On June 10^th, 2003, I called Steven Wu at Thermaltake to find out if there were any updates to their investigation.  He told me that they had finally managed to obtain a bus-powered 1394 camera, and that when they plugged it in to their test system, the camera let the magic smoke out and burned up.  That was the first time Thermaltake has acknowledged that they themselves had seen the problem.  He also told me that Taiwan's Research and Development lab said there was nothing wrong with the cable or connector and that they needed to deal with this problem themselves.  Steven told me that the problem's basically out of his hands now, and he recommends I speak with his supervisor (Weller Chen) about the problem and to get more information regarding Taiwan's response.  I informed Steven that I was not going to wait any longer for Thermaltake to address the problem, and that I got the impression that they were hoping I would just "eventually go away".  I told them I was no longer going to keep my mouth shut about the problem, and that I would be contacting anyone and everyone who reviewed or recommended the case, including any web site that gave the case a so-called "Editor's choice award."  There's been no other communications from Thermaltake since then, and I still have yet to hear from Weller, Steven's so-called "supervisor" who has successfully managed to avoid me so far.

There's been no action on Thermaltake's part to remedy this problem or to take care of those customers affected by it.  They didn't even offer me a replacement cable, even after I took a week off from work to drive down to Los Angeles and show them the problem IN PERSON.  Nor have they made any effort whatsoever to recall this defective part.  They haven't even posted a notice on their web site telling people about the defect or how to test for it!

That's some FINE customer service, isn't it?  I wonder how many people have to burn up their equipment before they'll claim responsibility for their shoddy workmanship?

We're getting a great response from our campaign so far.  After ongoing discussions about this problem on several online forums, I received a VERY interesting reply from "Bobby" in the Overclockers.com forum who informed me that Enermax is now selling a case that's nearly identical to the Xaser III case.  It has the same I/O interface on the top, and the same interconnection cable inside.  The case is the Enermax CS-10181B, and pictures of it can be found HERE.  We're trying to find out if it shares the same wiring defect as the Xaser III.  If this case turns out to have the same wiring defect as the Xaser III, the scope and impact of the problem could increase several fold.  After seeing this case, I'm no longer sure who "really" makes this case - who the original OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) is.  Thanks for the info, Bobby!

Also found out today that Casetek International is more than likely the OEM for both the  Thermaltake and the Enermax cases.  They sell the following cases, all of which have the same, identical I/O panel on the top of the case, as well as the same internal connection cable.

We don't know yet if these cases share the same flaw as the Thermaltake Xaser III, and I would be VERY surprised if they did.  However, this may be the origin of the wiring errors in the Thermaltake Xaser III case.  Once again, my sincerest thanks to Bobby in the Overclockers forum for the information!

WOW!  What a week.  I'm in the process of moving right now, so trying to keep the web site updated with current information is quite a challenge.  Sorry for any delays.

Weller Chen from Thermaltake finally contacted me for the first time on July 1, 2003 to discuss the problem.  Thermaltake has officially acknowledged the 1394 Wiring Defect !   Please see the new "What To Do" page that addresses this new information and what you need to do if you're affected by it.  In addition, I updated several more pictures that I felt weren't clear enough, and they can be found on the "Proof" page.  They include high-resolution photographs of BOTH sides of the I/O connection header (Top and Bottom) as well as a better picture of the I/O printed circuit board and motherboard connection pins.  I hope they help!  I know they're huge, but accuracy is paramount as far as I'm concerned.

After all the time we've invested in researching, investigating and documenting this defect over the past several months, I'm pleased to announce that Thermaltake finally redeemed themselves, although they STILL aren't making any effort to officially announce this problem exists.  I received a check from them on August 5, 2003 that completely covered the cost of ALL the equipment that was destroyed when we stumbled across this problem.  I thought this day would never come, and I remain stunned even as I type this.  More details on this when I start breathing again...
 

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My sincerest apologies to all of you who have sent me status mails and questions regarding this issue.  I have been away for several months and unable to tend to your inquiries regarding this issue.  Several E-mail I've received from people affected by this problem suggests that Thermaltake is ignoring the problem by not replying to their customers' E-mail.  All I can tell you is this: DO NOT GIVE UP.  I honestly think they're hoping that the majority of people will either get tired of waiting for a reply or they'll just disregard the issue completely.  I now have positive confirmation from 4 people other than myself that Thermaltake has paid for damages done to their equipment as a result of this defect.  In several other E-mails I received, people have received replacement cables from Thermakltake sent via 2nd-day air.  In some cases, Thermaltake's response was immediate.  However, it also looks like Thermaltake's completely ignoring other people for whatever reason.  In either case, I urge you to tell others about your experience, especially those people who write reviews for Thermaltake products.  Tom's Hardware is a good place to start, as is the overclocker's forum.  Whatever you do, don't allow them to get away with selling you defective hardware - Don't allow them to get away with disregarding you.  Hold them accountable for both their products and services.

Personal Comment: "It's now April 2004, more than a year after my wife and I found this problem, and STILL Thermaltake and the other affected companies, such as Enermax, don't appear to be making any kind of noticeable effort to officially claim responsibility for the defect and take steps necessary to inform their customers, resellers or distributors of this problem - even though they are still selling defective cases!  I am amazed that they can continue to harm themselves, their business and their customers in this way.  Although several people including myself have received recompense for the damage caused by the defect, there's still a lot more that needs to be done.  I often wonder how many people who aren't Internet-savvy or computer-literate have this problem and what they're thinking may have caused it.  They have never seen or heard of this web site, and probably just attribute their problems to bad peripherals or their own ignorance.  It truly pains me to consider the full implications of this kind of defect and the number of people it may harm, and I'm appalled that the companies responsible for the problem have the audacity to disregard the issue completely by not taking every step possible to inform consumers that the problem exists.  I urge anyone impacted by this problem to do whatever it takes to get your problems addressed.  Do not let them get away with neglecting you!"

As of this writing, 4 other people have told me that they have received checks from Thermaltake to cover the cost of replacing or repairing their damaged equipment.  One gentleman received more than $1,600.00.

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I continue to receive e-mails from people telling me that Thermaltake isn't replying to their requests for help regarding this issue.  In several cases, they aren't getting any replies at all.  To my knowledge, Thermaltake hasn't taken any steps whatsoever to notify their customers of this problem.  No web site notifications, no public announcements, no e-mails, nothing.  If you're one of the people who's having a hard time trying to get through to Thermaltake, all I can say is this: DON'T STOP NAGGING THEM!  And don't forget to hound them on the Telephone, too!  I seriously believe that if I hadn't taken the time off work to drive down to L.A. from Seattle and show this problem to them in person that they would not have compensated me for my loss.  While they did eventually send me a check for the damage, they did not compensate me for my trip expenses which ended up costing me nearly twice what I lost in parts.  I do, however, have the satisfaction of knowing that this web site has helped quite a few people both learn about and avoid the problem...  That alone makes it worth the trip for me.

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December 2005