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Thermaltake Divider 300 TG Mid-Tower Case Review


Thermaltake Divider 300 TG Mid-Tower Case Review

By David Ramsey

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology Co. Ltd.
Product Name: Divider 300 TG Mid Tower Chassis
Model Number: CA-1S2-00M1WN-00
UPC: 841163076629 EAN: 471322752
Price As Tested: $109.99 (Divider 300 TG at Newegg); $109.99 (Divider 300 TG Snow at Newegg); $149.99 (Divider 300 TG ARGB at Newegg); $149.99 (Divider 300 TG Snow ARGB at Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Thermaltake Technology Co.

The mid-priced mid-tower case field is a crowded one, as as modern case design– no 5.25″ bays, mounting points for SSDs, and the ability to mount your GPU vertically– have spread across the market, it becomes harder and harder for one vendor to make their case stand out. Thermaltake’s known for their high-quality, reasonably-priced offerings, and the Thermaltake Divider 300 TG Mid-Tower offers an interesting stylistic element to distinguish their product from the herd.

Although mITX systems have gained in popularity, mid-tower cases still have their advantages: they’re much easier to build in, you generally don’t have to worry about whether your power supply or GPU will fit, and you can use larger motherboards with more slots and memory sockets.

Thermaltake Technology Co. offers four models in their “Divider” series: the reviewed Divider 300 TG; a version in white called the TG Snow, and “ARGB” versions of each that include 3 RGB fans pre-mounted in the front panel.

Features & Specifications

Materials: Steel chassis with tempered glass front and side panels.
Dimensions: 475 x 220 x 461 mm (18.7 x 8.66 x 18.1 inch)Weight: 8.47 kg / 18.67 lbs.
Motherboards: mITX, mATX, ATX
I/O Ports: USB 3.2 (Gen 2) Type-C x 1, USB 3.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1
Fan support: Front: Up to 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm; Top: 1 x 120mm or 1 x 140mm; Side:  2 x 120mm; Rear: 1 x 120mm (included)
Radiator Support: Front: 1 x 360mm or 1 x 240mm or 1 x 120mm or 1 x 280mm or 1 x 140mm; Right (M/B Side): 1 x 240mm or 1 x 120mm; Rear: 1 x 120mm
Clearances: CPU cooler height limitation: 145mm; VGA length limitation: 360mm(With radiator) 390mm(Without radiator); PSU length limitation: 180mm (With HDD Cage) 220mm(Without HDD Cage)
Drive Bays: Total of 2 x 3.5” HDDs and 5 x 2.5”SSDs or Total of 7 x 2.5” SSDs

Mid-Tower Chassis Overview

The Thermaltake Divider 300 TG is a standard-sized mid-tower case. As is the fashion these days, smoked tempered glass panels are used, covering the front of the computer as well as a triangular portion of the side.

The smoked glass panel on the side of the case is separate from the metal part, and you’re warned to remove the metal part first (it’s secured with two thumbscrews at the rear of the case):

The glass side panel snaps off once the metal portion is removed. It’s not clear what dangerous things could happen if you tried removing the glass part first.

The front glass panel snaps off, revealing a removable dust filter. Note that this version of the case does not include any front intake fans. In this image you can also see the top blowhole, which can accommodate 120 or 140mm fans.

There’s also a slide-out intake filter on the bottom of the case…

…as well as a magnetic filter on the other side of the case, here secured for shipping with a few strips of tape.

Let’s dig into this case a little more in the next section!

Divider 300 TG Detailed Features

The I/O panel on top of the case has, from the left, a reset button, headphone and microphone jacks, two USB 3 Type A ports, and a single USB Type C port. I like that this case has a reset switch, which many modern cases don’t. The ARGB version of this case has an additional button to cycle the RGB effects on the included front fans.

The interior of the case shows its seven card slots and included 120mm exhaust fan. Standoffs are pre-installed for a full sized ATX motherboard although the mounting points for mITX and mATX motherboards are labeled. Ås with many modern cases the power supply area is shrouded, and there’s a cutout for the power supply label. Too bad it’s covered by an opaque metal side panel!

The seven card slots on this case are on a separate panel that can be removed and rotated 90 degrees, as in the image below. This allows mounting your graphics card vertically, although the required riser cable is not included.

The metal part of the two-piece side panel is recessed slightly and includes a small, filtered intake.

The glass front panel is offset about 1/2″ to allow for air intake from the sides.

The only included accessories are a typically brief manual, and a baggie containing some zip ties and screws. Annoyingly, all the different types of screws are included in a single bag. The black piece of metal in the middle of the bag is a “GPU bracket”, but its use isn’t obvious and it’s not covered in the manual other than being listed.

The rear of the motherboard tray sports a large hole for cooler bracket mounting, below which is a removable panel that accommodates two 2.5″ drives. Mounting sleds for two 3.5″ drives are at the bottom of the case, in front of the power supply area; the cage supporting the sleds can be removed if you need the space.

In the next section, I’ll build a computer in this case.

