INTRODUCTION

   Space limitations is the primary reason most people I know opt for mid-towers and so as expected manufacturers just want to cater to the needs of the largest market share currently. Still there are always those who either don't have space restrictions or who are just willing to make things work out just because they really prefer getting a full tower instead (and as many of you know I’m one of them). Of course, exactly because manufacturers are looking after the largest consumer percentage full and super towers alike are not easy to come by so whenever one gets introduced in the market by one of those we cooperate with, I try my best to have it delivered in our lab. RIOTORO may still be a rather new manufacturer but they've already released several gaming peripherals and PC cases including the brand new CR1288TG Full Tower Case which is here with us today.

   Founded in 2014, formed by Enthusiasts, for Enthusiasts, RIOTORO manufactures the best Performance PC hardware, peripherals, and accessories in the industry with a goal of providing complete satisfaction for high performance seekers who build their own personal computers. Our products hit the market in early 2015 and are currently available in over 30 countries in North, Central and South America. Since the end of 2018 RIOTORO put its focus on Europe and has currently distributors in 12 countries. RIOTORO offers high-quality products which are produced in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. We work to ensure that our costs are globally competitive and that we use our resources as effectively as possible. RIOTORO is a company that innovates which resulted in the launch of World’s First RGB case ( CR1280 ) and with World's First Convertible case last year December called MORPHEUS. And this is just the beginning.

   As the name suggests the brand new CR1288TG Full Tower by RIOTORO is the Tempered Glass version of the CR1288 Prism/RGB Full Tower announced back in late 2017 (which in turn was based on the earlier CR1280 model). Aside the tempered glass side panel however everything else seems to remain the same so the CR1288TG features a fascia with internal RGB LED strips (256 available colors), top I/O with RGB lighting customization and fan speed controls, dual chamber design (PSU shroud), two 140mm front intake fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan and removable air-filters (top/bottom). As for interior space the CR1288TG has enough room up to E-ATX sized mainboards, four 2.5" and four 3.5" drives (or a total of eight 2.5" ones), up to 7 fans (120/140mm) and/or 2 radiators (240/280/360mm), 180mm tall CPU coolers, 400mm long graphics cards and 220mm long power supply units. So, is this the full tower to get if you're out for a new one? Time to find out exactly that.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The CR1288TG arrived inside a plain cardboard box that has a product drawing at both the front and rear right next to the main product features and the company logo.

RIOTORO has placed the specifications table on the left side of the box.

As usual the case is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two very large pieces of black foam.

Packed along with the CR1288TG are 7 cable ties, two plastic bags with screws and standoffs and a small piece of paper with information about the warranty.

THE CR1288TG EXTERIOR

Measuring 473mm in height, 580mm in length and 250.2mm in width the CR1288TG is a rather "small" full tower.

Unlike most cases only part of the left side is taken by tempered glass (the top chamber to be more specific).

The fascia is made out of plastic and has RGB LED strips in the middle and on the sides (the company logo - also illuminated - is also on the lower end).

To access the front fans, you can remove the fascia just by pulling it outwards.

RIOTORO has placed two 140mm (non-LED) fans.

The I/O includes two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, microphone and headphones ports, HDD activity LED, the on/off button and the RGB strip color cycle, brightness levels and mode buttons.

Moving at the top of the tower we find a mounting space for either three 120/140mm fans or a single 240/280/360mm radiator.

At the rear we find an 120mm exhaust fan (can be replaced with an 140mm fan), 8 PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.

Two slide-in/out air-filters are located at the base of the CR1288TG.

THE CR1288TG INTERIOR

Interior space looks good but as mentioned earlier the CR1288TG is a rather small full tower so don't expect much more compared to some large mid-towers.

At the front there's just sufficient space to install a 240/280mm radiator.

There's also room for two fans on the PSU shroud (one sits on top of the 3.5" drive trays while the other sits on top of the PSU area).

The mainboard tray has a total of 6 rubber grommets (7 if we also include that on the PSU shroud).

All of the expansion slots are held in place via regular thumbscrews.

Taking a look from the right side of the CR1288TG we see four 2.5" drive trays, four 3.5" drive trays inside a drive cage, magnetic RGB fan hub and the PSU area.

Both the 2.5" and 3.5" drive trays are made out of plastic.

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

As always, the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

Once again, we started this build by installing the PSU and as you can see there's enough room for up to 850W-1KW models (of course you can mount the magnetic RGB fan hub up instead of in front of the PSU).

Using a regular ATX sized mainboard leaves all 6 rubber grommets for you to use.

With enough space for 180mm tall CPU coolers you shouldn't have a problem with 99% of the models in the market.

Here we mounted a 280mm radiator at the front of the CR1288TG which as you can see leaves plenty of room for even the longest graphics cards.

We used the same 280mm radiator at the top of the CR1288TG (our 360mm radiator was too thick) and as you can all see it leaves plenty of room to also add fans without any clearance issues.

The CR1288TG has enough room for up to 400mm long graphics cards (370mm if you use a radiator like the one we did).

NOISE LEVEL TEST

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically on top of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one, we use our own).

CONCLUSION

   The CR1288TG Full Tower by RIOTORO may not be the largest of its kind (far from it really) but it does offer plenty of room for you to mount lots of hardware inside including up to E-ATX sized mainboards, 8 fans (including the two of the PSU shroud) and/or 2 radiators (zero clearance issues with the top mounting area), 8 drives, 400mm long graphics cards, 180mm tall CPU coolers and 220mm power supplies. In terms of overall build quality, the CR1288TG does very well (with perhaps the exception of the fascia which made out of plastic) and the same applies for looks thanks to the three front RGB LED strips combined with the left side tempered glass panel (the red thumbscrews are also a good touch). Unfortunately for unknown reasons RIOTORO decided to bundle regular (non-LED) fans with the CR1288TG and although all that light show would probably not be very visible from the front fascia still, we think that it would further improve on its looks. The air-filters located on both the top (magnetic) and bottom (slide in/out) are also welcome as is the RGB fan hub which you can use with certain models to sync their colors with the front RGB LED strips.

   The RIOTORO CR1288TG Full Tower currently retails for a very attractive price tag of USD159.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 129Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course, as already mentioned the CR1288TG is very similar to some of the larger mid-towers we’ve reviewed to date and so this price tag places it right in the middle of several such choices. At the end of the day the decisive factor might just be its looks (better than most of its direct competition), 3 pre-installed fans, tempered glass side panel (which for some people might be better than full tempered glass side panels), RGB fan hub and of course its room for up to 8 drives and a top 240/280/360mm radiator without any clearance issues. As for us we just think that RIOTORO should had used RGB fans and perhaps a higher quality fascia but other than that we feel covered by the CR1288TG which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Looks (Tempered Glass Side Panel / 3 Forward RGB LED Strips)
- Spacious Interior (400mm Long Graphics Cards / 180mm Tall CPU Coolers / 220mm Long PSUs)
- Room For Up To 8 Drives (4x2.5” & 4x3.5” Or 8x2.5”)
- Three Pre Installed Fans (2x140mm/1x120mm)
- Space for Up To 8 Fans or Two 240/280/360mm Radiators (No Clearance Issues)
- Air Filters (Top Magnetic / Bottom Ones)
- RGB Fan Hub
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Plastic Fascia
- “Plain” Pre Installed Fans