Thermaltake s500 tg review in Spanish (complete analysis)

We already know the elegant A500 TG, and now it's time for the Thermaltake S500 TG. An ATX chassis belonging to this sophisticated 500 series, now presented to us with a Steel instead of aluminum exterior (distinctive S). And if there is something that characterizes this chassis it is its strong exterior finishes with incredibly thick sheets and a tempered glass side panel to give away on sight. Without forgetting a very careful interior that supports up to 3 360 mm radiators and 200 mm fans.

We will analyze this PC case in depth, but not before thanking Thermaltake for the trust it shows us by sending us this chassis for analysis.

Thermaltake S500 TG technical features

Unboxing

We start this review of the Thermaltake S500 TG with its Unboxing. One that undoubtedly requires a lot of effort or that they collaborate with us, since the chassis weighs no less than 15 Kg. Its box is also huge, made of neutral cardboard with a basic screen printing on its outer faces.

Inside, the chassis is supported by two large, thick polyethylene foam molds. We would say that they are much larger than normal, mainly so that the chassis does not suffer blows in the transfer. In turn, the chassis comes in a plastic bag full of static electricity.

The bundle will consist of the following elements:

• Thermaltake S500 TG chassis Case with screws and clips Instruction manual

Quite concise and without cables of any kind, since we do not have integrated lighting.

Exterior design

Once removed from its packaging, we have a Thermaltake S500 TG chassis at least enormous, although beware, because it does not support E-ATX size motherboards. And the truth is that there is more than enough space, but the manufacturer has preferred to leave a side hole for possible refrigeration assemblies or tanks, or simply because of a limitation based on cost.

The measurements we have in hand are 56.5 cm high, 50 cm deep and more normal 24 cm wide. Giving on the scale a weight of 15 Kg, we are facing a very heavy box, although it remains within the middle tower standard. What weighs the most is undoubtedly its front and its upper part, being a modular tower, these elements are completely disassembled, and the thickness of the sheets is at least surprising, a little more than 2 mm thick, if we consider that it is solid steel.

In addition, its structure is inspired by a unibody design, with a curvature between the front and the upper area so that the plates join perfectly, improving their aesthetics and packaging. We do not have RGB lighting anywhere, nor a fan controller, but the chassis overflows elegance and robustness from all its pores.

On the left side face, we find a large 4mm thick tempered glass with a slight smoke. It is installed on a robust steel frame covered on the entire edge by an opaque coating on the glass. The fixing rails allow us to only have two manual thread screws in the back area, leaving the entire side completely clean.

Around it, and practically on all sides except the back, we find a mesh-type frame completely full of holes to allow air circulation. The entire area is protected by a perforated mesh metal dust filter that we can clean without problems by removing the sheets.

The opposite side of the Thermaltake S500 TG is quite similar, but instead of having the glass, we have a smooth steel plate that is also very thick, weighing around 1 kg or more. Likewise, all the sides are provided with these protected openings for the entry and exit of air.

The unibody-like design is well appreciated, albeit with a clear distinction between front, top and bottom legs.

Let's now look at its front and top area, which give the name to this S series of "Steel". And it is that both covers are made of steel, not any steel, but one with more than 2 mm thickness. This makes both elements weigh more than 2 kg each, and are especially robust and rigid against any blow.

They are completely covered by its main face, since the lateral areas are responsible for promoting air flow. In addition, they have a modular design, so they can be completely removed from the chassis.

Focusing on the ports of its I / O panel located in the upper area we have:

• 2x USB 2.02x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A2x 3.5mm Jack for audio and microphone Power button Reset button LED activity indicator

A fairly complete panel with 4 very useful USB ports. Nothing to object to with this setup.

The back of the Thermaltake S500 TG bears the undisputed stamp of the brand. Very wide, completely black and with an area of 8 fully modular expansion slots that we can place vertically for GPU mounts in this position. Supports up to two of them in this position.

Along with this, we have a pre-installed 120mm fan and the hole to put the power supply also through this rear area. To do this, we must remove the clamping plate. It is not the simplest area and how to put PSU and cables, but it is not a big inconvenience either.

We finish with the lower part of the chassis, where we have four large legs that raise it from the ground by about 4 cm. And in the entire central part, a ventilation hole has been placed with a fine mesh dust filter integrated by a plastic frame. It is held by two rails to be able to remove it and put it in a simple way.

Installation and assembly

We continue with this analysis of the Thermaltake S500 TG chassis now getting inside it.