Computer Building Experience

The Thermaltake Divider 300 TG supports mITX, mATX, and ATX– although not EATX– motherboards. For this build I’m using an mATX motherboard. As you can see this leaves plenty of room to work in. Above the motherboard are three holes for routing cables; to the right of the motherboard is a removable panel you can use to mount another three 2.5″ drives. We’ll be removing it for this build, however, as removing it allows for a side-mounted 240mm radiator.

I’ve never built a system into a case with a side radiator mount before, so I had to try it. Removing the drive panel from the side of the computer opens up a space obviously intended for a 240mm radiator. Ideally you’d position the hoses at the bottom, but the hoses on the AIO I used weren’t long enough. And that did showcase a minor issue…

The bulge on the end of the radiator where the hoses connect sticks out far enough to hit the “screw dimple” used to attach the drive mounting plate when it’s used there. This meant I couldn’t slide the radiator up far enough for the top and bottom screw mounts to line up with the holes in the case. Fortunately the slots for the middle screws are long enough so the screw mounting holes were accessible, so the radiator could be secured with two screws.

The rubber grommets are very thin and will easily pop off the edges of the hole when you pull cables through them. They’re easy enough to snap back into place, though.

Surprisingly, the back of the motherboard tray has no cable tie-down points, so unless you use adhesive cable ties, your cables are going to just hang where they will. The generous space behind the motherboard tray meant this wasn’t an issue for this build, i.e. you could still get the case side on easily, but it could have been a problem if two 2.5″ drives were mounted with their SATA power and data cables. It’s worth noting that this side panel only secures with tabs and the front and screws at the back; there are no slots or other connections at the top and bottom, so a large bunch of cabling can cause the side panel to bulge.

In many cases, routing the EPS 12V connector is a huge pain. In this case it’s easy.

The split side panel design will obscure most of your graphics card. In this image, I’ve removed the metal portion of the side panel to show how much it covers.

divider obscured graphics card

Overall, the build process was quick and easy. Join me in the next section for my final thoughts.

Mid Tower Case Final Thoughts

The Thermaltake Divider 300 TG Mid Tower Case is a solid contender in the mid-priced, mid-sized tower case market. It incorporates most of the features you’d expect in a modern computer case: generous CPU cooler cutout, lots of cable routing holes around the motherboard, and the trendy side fan/radiator mounting system.

The standout feature– it’s in the name!– is the “divided” side panel with triangular steel and glass sections. While it’s an interesting look, it doesn’t work that well. Removing the two-part panel is clumsy, and when you put it back, it’s very easy to get the steel panel not quite fully seated– I didn’t notice this until I started taking pictures of the assembled system for this review.

Also, the design of the panel hides much of the installed system. If you bought a PCIE riser cable and rotated the card slot mounts to mount your GPU vertically, you’d still only be able to see the very tip of the card, and if you’ve invested in a card with some LED bling, that’s not good.

Divider 300 TG Conclusion

The Thermaltake Divider 300 TG is an interesting mid-priced, mid-tower case. With room for full sized ATX motherboards and power supplies, and several choices for mounting 120mm or 240mm AIO coolers, most builders will have no trouble assembling a system in this case. The rotatable card slots are a unique feature, and except for the odd lack of cable tie-down points on the rear of the motherboard tray, this is a fully modern case design with all the features you’d expect.

Thermaltake has tried to make the Divider line of cases stand out with a unique two-piece side panel. However, this really didn’t work well for me: while the glass portion simply snaps on, the metal portion can be finicky to get just right so that it can be secured with thumbscrews at the rear; and it obscures so much of the computer’s internals, including the majority of any graphics card, that the design really seems to offer no aesthetic advantages to compensate for its physical clumsiness. Honestly, I’d rather pay $25 less and simply have a plain metal side panel, or $25 more and have a full glass side panel.

Otherwise, the case is constructed with the quality we’ve come to expect from Thermaltake. Finicky partial metal side panel aside, the case is well constructed and its components fit together easily.

Functionally, this is a fully modern case with the options and features builders are looking for. You can mount 120mm radiators at the top or back of the case, and 240mm radiators at the front or side. If you don’t use a side mount radiator, you can mount up to five 2.5″ drives and two 3.5″ drives. The main front and bottom dust filters can be removed in seconds for cleaning, which is nice.

At $109.99 (Divider 300 TG at Newegg); $109.99 (Divider 300 TG Snow at Newegg); $149.99 (Divider 300 TG ARGB at Newegg); $149.99 (Divider 300 TG Snow ARGB at Newegg), the Divider is a little pricey for a mid-tower case; Thermaltake themselves offer less expensive cases with full glass side panels (although without a glass front panel). The unique divided side panel didn’t work for me, but if it does for you, you’ll find the case makes a solid foundation for your next build.

Pros:

+ Unique styling
+ Rotatable card slots
+ Generous cable clearance
+ Side or front-mount 240mm AIO coolers
+ 3 Removable dust filters
+ Has a reset button!

Cons:

– No cable tie-down points on back of motherboard tray
– Two-part side panel clumsy to use, hides much of system
– No documentation on use of “VGA support” bracket

Ratings:

  • Performance: 9.25
  • Appearance: 8.00
  • Construction: 8.50
  • Functionality: 9.00
  • Value: 8.25

Final Score: 8.6 out of 10.