Thermaltake Soprano DX

Rob Williams · 03-13-2007, 12:09 AM

Thermaltake has a case for everyone and for every price range. The Soprano is one of their less expensive ones, but you wouldn't know it by looking. In addition to it's sleek styling, it has a piano mirror coating and a brushed aluminum front panel.

You can read the full review here and discuss it here!

Rory Buszka · 03-13-2007, 10:49 AM

That fan in front is 140mm, not 200mm. Another note: that window is made from relatively thin plastic, so it transmits noise to the outside easily. I'm not a fan of Thermaltake's side windows. If I were purchasing this case, I'd take the version without the side panel window. The only things I like about that case are its glossy black finish and nifty front door look. I feel the '7' score is appropriate.

03-13-2007, 11:22 AM

the side panel has room for only a 80mm fan, not a 120mm

Matt Serrano · 03-13-2007, 11:23 PM

I could have sworn the specs said 200mm on Thermaltake's site. The 120mm was a typo on my part. A las, both Taerworks and the mysterious poster are correct.

The window may feel a bit flimsy if you apply pressure on it, but I don't think the case is unbearably loud by any means.

MakubeX · 03-14-2007, 02:05 AM

Decent case. I wonder when are they going to stop using the thick, not so efficient, honey comb grills. I know the honey comb design is very efficient, but not when the metal between each hole is that wide and flat!

Rory Buszka · 03-14-2007, 08:40 PM

Actually, my complaint with the cooling has to do with Thermaltake's use of snap-in fan mounts, instead of mounts that screw straight to the case. Snap-in mounts allow more noise generation than rigid mounting, due to vibration. I could see myself dremeling out the fan grills, too.

Sapientun · 03-14-2007, 09:23 PM

Sweet! I was waiting for a review of this nice case. Atleast those plastic fan mounts make it easier for lazy people to install fans

My only complaint is about the front bezel.Too bad Thermaltake has decided to go with the same plastic front bezel like the Tsunami, something lots of people complained about

04-05-2008, 09:00 PM

Heya,
Sorry to drag this up from the past again, but this is one of the few reviews I've found on this case.

I've got 3 main priorities for a case:

1) Must fit my GeForce 8800GTS card
2) Must be quiet
3) Must look 'swish'.

To me, the aesthetics of this case are astounding, just what I'm looking for, so it meets number 3, but what would you guys say about the former two points? Would it fit an 8800 if I removed the hard drive rigs, like you said? And how does it compare for noise levels, in comparison to other cases?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Merlin · 04-05-2008, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I've got 3 main priorities for a case:

1) Must fit my GeForce 8800GTS card
2) Must be quiet
3) Must look 'swish'.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Check out the Antec NineHundred.....

http://techgage.com/article/antec_nine_hundred/

Read the techgage reviews here

Merlin

04-06-2008, 05:34 PM

Yeh I looked at that, wasn't that keen to be honest. It's not as swanky looking, and I'm not a particularly hardcore gamer, so I'm not sure I really need the massive fans.

11-19-2009, 05:26 PM

Hello all,

I have purchased the aformentioned case and I am pretty pleased with the looks, sound (lack of to be exact), convenience and temperature.

The only thing I cannot figure out is how in the world can the twin fans be connected to the motherboard jacks instead into some plain ol' power from the power supply.

There's one with 4 pins and one with 3 pins (why two different?), but they are quite small. Is a converter needed? Is there a good reason why the correct jacks where not used in the first place?

Reference to relevant reading material will be welcomed.

Thank you in advance,

Tal

Merlin · 11-20-2009, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello all,

I have purchased the aformentioned case and I am pretty pleased with the looks, sound (lack of to be exact), convenience and temperature.

The only thing I cannot figure out is how in the world can the twin fans be connected to the motherboard jacks instead into some plain ol' power from the power supply.

There's one with 4 pins and one with 3 pins (why two different?), but they are quite small. Is a converter needed? Is there a good reason why the correct jacks where not used in the first place?

Reference to relevant reading material will be welcomed.

