Thermaltake Armor A90 Computer Case review

If you think us computer/electronic reviewers are some kind of epic technogeeks with out-of-this-world powers composed of a completely different set of DNA than the general consumer, then you are only viewing a small part of a big picture. Yes, we do work with many different manufacturers to various extents in a wide variety of such products -- but for the most part, we are often no different than yourself in being (pretty hardcore) computer enthusiasts. And when it comes to the topic of being a computer enthusiast, to be honest I have been pretty disappointed in the computer cases that have been released in the past few years. Fundamentally, I have a few guidelines when it comes to selecting my chassis of choice (Other than the Thermaltake Level 10, which is the only computer case in this market today that is awesome enough to be the exception to everything I am going to list). The product has to be a mid-tower in classical motherboard configuration for a large unobstructed left sided window, standard 120mm or 140mm front and rear fans only, stylish but clean panel designs, and excellent construction quality all around. Preferred personal features that are not stringent requirements come down to aspects such as aluminum panels and decent sound-proofing. A few years ago, computer cases that fit this bill were not hard to find. Antec has them. Cooler Master has them. SilverStone has them. Thermaltake has them. And so on. But lately, it seems every manufacturer has jumped the boat to exquisitely large enclosures combined with an obsession with slapping on loud unorthodox sized cooling fans in every corner, overdone face designs in the name of 'gaming', and so-called innovations that simply put me off. If there is a manufacturer that held true to my philosophy of case designs, it would be Lian-Li. But other than clean conservative aluminum designs, is there anything else that may also appeal to people like me? Let's take a look at something that takes a shot at being different in a good way: the Thermaltake Armor A90.