MaximumPC 2008 07

THERMALTAKE M9 VI1000BNS

Goodbye, next-generation systems

SIGMA UNICORN

Too much magic dust is bad when it leads to poor design

Thermaltake’s M9 chassis is a step up from

the bottom rung of simplicity, but it’s no-

where near a top-of-the-line design. The case

is structured as if Thermaltake took a plain-

Jane chassis, improved

a few features—like

making the PCI and

5.25-inch bay holders

screwless—stuck in a

front-panel blue LED

fan to appease gam-

ing audiences, and

called it a day. That

might not sound so

bad, but in actuality,

the screwless PCI

holders become

this case’s Achil-

les’ heel. And the

arrow? Any dual-

slot videocard on the market.

Due to the notched nature of the

PCI retention tabs, there is absolutely no

way to fi t a dual-slot videocard into your

rig and still make use of the screwless

functionality. You’d have to forcibly rip

off the entire retention mechanism just

to fi t the card in—and that’s assum-

ing you have the proper screws lying

around to do that.

On the other hand, we like the

screwless drive holders. The case gives

you plenty of expansion room with its nine

5.25-inch forward bays, three of which serve

as holders for hard drives. It’s just a tad an-

noying, however, that you still have to pop off

the case’s entire front panel to stuff 5.25-inch

devices into your system. Front-panel

connectivity consists of just two USB ports

and the standard audio jacks. The lack of

additional connection options isn’t a critical

omission, but it’s certainly not preferable.

We never thought we’d see a sub-$100 case

with tinted windows, but lo and behold,

Sigma’s Unicorn has lived up to its name and

shown us the impossible by “blinging up” the

exterior of an otherwise stale case. Like spin-

ning rims on a minivan, however, not all of

Sigma’s design decisions are well thought out.

The front panel features one of the

bulkiest doors we’ve ever seen. We guess

Sigma was trying to spruce up the case’s

facade with the protruding front profile, but

as far as we’re concerned, it just extends the

length of the chassis.

And we’re miffed

that the door cov-

ers the front-panel

connectors entirely.

Sigma makes

another ques-

tionable choice

with the heavy

horizontal bar

running across the

case interior. The

bar is designed to

help hold your PCI

cards in place while

an 8cm fan handles

the cooling. But the locking mechanisms are

unnecessary, and you have to remove the

entire retention bar just to install or tweak

parts in your rig.

The case comes with more than enough

cooling and screwless installation mecha-

nisms to make any enthusiast happy, but no

support for HD audio. And while we appreci-

ate the hidden toolbox that rests under the

case’s four drive bays, it’s too little, too late

given the predominance of peculiarities in

this not-so-magical Unicorn.

The M9 comes with only three mother-

board standoffs, as ATX motherboards

sit on the case’s six raised stubs.

54 | MAXIMUMPC | JUL 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com

Sigma should

have learned a

lesson from Cooler

Master’s Cosmos

case: VGA-cooling

retention bars are

more trouble than

they’re worth.

VERDICT

$100, http://www.thermaltakeusa.com^3

THERMALTAKE M9 VI1000BNS

VERDICT

$100, http://www.sigmaproduct.com^5

SIGMA UNICORN

econo

• closures