Thermaltake hops on the hidden power connector bandwagon with its new CTE E550 TG and Ceres 350 MX cases. Unveiled at Computex 2024, both chassis are new mid-tower models featuring support for motherboards that come equipped with power connectors on the back to improve cabling aesthetics.
The Ceres 350 MX takes on the classic recipe of a traditional ATX mid-tower with a PSU shroud and spices it up with several unique traits to differentiate itself in the sea of mid-tower cases on the market today. The case supports both traditional ATX motherboards and the latest generation of ATX boards with backside power delivery. It includes enough width behind the motherboard tray to comfortably connect 24-pin and 8-pin EPS cables without any issues.
Instead of providing just one front panel, Thermaltake has given the Ceres 350 MX two front panels out of the box, one with tempered glass and the other a mesh design. The tempered glass option prioritizes aesthetics while the mesh panel is geared for performance by improving airflow.
The case comes in several unique colors, featuring Hydrangea Blue, Matcha Green (similar to Matcha Tea), Bumblebee (yellow), Bubble Pink, and white. Thermaltake also provides the Ceres 350 MX with a 2.1-inch LCD "circle screen kit" that allows users to display real-time information, time, and climate, or upload images and GIFs to the screen through its RGB plus software.
Radiator compatibility includes up to 360mm support at the front, and 280mm at the top. Additionally, the case comes with two CT140 ARGB fans in the front and one in the rear.
The CTE E550 TG is a more exotic mid-tower counterpart, sporting tempered glass on the rear, side, and front of the chassis, similar to the Lian Li O11 Dynamic, which popularized the look. But unlike the O11 Dynamic, the CTE E550 TG comes with a tempered glass panel at the rear, providing a good look into the system's internals from the back.
Like the Ceres case, the CTE E550 TG can support motherboards with backside power delivery. This is arguably a more attractive offering since it's oriented far more around visuals than the Ceres case. Again, backside power delivery allows all of the motherboard power delivery to be hooked up behind the motherboard tray and away from prying eyes, giving the front components a more pleasing appearance.
The case also supports a variety of different GPU mounting solutions. One is what Thermaltake dubs the "floating GPU," which locates the GPU in the middle of the chassis with an enclosed GPU bracket and a sold-separately PCIe 4.0 riser cable. Another mounting solution uses a vertical placement with the GPU fans pointed toward the left side panel for better visibility of the GPU itself. Finally there's an "up right forward" placement that puts the GPU in the front of the case on rotational PCIe slots.
Cooling options are plenty with this new chassis, including up to 420mm radiator support. Nine fans can be installed in total, three on the bottom, three on the side, and three on top. The power supply is mounted in a secondary chamber behind the motherboard. Similar to the Ceres 350 MX, the CTE E550 TG comes in several unique colors: Match Green, Gravel Sand, Snow, and Black.
