Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Razer's Tomahawk mid-tower case is a pricey, yet premium foundation for a kick-ass gaming PC.
Razer has been on a roll with new product category launches. Originally, it was just PC peripherals, resulting in some of the best PC headsets, keyboards, mice, and more. Then Razer ventured into gaming laptops and took the world by storm with the Blade series. Today, I'm looking at the new Razer Tomahawk mid-tower PC case, a first for the gaming company.
There are countless PC cases out there. We rounded up some of the best PC cases you can find out there in the wild, but now Razer believes its Tomahawk deserves a place on the list. Rocking an all-metal black design with the usual RGB lighting and sleek styling elements, the Tomahawk will certainly appeal to Razer fans, but how does it fare as a PC case?
Underglow Gaming
Razer Tomahawk
Bottom line: Razer has worked with case makers before to come out with branded special products for fans, but now the company wants to provide its community with PC cases of its own. The mid-tower Tomahawk is an excellent first try that gets way more right than wrong. With but a few improvements, this will be a slam dunk chassis for Razer fans.
Pros
- Impressive features
- Subtle lighting effects
- Gorgeous design
- Easy to build a PC inside
- Supports AIO and custom water-cooling
Cons
- A little cramped in the side
- Front needs larger intakes
- No fan or RGB controller included
- Pricey
Razer Tomahawk at a glance
Razer shipped us a Tomahawk mid-tower review sample, as well as various components to install inside for testing. I not only utilized the parts shipped with our sample but also some from our inventory to see how the Tomahawk performed compared to other PC cases we've reviewed.
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Mini-ITX Micro-ATX ATX E-ATX |
| I/O | 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen1 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen2 1x Microphone 1x Headphone |
| Expansion | Seven horizontal PCI |
| Storage | 2x 2.5-inch SSD 3x 2.5-inch SSD/3.5-inch HDD |
| Included fans | 1x 120mm (rear) |
| Front fans | 3x 120mm 2x 140mm |
| Top fans | 2x 120mm 2x 140mm |
| Rear fan | 1x 120mm |
| Bottom fans | 2x 120mm 2x 140mm |
| Front rad | 280mm, 360mm |
| Top rad | 240mm, 280mm |
| Filters | Front Top Bottom |
| Clearance | GPU: 384mm CPU: 176mm |
| Dimensions | 19.47 x 9.26 x 18.70 inches (495 x 235 x 475 mm) |
| Weight | 29.85 pounds (13.5kg) |
| Materials | Steel Tempered glass Plastic |
| Warranty | One year |
| Color | Black |
What the Razer Tomahawk has to offer
The Tomahawk is essentially a black slab of metal. Even though it's priced at around $250, we're still talking steel here and not aluminum. But if you were to take one of the company's vast catalog of products and turn it into a PC case, this would be the end result. PC case vendors have attempted to add aggressive styling and other elements to the chassis design, but this can often have a negative impact on thermal performance.
The Tomahawk is as expected from Razer, sleek-looking, slightly understated, and colorful.
Razer tries to keep it simple with an attractive, yet understated design. You know from first glance that it's a Razer case, but it doesn't scream "gamer" as you would expect. Upfront is a large Razer logo (with LED backlighting, of course!) and that's all you'll find on the front panel. The two sides feature tempered glass, as well as intake vents.
The top panel is where you'll locate all the I/O ports and a large filtered exhaust cutout for up to two 140mm fans. Finally, beneath the Tomahawk is another filter for the two internal bottom fan mount points, as well as some fancy underglow lighting. Once you've got Razer's Synapse software up and running, your PC will be able to race in Fast & Furious.
The entire case is rather heavy, coming in at 13.5kg. The majority of this heft is made up of steel and massive tempered glass side panels. It's not overly heavy, but you'll notice the bulk even before installing any components. Size-wise, it's about as standard as you can get for a mid-tower PC case, which will surprise you once you learn about the interior layout.
