Custom PC - UK (2020-07)

LABS TEST / AT X C A S E

C

ostinglessthan£100,the
ThermaltakeH550TGARGBsaves
enoughoverthemostexpensive
casesontesttobuyanall-in-oneliquidcooler.
Assuch,wewereimpressedatthesolid
andgood-lookinga casethatcameoutofthe
box.Thelargemetalfrontpanelis cutfrom
aluminiumandis edgedwithsingle,thinstripof
digitalRGBlightingfora morerestrainedtake
onRGBthanthelikesoftheCorsairiCUE465X.
Youalsogeta digitalRGBexhaustfanincluded
intherearofthecase,andbothRGBfeatures
areconnectedtoa lightingcontroller.
Thecontrollercanbetweakedusinga button
onthefrontpanelorviayourmotherboard,
usingtheincludedcablestohookit up.
Allfourmajormotherboardmanufacturers’
RGBsoftwarearesupported.Thedownsideis
thattheRGBfanusesa proprietaryconnector
thatbothpowersthelightingfromthe
controlleraswellasthefanitself.However,
thefanis supremelyquietatitsfixedspeedof
1,000rpmandif anything,we’dhavelikedtosee
somethinga littlemorepowerful.

THERMALTAKE H550

TG ARGB/£93inc VAT

SUPPLIER cclonline.com

There’s a full-

height tempered

glass panel giving

a great view of your

hardware, but there

are no handy hinges

or magnets here – just

thumb screws. The front panel

lacks USB 3.1 Type-C support,

which is included on the cheaper be

quiet! 500DX, although there are four

conventional USB ports, with one of these

being USB 3. The roof has a large removable

dust filter with additional filters in the base

and front section, although the latter is fixed

and sits in the side of the panel, which is a

little stiff to remove. The slim vent in the

side of the case is also the only way for air

to enter, so it’s certainly not what you’d call

high airflow, especially with just one slow-

spinning fan to help.

You get a vertical GPU mount, but no riser

cable (which is to be expected at this price)

but cable routing was rather basic compared

with the be quiet! 500DX. Our PSU was a

snug fit in both cases, but the H550 TG ARGB

was especially fiddly thanks to the proximity

of a drive cage beneath the PSU cover.

Storage-wise, there’s the usual pair of

2.5in/3.5in mounts plus pair of dedicated

2.5in mounts behind the motherboard tray.

Cooling can be expanded to a trio of 120mm

or pair of 140mm front fans as well as

corresponding 360mm or 280mm radiators,

with space for another 120mm fan and

240mm radiator in the roof.

There are certainly no question marks over

build quality, which is solid throughout, but

cooling is mediocre, with the CPU (54°C) and

GPU (48°C) delta Ts sitting several degrees

higher than the other cases with fans. It's

easily the quietest case on test though.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about the Thermaltake

H550 TG ARGB. It’s smart, it uses RGB lighting

to complement its features rather than burn

your retinas, it’s well made and it's supremely

quiet out of the box. It’s not going to cook your

hardware, but there are better performers for

the same cash that also sport RGB lighting and

a fair few more features too. As such, it misses

out on an award, but it's still worth considering

if you really like its looks and lighting.

SPEC

Dimensions (mm) 225 x 472 x 441 (W x D x H)

Material Steel, plastic, glass

Available colours Black/silver

Weight 7.65kg

Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 3, 2 x

USB 2, 1 x stereo/mic, RGB button

Drive bays 2 x 2.5/3.5in, 2 x 2.5in

Form factor(s) Micro-ATX

Cooling 3 x 120mm/ 2 x 140mm front fan

mounts (fans not included), 1 x 120mm rear

fan mount (fan included), 2 x 120/140mm

roof fan mounts (fans not included)

CPU cooler clearance 165mm

Maximum graphics card length 300mm

VERDICT

A decent case that’s attractive and quiet,

but you can get more for your money.

SNOWBALLFIGHT

+Smartlooks

+Veryquiet

+Reasonably priced

AVALANCHE

• Mediocrecooling


• Averagefeatures


• Competition is^
  better value

COOLING

26 / 30

DESIGN

24 / 30

FEATURES

13 / 20

VALUE

17 / 20

OVERALLSCORE

80 %%