In fact, we have taken the opportunity to place here the images of how the chassis is completely open. Removing side panels next to front and top area. Thus, we can see perfectly how everything is distributed and the quality of the finishes.

First of all, we notice that all the corners are quite robust, with sheets that extend a few centimeters to each side and all are joined by pins. There is no gap left unpainted in matte black, and it is striking that both the top and front areas do not have any type of filter. Obviously we use those installed on the housings, and this means that in both areas we can install the fans outside the chassis.

Focusing more on the main compartment, we see that it is of considerable size, although it is true that a priori more could be expected due to the dimensions of the chassis. And is that it supports boards in ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini ITX format, losing the capacity for E-ATX that would be very appreciated for mounting enthusiast level. All cable holes are protected by rubber.

But of course, we are going to be struck by that huge right-hand side hole, which, as you can guess, serves to install a possible radiator in this area. Or also a pumping tank, but in any case the holes are not compatible with storage units. We also do not have a cover for the integral PSU, but it is divided into a semi-open area for it, and a cabinet for hard drives with access through the main area.

If we continue looking more in detail, we find on this cover a double fixing system for graphics card in vertical position. If we are not going to use it, we can easily remove it by unscrewing the two screws that hold it. The Thermaltake S500 TG supports graphics cards up to 400mm in length with the drive enclosure removed, and 282mm with the drive enclosure removed. Of course in horizontal configuration it will not hinder at all.

We see the area for storage and distribution of cables, with enough thickness and plenty of available space. It is well cared for, and with the detail of having a central trunk with three clips to keep the cables well attached. We look at the bottom area, where there is a large hole to get the PSU cables out here and redirect them wherever we want.

To this we add a capacity for CPU coolers up to 172 mm high, with a huge gap to work on them with the board installed in the chassis. And finally the cover for the source supports sizes up to 220 mm long, although of course, we will have to remove the cables from behind instead of from the side.

Outstanding storage capacity

Let us now look in more detail at the storage capacity of the Thermaltake S500 TG, which is quite interesting, and above all, well distributed. Starting with the cable management compartment, we have a removable bracket that supports up to two 2.5-inch HDD or SD drives. Similarly, it supports a 3.5-inch drive on it.

Now we move to the main compartment, since Thermaltake usually places its storage unit cabinets in it. This time we have a unit that supports two 3.5 "or 2.5" HDD hard drives with removable plastic trays. Recall that for example in the A500 TG chassis we had a quite bulky cabinet with four units.

On this rack we have a bracket to support a 2.5-inch SSD or HD drive, and next to it, on the PSU cover, we have another identical one. Very good work that the manufacturer has done with its storage distribution. We have only lacked to make compatible the great lateral that we have next to the plate.

Ample space for refrigeration

We continue with the cooling capacity of the Thermaltake S500 TG, which is also outstanding due to the large space we have.

Starting with the capacity for fans we have:

• Front: 3x 120mm / 3x 140mm / 2x 200mm Top: 3x 120mm / 2x 140mm / 2x 200mm Rear: 1x 120mm

No user believes that they can complain with this configuration, since we have capacity for up to 4 fans of 200 mm, which not any chassis has. In fact, Thermaltake is one of the manufacturers that most bets on these configurations in its new chassis. As we mentioned before, both front and top support fans on the outside, thus expanding the internal space.

We have pre-installed a 140mm fan in the front and a 120mm fan in the rear, both 1000 RPM. It is acceptable, but it would have been great to have a double 200mm fan on the front to round out this great chassis.

In terms of cooling capacity, we have the following:

• Front: 120/140/240/280/360/420 mm Rear: 120 mm Top: 120/140/240/280/360 mm Side (interior): up to 360 mm without rack for HDD

We could say that having a space enabled on the side of the plate is a pleasant surprise, although it is true that we do not have any evacuation or air suction system for it. The most useful feature of this side is that it supports pump water tanks for custom liquid cooling setup.

In addition, the internal space gives us the ability to install even double or triple stage systems with 420 and 360 mm radiators without, in principle, interfering with each other as it happens in other chassis. So this chassis is a great bet of the brand to install high-performance cooling systems.

In fact, it supports even thick profile radiators, we are talking about designs with more than 40 mm thickness, since we can move the fans outside and gain those extra 25 mm. Or if we prefer, we could mount a push and pull system in front and top with up to 12 fans, one pass.

