The new Razer Tomahawk ATX case brings the company's understated style to PC cases Razer is a familiar brand to most PC gamers, and while the company may be seen first and foremost as a peripheral manufacturer, it is also popular in the premium laptop market, and in fact, it holds a firm position at the top of our Best Gaming Laptops guide. Smartphones and financial services are also part of its portfolio. Seriously.

Case manufacturing is the logical next step, and while Tomahawk is not the first Razer case, it could be the one that puts Razer alongside other premium case makers. Brand recognition is certainly not an issue, but to win people's hearts and minds, you have to have a great product, and is the Razer Tomahawk ATX the case for that?

Razer clearly aims for an understated look. The overall design is largely featureless, with only the Razer logo added to an otherwise black box. But that is far from a criticism. Opinions on appearance are always subjective, but I personally prefer it to Michael Bay's alternate form of Bumblebee, which is subtle, quiet, and unobtrusive. The focus of this case is the RGB implementation, not the case itself.

Being a Razer product, you get full Chroma RGB support and integration. The case itself has a pair of RGB light strips that run along the bottom of the case on both sides.While the Chroma and Synapse apps may seem like just another RGB brand or piece of bloatware, Razer's RGB ecosystem is arguably the best in the industry. Many games and apps support integration that allows RGB to react to explosions and other events in real time; Fortnite and Apex Legends are notable examples.

Many external apps also support it, including Discord and Twitch. In short, if you are an RGB fan and don't want to leave the world in doubt, Chroma is a solid ecosystem. If only there were a unified industry RGB standard, but that's somewhere over the rainbow.

But this thing is heavy.

At 13.5Kg, it is indeed hefty, but this is due to the fact that it is made of steel. The steel has a vibration dampening effect, which should keep the noise level a bit lower than with an equivalent aluminum case. Both side panels are made of tempered glass and have a dark tint that frames the overly bright RGB interior. The side panels close magnetically and swing outward in a "sous vide" direction.

The Tomahawk has only one fan, located on the back; Razer presumably expects buyers of this case to use an AIO cooler, if not a full custom loop that draws air in from the front of the case. The sides of the front panel are vented to allow for this. If a regular air cooler is used, an additional fan or two will need to be added to the front of the case.

There is room at the top of the case for additional fans or a 240mm radiator. As for connectivity on the front, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and one 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. There is a headphone/microphone combo port and a dedicated microphone port. The top of the case has vents and is covered by a magnetic filter.

We used an ASRock B550 Taichi Razer Edition motherboard as the base for our test build. This allowed us to properly test the Chroma RGB settings; the Synapse app recognized the motherboard without any intervention. Our build included an AMD 5950X processor cooled by a 360mm NZXT X73 AIO with a Corsair AX1000 power supply and an MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X graphics card No worries about GPU compatibility, the AMD 5950X processor was cooled by a Corsair AX1000 power supply and an MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X graphics card. Any currently available GPU will fit easily in any height, width, or length.

Assembly went smoothly. Case management characteristics are nearly perfect, but a little more space behind the motherboard tray for cable management would be nice. The Corsair AX1000 PSU has stiff cables, and another 2mm of extra room would have been ideal, but in the end we managed.The PSU area is isolated from the rest of the system, but some care is needed when installing the PSU. Cables could run into the 3.5" drive bay module and need to be moved. Although possible, you may run into problems with stiff cables or very long PSUs when installing radiators in the front. To solve this, install the PSU first, adjust the drive cage, and then install the radiator. Let this be a lesson to you.

However, the finished build is a thing of beauty. The tempered glass windows maximize the RGB without feeling like you are in a dark room looking at the sun. It looks really classy and you can even claim it as your own. With the 360mm rad on the front, temperature and airflow were never an issue. The single fan on the back was a bit louder than I would have liked at the default setting, but this is easily remedied by the motherboard controls.

Tomahawk can definitely be considered a premium case, and at US$200, it is priced accordingly. It is in the expensive category, but not as bad as the Corsair 500D or Cooler Master SL600M. This product will appeal to users who are not impressed by snarling beasts, Gundams, or mechwarriors. These users will prefer understated elegance over flashy stuff that looks like it came out of an 80's disco (not that there's anything wrong with 80's discos).

A sturdy, solid, and casually attractive design is exactly what many will love. If you are already invested in the Razer ecosystem, this could be the next case. It doesn't reinvent the wheel in terms of functionality or design, but at the end of the day, this is a PC case and it doesn't have to be. It reminds me of the Tomahawk Elite with its inverted layout and hydraulic gullwing doors, which looked great on the 2019 trade show floor but was a step too far to appeal to the masses Feedback from the Elite was part of the reason Razer reverted to the tried and true traditional design feedback from Elite may have been part of the reason for Razer's return to its tried-and-true traditional design approach.

The Razer Tomahawk will appeal to many, but not all. If you want something cheap but effective, there are dozens of models on the market from dozens of brands, but few offer the combination of understated elegance and build quality along with Razer's RGB integration capabilities. If you don't mind splurging a bit, the Tomahawk ATX is a case you'll be happy to have on your desk.