Thermaltake have done a great job with the visual appearance on GENE, the two-tone black/white works very well. Due to this case being part of the Armor series there are two aluminium wing objects running down either side of the front of GENE – it’s unclear what purpose these wings serve, we’re led to believe they are purely for cosmetic usage though they do move in a backwards and forwards motion. In the lower region there is a large perforated mesh area which gives ventilation for a front 200mm intake cooling fan. Above there is a 3.5” cover and then four 5.25” drive bay covers which can be removed from the outside of the case.

Around the back GENE has an opening at the bottom for mounting the PSU and a series of seven ventilated PCI expansion slot covers. Above this there is a 140mm rear exhaust fan and triple rubber grommets for liquid cooling/cables.



Turning our attention to the front panel controls, at the top of GENE there are quite a number of options available. Over on the left there is a large power button and respective activity LED and reset button. Headphone and mic jacks are also included. Over on the right side there are dual USB 3.0 ports (via internal motherboard header) and dual USB 2.0 ports, giving plenty of flexibility for access to devices. The centre also assists with supplying more easy access to data – Thermaltake have included a 2.5”/3.5” docking station which allows you to plug a drive in directly to gain access. A very handy feature to have, it saves having to take side panels off, install the drive and connect cables.



Further back from the front panel connectivity is a large perforated mesh section which gives ventilation for the top mounted 200mm exhaust cooling fan. There are also mounting holes for using 2x 140 or 2x 120mm fans instead.



Finally, the underside has four adjustable feet which can be rotated to point in any direction desired. This helps to keep the chassis off the ground and provide better airflow for the PSU (if you have the fan facing downwards). The middle is a large dust filter which can be removed from the rear of the case whilst it is still standing.



With the external inspection now complete, we will delve inside for a close look at the internal features.