Thank you in advance,

Tal

It depends on the motherboard for fan connections, the 4 pin fan connection is for speed control, usually for the CPU fan cooler.
Merlin

Rob Williams · 11-20-2009, 02:47 PM

Hi Tal:

I am not familiar with this chassis to be honest, and can't see all of the power connectors from our review, but in general, there are three kinds of fan connectors out there. The first two are small, and are either 3-pin or 4-pin - the latter has an extra fan so that the motherboard can control the speed if it has the capability to do so. There's also 4-pin Molex connectors, which are the same kind of power connectors that IDE hard drives used to use. Most often, if a fan uses one of these, it will have both a male and a female, so that it won't take one of the connectors from you.

If I understand you correctly, your fans are using those kinds of connectors, and if so, I don't think you have any other option than to plug it right into the power supply. There exist adapters, or convertors, to convert the small 3 or 4-pin power connectors into a large 4-pin Molex, but I've never seen the opposite. From what I recall, you can mod your Molex fans to become 3 or 4-pin connectors, but I wouldn't recommend it as it sounds like a pain in the rear.

Is there a reason you'd rather not use the Molex connectors on the PSU? If your PSU has none left, you might want to be on the lookout for another kind of adapter that will create additional Molex ports, such as a PCI-E to Molex adapter (I am not even positive this exists, but I'm confident it does).

11-22-2009, 04:05 PM

Thank you Rob (and also Merlin) for your detailed reply!

You are right, both the fans that came with the case have molex connector.

Actually, I have no reason at all to connect the fans to the MB instead of the power supply, instead of my wierd desire to connect everything to everything I can in my new computer :-)

So I'll leave it as it is, but atleast I have learnt something :-)

Thank you again.

Rob Williams · 11-22-2009, 05:07 PM

Haha, I know that feeling well. I hate it when I see a cable not connected to anything

Glad there's no problem involved. Enjoy the new PC!

03-13-2007, 12:09 AM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Thermaltake Soprano DX Thermaltake has a case for everyone and for every price range. The Soprano is one of their less expensive ones, but you wouldn't know it by looking. In addition to it's sleek styling, it has a piano mirror coating and a brushed aluminum front panel. You can read the full review here and discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

03-13-2007, 10:49 AM	#2
Rory Buszka Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 388	That fan in front is 140mm, not 200mm. Another note: that window is made from relatively thin plastic, so it transmits noise to the outside easily. I'm not a fan of Thermaltake's side windows. If I were purchasing this case, I'd take the version without the side panel window. The only things I like about that case are its glossy black finish and nifty front door look. I feel the '7' score is appropriate. __________________ Best Regards, Rory Buszka Last edited by Rory Buszka; 03-13-2007 at 05:43 PM.

03-13-2007, 11:23 PM	#4
Matt Serrano E.M.I. Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 89	I could have sworn the specs said 200mm on Thermaltake's site. The 120mm was a typo on my part. A las, both Taerworks and the mysterious poster are correct. The window may feel a bit flimsy if you apply pressure on it, but I don't think the case is unbearably loud by any means. __________________ Follow me on Twitter \| flickr profile \| digg profile \| last.fm profile PC - Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit - E6300 @ 3.2GHz - abit IP35 Dark Raider - ASUS 8800GT Macbook - 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo - 2.5GB RAM - OS X 10.5 What I'm up to..

03-14-2007, 02:05 AM	#5
MakubeX Partition Master Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 277	Decent case. I wonder when are they going to stop using the thick, not so efficient, honey comb grills. I know the honey comb design is very efficient, but not when the metal between each hole is that wide and flat! __________________ HP LP2065 20.1" S-IPS LCD \| Lian Li PC-7077A case w/window \| Asus P5Q Deluxe \| Intel Q9650 4.2GHz - 1.33v 4GB G.Skill PI PC2-8800 \| Asus HD 4870X2 \| Ultra X3 1KW PSU \| X-Fi Fatal1ty w/ Front Panel\| Logitech Z-680 THX 5.1 Speakers EK Supreme \| EK FC-4870X2 block \| Enzotech SNBW-SLI \| Swiftech MCW30 \| DDC-2 w/ XSPC Top \| Laing D5 \| Thermochill PA120.3 \| Weapon Heatercore

