The CTE E550 TG shares its predecessor’s “face down” design. (That is, the front edge of the motherboard faces the bottom of the case, and the “rear” I/O panel is at the top.) However, this chassis gives PC builders a bit of Thermaltake’s aesthetic from its The Tower series by replacing the rear radiator mount with a glass panel for three-sided viewability.
Thermaltake also rearranged the connector holes on the motherboard tray’s periphery to match the rear-facing connector placement of MSI Project Zero and Asus Back to the Future (BTF) boards in both ATX and MicroATX form factors. Plus, several of the holes that face the side radiator bracket have been enlarged to more easily route EPS12V/ATX12V and fan-cable ends to the motherboard’s usual “top” edge—which now faces forward, since the motherboard tray is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.
The CTE E550 TG looks identical to its E600 predecessor from the rear oblique angle, apart from the new version’s rear glass and its Gravel Sand two-tone color scheme, which wasn’t available when we reviewed the older case in its now-outdated Hydrangea Blue. (That blue was a special color scheme for 2024; these days, Thermaltake issues certain limited colorways annually.) Beyond Gravel Sand, Thermaltake offers versions in black, Snow (white), and Matcha Green.
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Carried-forward features include the two full-length vented sections on the right side panel (see the photo below), the upper passage for peripheral cables that (primarily) reach the graphics card and motherboard I/O panel, additional passage for any internal cables or coolant lines that you might want to exit above the power supply, and the full-size mount for your power supply.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The forwardmost side vent serves the side radiator/fan bracket, whereas the CTE E550 TG’s front-panel ports are located on the top panel, right above it. Here we find a giant power button with a large LED diffuser for power-on, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (labeled “USB 3.0”), one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port, separate headphone and microphone jacks, and a tiny reset button that’s the same diameter as the outer shells of those audio connectors.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Swinging around the other side, we find that the bottom panel’s dust filter, which covers a triple 140mm/120mm dual-pattern fan bracket, slides out easily from beneath the glass. As long as we’re looking at the bracket as well as the filter, we should mention that the 476mm of space between the front and rear panel brackets is enough to install nearly any big radiator in the 420mm or 360mm format.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
This is where we start peeling off panels to reveal interior features, so it’s a good time to mention that the top panel’s and right side’s vents are covered, from the inside, by rigidly framed dust filters that use a combination of tabs and magnets to stay in place.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Secured with six easy-release ball snaps, the top panel rests just 2.5 inches above the motherboard I/O ports. That requires some consideration of the type of cables you can attach. (Rigid adapter blocks, for example, probably won’t fit here.) There’s also enough room next to the I/O panel hole to mount a 240mm-format radiator, or just two 120mm fans if air is more your style.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Thermaltake says that a power supply up to 220mm will fit behind (and slightly beneath) the motherboard tray, but we measured just over 330mm of space between the mounting flange and the side radiator bracket. Regardless of what you choose to do with the extra 110mm, you’ll find two 3.5-inch drive cages at the top rear corner, plus a dual-format drive tray large enough to hold a 3.5-inch drive and a 2.5-inch drive.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
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Keeping in mind that the I/O port edge of the motherboard faces the top of the CTE E550 TG, the space beneath the motherboard mounting area is designed to hold an included vertical card bracket: Thermaltake calls it a “floating bracket,” since the rotated motherboard’s vertical slots make all card installations vertical, in one way or another. The low-slung floating card installation requires an extra-long version of what most people think of as a riser cable. (Here’s what the bracket and cables looked like in our CTE E600 MX installation.)
You’ll also notice a bunch of the holes that we previously mentioned, including the large rectangular one that’s covered, in part, on the opposite side by the previously mentioned two-drive tray. That opening is there to make it possible for builders to replace the CPU-cooler support plate that may be positioned behind their motherboard’s CPU socket.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The motherboard tray is stepped 1.5 inches inward from the side fan mount, and its standoffs bring the motherboard out an additional half an inch. The space beneath it is stepped inward 2.25 inches (57mm) from the side fan mount. As a result, builders who want to match that thickness in a side-mounted liquid-cooling kit should probably use a 32mm-thick radiator with their 25mm-thick fans.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
