Review: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower Case

[Oneslowz28]

A new story entry has been added:

Review: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower Case


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/slaveofconvention/banners/coolermaster/hafx.png (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/frontpage/?q=Cooler_Master+_HAF_X)
By: Charles Gantt( Oneslowz28 )
A few years ago the Full Tower form factor was the go to size for those enthusiast who wished to cram the most into their PC, then something happened and we saw a move toward more small, efficient PCs. The large PC case trend has returned, mainly due to the fact that component size has increased, component numbers have increased, and cooling solutions have grown larger, all of which require a full tower case. Today I take a look at one of those full tower cases.

[Trace]

Best review yet!

[slaveofconvention]

Just waiting for your paypal details so I can send you the shipping cost for me.... :p

[Snowman]

Was absolutely in love and ready to buy one and a radiator and CPU block until I saw the price tag. Anniversary is in two weeks and the youngest son's birthday is labor day so I don't see it in the budget.

[x88x]

Good review for a great case. I like that even with the dual 200mm fan mounts on the top they still included mounts for radiators, and even put enough space between the top of the case and the MBB that you can have a thick rad and fans. :D

EDIT:
I can't help but notice that this review isn't on Cooler Master's 'Reviews' page for the HAF X though. :(
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2988

[Oneslowz28]

It will get there some time today I think. Since this was published on Saturday morning I don't think they have seen it yet.

I absolutely love how much room this case has, I think that Monsta you have would fit above the motherboard.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that unlike the other full tower HAF cases, the HAF X does not have a predefined fill-port location in the top. I really wanted to put my fill port in the top of the case, but there was no where to mount it. So I tucked it away in the top two 5.25" bays with enough slack to pull it out the side and fill.

[x88x]

I absolutely love how much room this case has, I think that Monsta you have would fit above the motherboard.

I won't say no, not having seen the case in person, but I don't think so. Looking at your pics, it looks like there's just barely enough space for an SR-1 series rad and a layer of 25mm fans, so about 80mm of space. The Monsta is 104.2mm thick, so actually, looking at the numbers, I'm gonna go ahead and say no, it wouldn't fit. For context, the Monsta is about the same thickness as a GTX (54mm) or SR-1 (55.7mm) series rad with a standard 25mm thick fan on each side. I was thinking this was right, and looking at the numbers it's almost exactly right. And of course you have to put fans on both sides of it as well, no sense wasting all that rad space. ;)

This should give a good idea of the comparison. That's my old GTX280 rad on top and standard 140x25mm fans in between and on top.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/zeus_79.jpg

[Oneslowz28]

Yea that monster is pretty huge.

The Rad I have installed is a SR1 240...

http://thebestcasescenario.com/oneslowz28/front_page/cmHAFX/IMG_9599.jpg
http://thebestcasescenario.com/oneslowz28/front_page/cmHAFX/install/IMG_9795.jpg

.....and one with out the fans. I think you are right. Even with out fans I don't think it would fit. You could cut the supports out and come up with a new way to mount it. That would gain you an additional 2". Making things fit is what we modders do right? One thing that would be a problem is that when I have tall ram sticks in sucks as the GEIL EVO ONE that I reviewed a few weeks back, with the fans being so close, I had to use a flat head screw driver to unlock the ram clips.

http://thebestcasescenario.com/oneslowz28/front_page/cmHAFX/IMG_9617.jpg

[Snowman]

No offense to this awesome case but just looking at the HAF 932 and this case is the front panel set up and the usb3 compatibility. Being that I am never on the cutting edge and right now I don't really have a need for usb3 I am wondering if the HAF 932 wouldn't serve purpose to those of us looking for this much functionality with a bit lower price tag. Here is the HAF 932 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160) I was looking at.

[Oneslowz28]

The 932 does not have as much space above the motherboard as the X. Trace just reviewed the 932 a few weeks back http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/frontpage/?q=node/530

[x88x]

It looks like the 932 also only has space for a single 200mm fan on top.

[Snowman]

I am only planning on LC'ing the cpu so not a huge deal, but very good point. But mr. dremel could very well fix that.

[slaveofconvention]

mr. dremel could very well fix that.

Mr. Dremel can fix ANYTHING!!! :p