What I have on the chopping block today is a new watercooled case from Titan Computer Company. Titan has started a practice of assigning a hot anime babe to each major rollout of a new cooling product, and the water case has been assigned the babe shown above, Robela. She is a two-fisted whirling dervish of fury who would just as soon kill you as make love to you. OK, I made that part up, but if you are a fan of anime you can check out her sisters Serina, Bianca, Nikita, and Vanessa here.

This is the Robela I'm interested in, or as it is also known, the TWC-A88/BS. Titan has been represented in the United States since 1995, but hasn't really been noticed by the enthusiast/performance crowd until they released their Vanessa L-Type CPU Cooler (reviewed here) . They hope to make a another splash (pun intended) with their new line of watercooled cases. Here is a little bit about the Titan Computer Company straight from their website:

"TITAN is headquartered in Taiwan and has its own two factories, total approximate 20,000 square meters. Both are located in Guang Dong- China, China. There are around 1200 employees, which provide combined efforts a production capacity of output 1.2 million units per month. TITAN is also leading manufacturer of various thermal products such as: CPU Coolers, VGA Coolers, H.D.D coolers, System Blowers, D.C fans, Heatsinks in comprehensive solution of cooling systems in different applications of PC systems. We have just launched the newest design; the superior water cooling kit(case), annual sales US$57,000,000 combined water and air-cooling in the world; the performance is excellent to reduce heat problems and operates at minimal noise levels. To keep advance with the fast changing market; new models are launched every 1-2 months to meet your requirements."

The Robela water case is intended to bring watercooling to the masses, and the many n00b friendly touches built into it reflect that intention. There was obviously a lot of R&D that went into the Robela water case in order to make it one of the easiest watercooling options available.

Packaging

The box arrived via DHL in pretty good condition. I was struck by the size of the box and when I went to carry it down to the lab, I was surprised by the weight. I took a look at the shipping label just to ensure it wasn't just me forgetting to eat my Wheaties, and was reassured when I read that the weight of the box was 27kg (59.5lbs). I wrestled the box downstairs, sliced it open, and was greeted with the actual case box in all it's understated glory. The case box was sealed in plastic and when I removed that, I first met Robela. The graphics on the box are outstanding and would look great on any store shelf, but you and I both know that box graphics is no way to judge what is inside. When I opened the case box I saw the best packaging I have ever seen for a computer case. There was thick closed cell foam on all sides of the case and it was packed in so tightly that there was no chance of damage unless someone intentionally tried to destroy it. Since it came all the way from Guang Dong, China, I guess it needs to be packaged carefully.

Contents

Besides the case itself (duh), there were two boxes wired on the inside of the case and an excellent user's manual. Box 1 contained the case and mobo screws, a set of instructions for the top mounted ports, and an I/O plate. I don't know what year in the 90's the I/O plate was designed, but it is quite a bit dated. You can see the difference between the included I/O plate and the one I actually needed.

Box 2 contained all the cool stuff. Inside was the CPU and GPU waterblocks, a socket 775 clip, socket 478 clip, socket 462 clip, socket 754/939/940 clip, nVidia 6800 clip, a 54.8 and 79.7 GPU clip, 8 RAM heatsinks, 3 silicon tubes, a C-ring tool, the anti-freeze/anti-rust solution, some rubber rings for sealing the tubes, an extender for the power cable, and some Blue Nano-Therm thermal interface material. No user should have trouble getting the right bracket to fit both the GPU and CPU, amazing that they were able to fit all of that into one box.

The manual that is included with the Robela case is excellent. It is well written and has high quality pictures of each step of installation. The only drawback was that the English portion is not all together, I read the front of the manual and then it switched to an Asian language. It was later that I was flipping through it when I found the installation instructions for the blocks more towards the back.

The hose size for this rig is 1/4 inch so you aren't going to get a lot of flow. The waterblock is of the two port variety, an inlet and an outlet. The top surface is chromed and the lug in the center allows the mounting bracket to keep it centered on the CPU. On the bottom is some adhesive plastic warning to remove it prior to installation. The bottom is very polished and has a great finish, but the cool shot of my camera is a bit deceiving. When I changed the light a little bit you can see the machine swirl marks on the bottom of the block, but it is done so well that no lapping at all is needed. The GPU block has the same look as the CPU block and has a finish on the bottom just like the CPU block.