Being a part of the LAN party scene and seeing just about every imaginable PC case under the sun, there just aren't very many that really get my attention anymore. Cheiftec and Chenming cases seem to dominate the scene lately, and they are great cases. But I am the type of guy who likes being different from everyone else. I had this case for nearly a year, but when everyone started getting them, I knew it was time to ditch it.

 That's when my quest for a case began. The problem was that the Chieftech was exceptionally cool. What was going to take it's place? I searched for months on every reseller page I could find, but nothing really caught my eye. I was looking for 2 things - first of all, it HAD to be aluminum! I was tired of lugging a heavy steel case around to LAN parties. Second, it had to be something new that I had never seen before. It seemed the PC case market had gone stale. That's when I finally found the "Holy Grail" - the ThermalTake Tsunami Dream!

   

 Leave it to ThermalTake to breathe new life into the PC case market! Actually, Coolermaster has a similar design, but it is no where near as sleek and elegant looking as the Tsunami Dream. ThermalTake is known for innovation in this market, and the Tsunami Dream is no exception. It fit the bill in every way! It is made of very light aluminum, has the best stock cooling system I have ever seen (Two 120mm fans, and an 80mm!), plenty of drive space, and a paint job that is second to none.

 The design is definitely an eye-catcher, with the wave-like front bezel, backlit with blue LEDs. Just like most other ThermalTake cases, it has a double front cover door. The first opens to reveal the drives, power and reset buttons, and the second reveals the front 120mm intake fan dust cover. ThermalTake also has a newly revised locking mechanism for the removable hard drive cages which is very innovative and works great.

       
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 One of the most notable things about this case is it's paint job. This is simply the best factory paint job I have seen on a PC case, period. ThermalTake calls this a mirror coating. Take a look at the pictures below, and you will see why.

       
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 This paint job covers both sides, the top and the drive bay facing. All drive bay covers are painted, as well as the power and reset buttons!

   
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What's Inside:

As with most other ThermalTake cases, the Tsunami Dream has a double front door front. Opening the outer door reveals the drive bays and power/reset buttons and LEDs. The outer door is made of heavy cast aluminum which is very nice since it offers a high degree of protection. No flimsy plastic doors here!

 The second inner door opens to give you access to the inner drive bay covers as well as the front 120mm fan dust filter.

       
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This model has a nice thick acrylic window that is vaguely shaped like an "X", which I like since the PCX logo is a big fat purple X. The ThermalTake logo is also embossed into the lower part of the window as pictured below.

           
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ThermalTake has reduced the size of the door panel latch from the type found on most Chieftech cases. It requires only one finger to unlatch it, but it works very well and looks good to boot. The lock that is built into the latch is probably one of the best I have seen to date. If you lock it and lose your key, you will probably have to smash the side panel out to get in, and good luck with that because the acrylic window is pretty thick. My advise - either don't lock it, or keep up with your keys!

The thumb screws that are used to secure the side panel are absolutely HUGE though, and in my opinion aren't really needed. They look a big odd because they are so big, so I immediately ditched them! The latch is all you really need to keep the side panel closed.

           
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 Taking a look at the rear panel, one thing really stands out - the 120mm exhaust fan grill! Yes, this beast comes from the factory with a 120mm intake AND 120mm exhaust fans! Not only that, the exhaust fan is a blue LED fan! Very nice touch to go with the blue LEDs in the front panel.

       
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