Cooler Master’s newest HAF (High Air Flow) chassis is the company’s magnum opus. It successfully unifies the best bits and pieces from a wide variety of Cooler Master’s previous cases under one roof. But more than that, the HAF features a number of unique and helpful additions that truly raise the bar for case design.
The most noticeable of these improvements is the HAF’s centerpiece: case cooling. A total of three 23cm fans are screwed into the top, front, and side of the HAF, which allows the fans to circulate air even when they’re running at just 700rpm. This solution balances increased air flow with acceptable noise levels. But you can always remove the case’s top and side-panel fans to add smaller, higher-powered varieties if you so choose.
The 22.7”x9”x21.5” HAF allows for a number of customization options: There’s plenty of room for an ATX or EATX motherboard, six 5.25-inch devices, five hard drives, and two power supplies (or one power supply and a two- or three-bay internal water-cooling radiator). It’s rare to see a case offer this many options.
Much of the HAF’s success can be traced to the inclusion of features that are in other Cooler Master cases. The 5.25-inch bays feature the same push-button locking mechanisms used in the company’s Cosmos line of cases, and the tool-free PCI retention tabs are identical to those found in Cooler Master’s 690 chassis. However, the plastic hard-drive holders are an upgrade over the 690’s flimsy mounting racks.
The case weaves these great elements together alongside new improvements. Our favorite is the large hole in the motherboard tray that lets you add or remove CPU backplanes without having to disassemble the entire machine. The HAF also comes with a hole on top of the case for filling water-cooling reservoirs. Cooler Master covers this area with a piece of rubber, allowing it to double as a handy slip-proof storage area. It’s just one more example of great detail work.
We do have a few criticisms: We’d love to be able to control the fans’ speeds with a built-in hardware controller instead of our BIOS, and reactions on the aesthetics of the case were mixed—some editors hated the combination grill and window side panel, some loved it. Overall, the case uses only its front fan for LED lighting. One more lighting source would help improve the HAF’s inner aesthetics.
Regardless, Cooler Master’s new chassis is definitely not full of hot air.
Top-notch (and quiet) cooling, motherboard backplane hole, totally tool-free.
Lacks a fan controller; could use a bit more LED lighting on the inside.
braincalra
January 21, 2011 at 1:37pm
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BeVar
January 16, 2011 at 11:47am
Just love this case. I've got four of them now. They make great game machines. I am building a server with ten 2tb hard drives right now. The only mod I had to make was to switch out the oem wheels with "Chief" wheels from directron @ 12 bucks.
I think Cooler Master is now powder coating the inside and hopefully I can get them to offer some beefier wheels. My personal machine's wheels actually fell apart from the weight with eight hard drives in it
another great article by TheMurph.
noddle merry
January 10, 2011 at 10:56pm
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cylax arnold
December 30, 2010 at 10:37pm
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blueaball
February 15, 2009 at 7:11pm
Why do people complain about an awesome case, that has no major flaws, and YOU can fix these "mediocre" problems with your own cash, the way you want it, not the company telling you what you have to chose. THIS CASE REALLY IS A MODDER CASE. KICK ASS!!!
maniacm0nk3y
March 13, 2009 at 7:14am
I love this case but the only minor flaw is the hard drive cages...they still can't silent hard drives. Maybe very loud ones, but the headers (read heads?) on the hard drives are still audible.
killerxx7
November 10, 2008 at 1:02pm
that thing looks like some scrap metal mashed together !!id take my tagan EL-DIABLO eny day over that thing!!
Cabal468
November 17, 2008 at 12:42pm
That look is the reason I chose the case...it has a kind of gothic industrial retro-futuristic look.
sirphunkee
November 10, 2008 at 12:28pm
As awesome as this case is, I'm going to wait to decide what to spend on until I can see/touch coolermaster's ATCS 840 case that's coming out later this month:
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=18&product_id=2870product_id=2810
TheMurph
November 11, 2008 at 3:43pm
I've played around with it, and my non-Maximum PC opinion is that the HAF offers more functionality than the ATCS 840. The latter is a solid case, but it doesn't come with nearly as much cooling power as the HAF.
sirphunkee
November 11, 2008 at 9:06pm
Thanks Dave. I've got a list of reasons why each of them might be right for me, I think it will come down to whichever one hits the aesthetic sweet spot once I can see them both in person.
Talcum X
November 10, 2008 at 12:34pm
But it's what's inside that counts.
I may build my Wife's new rig with the HAF, but that's not till next year or so.
***********
Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
"In Ireland, there are more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin
sirphunkee
November 10, 2008 at 12:24pm
All the air intakes are filtered (including the one on the bottom)...another great feature of some coolermaster cases. I still have, and swear by, my coolermaster praetorian 730 case, because they're the best at simple, functional designs that have key features like filtered intakes and removable motherboard trays.
Cabal468
November 10, 2008 at 10:12am
I have this case and it makes cable management REALLY easy even for someone as cable-management-incapable as me. The inside of my other computer looks like a a rats nest but you can actually see the motherboard through the window of my HAF computer.
chris3244
March 08, 2011 at 11:24pm
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