Exterior Impressions


I’ll be honest with you; for me the jury is still out on the exterior design of this case. On one hand pictures really don’t do it much justice but on the other hand there are parts that just look “tacked on” as they say. Without a doubt, the Sword M is as majestic as it is heavy and having it sitting next to your computer will reward you with “oohs” and “aahhhs” from all of your buddies. The powder coating used for the aluminum is absolutely top notch to the point where it will resist scratches from everything short of a thorough keying from some car keys. Even the corrugated side panels give it a unique look which is second to none on the enclosure market.

The front is where the design needs a bit of revision in my opinion. While there are all of the drive slots you could possibly want, the top and bottom “lips” just look out of place. That bottom lip is especially annoying since it projects just enough for your foot to smash into it when you are walking by.

Meanwhile, the back of the Sword M has a unique and extremely sleek design. I would have loved to have seen something akin to this repeated on the front of the case since it is more fitting with the high-end price this case demands. The entire rear portion is one huge door which swings open to give you access to any cards you have installed on your motherboard. There are also a pair of 120mm exhaust fans installed here.


The front panel houses the standard power and reset buttons as well as 2 USD 2.0 connectors, 1 Firewire 1934 connector, a headphone jack and a mic input. The inclusion of an eSATA connector can only be lauded as a great addition but the main issue with this is that the current eSATA interface requires a separate power connector which needs to be plugged in independently from the data cable.

Moving a bit further down the front panel we find a grille for a single 120mm intake fan with a blue LED. While this will provide ample airflow to the interior of the Sword M, there is no dust filter on it so be prepared for it to suck in copious amounts of dust.


The bottom proportion of the front panel slides out to reveal a nifty little storage compartment. While it doesn’t hold much, it is convenient for all those loose tie-wraps, screws and other odds and ends you have hanging around.
Meanwhile, the drive covers are a lesson in engineering excellence; they are precision-fitted extruded aluminum pieces which only need a gentle tug to be removed.


There isn’t really anything much going on with the side panels other than the fact that one has an opening for 4 fans (or in this case a water cooling radiator). Both sides have the rugged-looking aluminum fins which may give a perception of masculinity but they are a pain in the butt to clean in between and are held on by four thumb screws.


It is always good to see thumb-screws on a case and this one has them in abundance; four hold down the side opposite the motherboard while another two are installed on the other side of the Sword M.

Meanwhile, even though our sample of the Sword M has the water cooling radiator blocking two of the mounting locations, the side door has room for four 120mm fans. Once again, there are large holes for the air to pass through which will act as a double-edged sword (no pun intended); they may allow good airflow to the fans but at the same time this will allow quite a bit of dust to enter your case.


The top lip of the Sword M conveniently flips up but as you will see later, this is a bit pointless since you can’t install a disk drive into the top drive bay. Even though it may be redundant, the inclusion of foam to cushion the transition between the lip and the front bezel is well thought out and flawless in its execution.

Atop this lip we find a silk screened Sword M logo which is perfectly centered with the two carrying handles.


The top of the Sword M has the two carrying handles which should NOT be used to carry a case that weighs nigh on 6 stone so they are more decorative than anything else. Between them is grille much like the side one which holds another pair of 120mm exhaust fans. The build quality seen here is seen everywhere else on the Sword M and I have to say this is the highest quality case I have ever seen….the quality is even higher than that of the Hiper Anubis.


The back door is easily opened by pulling the brushed aluminum tab and then swinging it open. This is actually an ingenious design which has every right being included on a case of this price.

In the end, a lot about the exterior design of a case comes down to personal preference so I can only give you my opinions. Overall, there are many design queues on the Sword M which are absolutely brilliant such as the rearmost quarter with its door that conveniently hides any cables. Even the unusable carrying handles give an elegant look to the top of Thermaltake’s flagship case and the all-extruded construction is nothing short of inspired.

Unfortunately, the front of this case just falls flat for me since it looks like pretty much everything else on the market today. Generic is not what you want when you spend $600 but then again there are plenty of endearing qualities here as well.