03-14-2007, 08:40 PM	#6
Rory Buszka Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 388	Actually, my complaint with the cooling has to do with Thermaltake's use of snap-in fan mounts, instead of mounts that screw straight to the case. Snap-in mounts allow more noise generation than rigid mounting, due to vibration. I could see myself dremeling out the fan grills, too. __________________ Best Regards, Rory Buszka

03-13-2007, 11:22 AM	#3
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	the side panel has room for only a 80mm fan, not a 120mm

03-14-2007, 09:23 PM	#7
Sapientun Obliviot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 11	Sweet! I was waiting for a review of this nice case. Atleast those plastic fan mounts make it easier for lazy people to install fans My only complaint is about the front bezel.Too bad Thermaltake has decided to go with the same plastic front bezel like the Tsunami, something lots of people complained about

04-05-2008, 09:00 PM	#8
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Heya, Sorry to drag this up from the past again, but this is one of the few reviews I've found on this case. I've got 3 main priorities for a case: 1) Must fit my GeForce 8800GTS card 2) Must be quiet 3) Must look 'swish'. To me, the aesthetics of this case are astounding, just what I'm looking for, so it meets number 3, but what would you guys say about the former two points? Would it fit an 8800 if I removed the hard drive rigs, like you said? And how does it compare for noise levels, in comparison to other cases? Thanks a lot for your help.

04-06-2008, 05:34 PM	#10
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Yeh I looked at that, wasn't that keen to be honest. It's not as swanky looking, and I'm not a particularly hardcore gamer, so I'm not sure I really need the massive fans.

11-19-2009, 05:26 PM	#11
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Fans to motherboard connection Hello all, I have purchased the aformentioned case and I am pretty pleased with the looks, sound (lack of to be exact), convenience and temperature. The only thing I cannot figure out is how in the world can the twin fans be connected to the motherboard jacks instead into some plain ol' power from the power supply. There's one with 4 pins and one with 3 pins (why two different?), but they are quite small. Is a converter needed? Is there a good reason why the correct jacks where not used in the first place? Reference to relevant reading material will be welcomed. Thank you in advance, Tal

11-20-2009, 02:47 PM	#13
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Hi Tal: I am not familiar with this chassis to be honest, and can't see all of the power connectors from our review, but in general, there are three kinds of fan connectors out there. The first two are small, and are either 3-pin or 4-pin - the latter has an extra fan so that the motherboard can control the speed if it has the capability to do so. There's also 4-pin Molex connectors, which are the same kind of power connectors that IDE hard drives used to use. Most often, if a fan uses one of these, it will have both a male and a female, so that it won't take one of the connectors from you. If I understand you correctly, your fans are using those kinds of connectors, and if so, I don't think you have any other option than to plug it right into the power supply. There exist adapters, or convertors, to convert the small 3 or 4-pin power connectors into a large 4-pin Molex, but I've never seen the opposite. From what I recall, you can mod your Molex fans to become 3 or 4-pin connectors, but I wouldn't recommend it as it sounds like a pain in the rear. Is there a reason you'd rather not use the Molex connectors on the PSU? If your PSU has none left, you might want to be on the lookout for another kind of adapter that will create additional Molex ports, such as a PCI-E to Molex adapter (I am not even positive this exists, but I'm confident it does). __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

11-22-2009, 04:05 PM	#14
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Thank you! Thank you Rob (and also Merlin) for your detailed reply! You are right, both the fans that came with the case have molex connector. Actually, I have no reason at all to connect the fans to the MB instead of the power supply, instead of my wierd desire to connect everything to everything I can in my new computer :-) So I'll leave it as it is, but atleast I have learnt something :-) Thank you again.

11-22-2009, 05:07 PM	#15
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Haha, I know that feeling well. I hate it when I see a cable not connected to anything Glad there's no problem involved. Enjoy the new PC! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

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