATA cables (one for eSATA and one for the HDD dock), the USB 3.0 motherboard header cable and the USB 2.0 motherboard header cable. Additionally the usual power switch/LED connection cables, HD/AC97 audio cable and power leads for the fans are all located here. The other thing we wanted to mention is the distance between the back of the motherboard tray and the right side panel. There appears to be a slight increase in this distance compared to other Thermaltake offerings we have reviewed (and complained about) in the past.

Turning our attention to the top it was necessary to remove the panel in order to get a good look at what is beneath it. The design used to remove the top panel is very simplistic and a pleasure to deal with. I don’t think we have ever come across another case where the top panel was removed quite this easily. All that is required is to lift it up from the rear grab handle and it easily separates from the main body. Once removed you get a good look at the 200mm exhaust fan and the additional option to add another. The fan mounting apparatus affords the opportunity to swap out the 200mm fan in favor of either a 140mm or 120mm solution. Not to be overlooked is the ability to mount up to a 240mm radiator here as well. If you like an abundance of cooling options, there are plenty to be had in this area of the MK-1.

Exploring the main cavity of the Chaser MK-1 will be our next adventure. When looking inside the this area for the first time you will find a box of accessories tied to the motherboard tray. Below is a list of what is included in the accessory pack:

• Users Manual
• 8-Pin CPU Power Cable Extension
• 5.25 to 3.5 Bezel Adapter
• Internal 5.25 to 3.5 Adapter Tray
• Wire Ties
• Four Packages of Various Screws
• Speaker Cable

Something worth mentioning about the internal 5.25 to 3.5 bay adapters is that it does not have an option to mount a device from its side, only from the bottom. If you have a card reader or similar device that only has threaded holes on the sides for mounting it, then you will need to buy a different adapter to make it work.

The two pictures below will give you an idea of the large area available to work with as you assemble a system to the MK-1. The cable management holes are located in just the right spot to route wires behind the motherboard tray and back to the motherboard connection points. Down at the bottom you will notice a PSU support bracket which can be moved forward or back to work with any size unit. One thing missing from the PSU support bracket is a rubber strip along the portion that the power supply rests on, which would help prevent vibration. The motherboard mounting pegs are pre-installed, but you will want to double check to make sure they align correctly with your motherboard’s configuration. Worth noting is the option to mount a 120mm fan at the bottom just in front of the PSU area.

The next few pictures show the rear of the interior where the 140mm exhaust fan is located. The rear exhaust fan utilizes a three pin braided power lead to match up to a motherboard’s fan header. The eight expansion slot covers are held down with black thumb screws at all locations making removal of add-on cards a snap.

The top interior features the previously mentioned 200mm fan and the open fan bay for an optional 200mm, 140mm or 120mm fan.

Moving around to the front of the interior we see the 5.25 and 3.5 drive bay mounting areas. Both the 5.25 and 3.5 bays utilize a very unique and easy to use drive mounting system (more on this later). The six plastic 3.5 drive bay trays are made with the same light blue color scattered about the Chaser MK-1. The four 5.25 drive bay locking levers are also colored in the light blue theme.

Installing an optical drive into a 5.25 bay is just a matter of removing a bay cover, sliding the drive into the bay opening and feeling click/lock in place. As you slide the drive in you will see the locking lever raise outward until such time as the holes are aligned. Once the holes are aligned the lever snaps back down securing the drive. You have the option of adding additional screws from the opposite side to further secure the drive in place.

To install a hard drive in one of the trays entails releasing the spring tension on the lever and swinging it open. Once the lever is released the tray will slide out the front easily. There is a clip on each side of the tray that will need to be removed before setting the drive in the tray. After the clips are removed, you lay the HDD in the tray so the holes line up where the clips were, then simply push the two clips back on the tray to secure the drive. The hard drive trays also have holes in the base that will accommodate a 2.5 drive should mounting a SSD be required.

To conclude our interior tour we’ll have a look behind the front bezel, which is easily removed by grabbing it at the bottom and pulling straight outward. The first picture below is of the back side of the front bezel and gives you a good look at the foam filters utilized by the 5.25 drive bay covers. Once the front bezel is removed you can see the screen mesh filter used over the front 200mm intake fan. The filter located here is easily removable by pressing two tabs located on the left side of it. The front intake 200mm fan is behind a mesh area with good sized perforated holes allowing for good air flow.

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