Clean assembly, although with the PSU it is a bit complicated

Now it's time to see little by little what this Thermaltake S500 TG box offers us in terms of mounting capacity. In this case the procedure will be the standard for any chassis. Our assembly will continue to be that of these components:

• AMD Ryzen 2700X with Stock heatsink Asus X470 Crosshair VII HeroAMD Radeon RX 5700 XT16 GB DDR4PSU Corsair AX860i modular motherboard

In this procedure, the mounting complexity is the power supply. Instead of inserting it from the side, we will have to do it from the rear, previously removing the chassis-PSU clamping frame. In this way we will have to put all the cables before and remove them, either from the side, or from the rear.

It is the most elegant way to install a source, it is true, but the fact of having a cover closed by the cable compartment reduces versatility, and if we have many cables the gap could be small. In any case, be patient and proceed with care.

The space for cables is simply enormous, and we already know, only limited by the gap to pass them from the PSU. The trunk system is not one of the most advanced, but at least the manufacturer has had the detail of adding it to an affordable chassis. The measurements make any source cable cover the space to all corners seamlessly.

This time we have installed the graphics card in the traditional way, although we have shown the way to proceed to rotate the slot panel to place them vertically. We just need a riser cable to extend the PCIe slot and secure the GPU to the included decks.

Despite not having an integral cover, which we would have liked, we see that the cables we store are quite discreet and almost invisible. Similarly, the holes are perfectly placed for both CPU, ATX and PCIe cables.

The internal cables available in the chassis are as follows:

• 4x Jumpers for F_panel (boot system) 1x 9-pin USB 2.0 (board) 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 blue (board) 1x 9-pin front audio (board) 2x 3-pin fan headers (board)

In this case, a microcontroller for fan management is not available, nor is a splitter or multiplier cable to connect them all in parallel to the board.

Final score

Here we can see the chassis fully assembled and in operation. What we could miss the most would be some interior lighting system, although this will be left to the user's option.

Final words and conclusion about Thermaltake S500 TG

The Thermaltake S500 TG is a chassis with magnificent features for the price it has. We are not facing a design as premium as for example the A500 TG in aluminum, but it is worth half. However, its robustness with very very thick steel casings, and tempered glass, make up a very elegant design, similar to a unibody, sober and brimming with quality from my point of view.

Its large size makes the interior very spacious, although beware, because it does not support E-ATX boards. In your case, a right side has been enabled that gives us a lot of play, to install a water tank or a 360 mm radiator for custom cooling systems. In addition, it supports 360 upper and up to 420 front radiators, for dual stage systems even with thick profile radiators.

We also recommend our guide on the best chassis on the market

Regarding the capacity of fans, Thermaltake could not leave us without the capacity of at least 4 fans of 200 mm, the difficult thing will be to buy them with lighting, since they are usually expensive. One 120mm rear and one 140mm front are included, not much for its size, but it makes up for the price. It can also be installed outdoors since the housings leave a gap.

The main compartment is quite peculiar, although with very careful finishes and very discreet to offer clean and cordless high-end hardware. The HDD rack is located directly here, next to a separate modular PSU cover. Perhaps an integral element would have improved the aesthetics of the lower area, and would have practically given the same result.

Finally, we must talk about prices, and it will surprise you positively, since it is worth about 105 euros. It's difficult to find a chassis of this quality for an equal price, and here the Thermaltake S500 TG sets itself apart from the rest. Perhaps it is also because we do not have RGB lighting, but this does not mean that it is highly recommended.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ QUALITY / PRICE	- NO RGB LIGHTING
+ LARGE SIZE CHASSIS WITH VERY THICK STEEL AND TEMPERED GLASS	- A COMPREHENSIVE DETACHABLE PSU COVER WOULD IMPROVE AESTHETICS
+ HIGH CAPACITY FOR HARDWARE AND STORAGE	- NO E-ATX PLATES ADMITTED
+ 360 MM TRIPLE RADIATOR SUPPORT AND 4 200 MM FANS
+ SUPPORTS VERTICAL GPU, DEPOSIT, AND IS WIDELY MODULAR
+ AT LEAST HAVE TWO PRE-INSTALLED FANS

The Professional Review team gives you the gold medal and recommended product

Thermaltake S500 TG

DESIGN - 86%

MATERIALS - 93%

WIRING MANAGEMENT - 86%

PRICE - 89%

89%

A very robust chassis, with steel exterior and enormous capacity for hardware