Building a PC with the Razer Tomahawk
The Razer Tomahawk may look the part, but the great design may all be for nothing if the case doesn't perform well in thermal tests. Thankfully, Razer considered cooling while designing the chassis and there are more fan mounts than you'll likely know what to do with. The components Razer shipped with our review sample are located to the right.
The Razer Tomahawk is an absolute joy to build a PC inside.
The RGB LED fans from Thermaltake are a highlight since they'll be connected to Razer's RGB lighting hub for full integration into Synapse. (They're also pretty good at cooling too.) The Dark Rock Pro 4 will be more than a match for the Intel Core i7-10700K, though it will be interesting to see how much of a difference switching from all-air to an AIO cooler will make inside the Tomahawk.
Opening the two magnetically-attached glass panels is such a joy that I found myself closing them a few times to just appreciate how well-designed this system is. They can also be completely removed from each hinge by simply lifting them up. With both panels removed and out the way, there's easy access to either side of the case, which is good because there's plenty of space to play with.
Taking the main section of the case where you'll be installing all your components, Razer allows for radiators to be installed in the front or up top. Up to three 120mm fans can be thrown into the front, as well as a further two up top and two on the bottom to pull air up through the PSU shroud. While the front panel is a little on the tight side, much like other cases with a similar design, there's enough for positive pressure and effective cooling.
The case itself supports Mini-ITX, MicroATX, and ATX sized motherboards and has ample space for even the largest best graphics card and CPU coolers. It's recommended to install as much on the motherboard as possible before moving it to the chassis, which in our case included the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler.
Even with the motherboard and GPU inside the case, there's still enough room for a custom water-cooling loop if you'd prefer to go down that route. Things get a little tight on the rear of the motherboard tray, which is where all the cable management takes place. Before installing the PSU, it's not too bad, but once there are thicker cables that need to be tied down, it can get messy.
Razer does include two panels that can be attached with thumbscrews to hide your cable mess since both sides of the case are tempered glass, but these can prove restricting at best when trying to cram as much behind them as possible. In the end, it would have been good to have a few more millimeters of clearance between the central wall and the tempered glass panel.
Thermals-wise, the Tomahawk is pretty good. It's nowhere near the best-performing case we've tested, but you won't run into any throttling issues with even a beefy Intel Core i7-10700K. Running the CPU with an RTX 3060 Ti GPU and playing some demanding titles like Grand Theft Auto V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, I didn't encounter any temperature-related problems.
I prefer to leave everything at default to see how cases perform before some tinkering. It's difficult to hear the Thermaltake fans ramp up a little as temperatures within the case rise. The bottom and front-mounted fans are able to pull in ample airflow for the exhausts to remove the heat from the Tomahawk. I would have liked to see an RGB or fan controller hub included to help install all the necessary cooling (and lighting), especially at this price.
Should you buy the Razer Tomahawk?
Who it's for
- Razer fans
- Those who love the look of tempered glass
- Those who want to spend more than $200 on a PC case
- Those who love RGB lighting
Who it isn't for
- Those who want an affordable PC case
- Those who want the best thermal performance
- Those who want easier cable management
You should consider the Razer Tomahawk if you're a Razer fan. You should also look at the chassis for your next PC build even if you're not. This is a fantastic unit that can hold even more enthusiast-grade builds. The cable management could be improved slightly, but the internal panels aid in creating a clean finish with dual glass side panels.
The Tomahawk makes for a compelling foundation if you plan on using RGB LEDs throughout the build, but it'll also happily sit in the corner without a single light if you'd prefer. The case itself looks sleek with very few accents to catch the eye, but you'll still stop to notice just how premium this case looks.
In terms of features, the Tomahawk from Razer outclasses many PC cases out there, but it should at this price point. There are a few minor points I'd like to see improved in a future revision, but in its current form, this is one amazing chassis and firmly establishes Razer in the PC case game.
Razer Chassis
Razer Tomahawk
Premium gaming PC case
PC cases come in all shapes and sizes, but none of them have been made by gaming company Razer, until now. The Tomahawk is a great first attempt by the company that only requires a few improvements to make it a must-buy for Razer fans.
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