Maximum PC

So I currently have the CM690 and then I opened up the wonderful January Issue of MaximumPC to find a nice full page add on the new upcoming CM690 II Advanced which will be showcased in January @ CES

I love the CM690 and I cant wait to check out this new version. So who else is waiting for this.

Link
News Link

The 690 is probably the best case out there for the money. No doubt.

But this seems to be glaming it up and riding the coat-tails of it's fame...with nothing worth while done to it. I'm sure drilling two holes and painting more flat black on it will cost us $50 more; thus ruining it's appeal.

I ain't waiting on it. I can rattle can more black on a standard 690 for $1.38 and a uni-bit has two holes drilled for free. IF that's all they're leaking, it's for the birds. I'd be willing to bet that this new case will be the same thing, but $40 more.
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I absolutely DESPISE case manufactures stating their cases are "water ready" because they put two holes on them. All cases are water ready. All of them. Them holes are for tools that put crap on the outside of the case or set them on the desk. There's absolutely no reason a rad can't fit inside the 690 or any other case for that matter. But put two 5/8" holes in it with some rubber and it's "For the water cooling gurus". Bullshit.

Nice that MPC gave it props though. They ripped the CM 690 apart in their official review and never went back to correct it. Best selling case, they ripped it. Think it got a "4", and now they hype the second coming? Odd isn't it?

+1 to ALL of that. Especially MaxPC's stupid review. they say the cable management system can block sideways connectors... those clips can be removed, repositioned, or a loop can be skipped. They dinged the HDD connectors... they're one of the easiest tool-less drive bays I've found. Also, I almost laughed when they criticized it for CM putting a 120mm fans slot where the PSU goes- I just realized why they said that. They didn't realize that the slot was for the PSU to go right-side up, and placed it upside-down, effectively rendering that fan slot useless. LOL.

Ya. I was in internet-rage-mode back then and was just picking it apart piece by piece. The HDD brackets were the most fun after taking a video of the 9yo girl doing it in 5 seconds and the grown geek basically saying it was near impossible.

Basic use of tools were challenged as well. No full sized power supply would fit due to the bottom fan in front of it. Stuck a huge PCP&C in there and had plenty of room. Even tried a Modular unit that was even .25" longer and it was just getting ready to touch the fan bracket. I just have no idea where this statement came from, other than "The ether". A ruler would have been nice.

Aaaaaanyway....

I'm loosing hope in cases lately. It just seems I find a case worth really getting into every 4 years; and that's way too long. The old Chieftec Soho/Dragons, Cooler Master ATC alloy cases, CM Stacker (Original), Silverstone TJ09, and the CM 690. That's all of the ATX cases I just love and judge others upon. When was the TJ09 released? Dream Machine '06 and was the last case I've bought for myself.

I don't want a case to be bling'd up out of the box. I want it to be fully functional and work FOR me. The bling is in the hardware or modding. These manufactures are sticking to the same ol' crap and nothing new. Stacker became some other creature, TJ-09 became a useless stealth that I wouldn't have within 10ft of my computer room, and now the 690 is getting a hairdo. It's like they find something good, and then fix it until it's broke.

I agree, but disagree at the same time.

If they'd stop discontinuing my favourite cases, I wouldn't need any new ones! Seriously .. how long have we been building with ATX cases? My Antec, whose model number I honestly can't recall, served me faithfully from mid-2000 until this fall. The only reason I don't have it is that it was huge and heavy and not worth the space in the trailer for the move across the country.

Now I'm looking to buy another case and I feel cheap. The last one I bought lasted nine years ... certainly longer than any other single piece of PC hardware I've ever purchased. Despite that, I'm having trouble pulling the trigger on any case that costs more than $100.

$300 on an i7 920 that I'll replace in a year? Sure. $180 on a video card .. even though I'm not a gamer? Absolutely. $200 on a case that'll last another 8-10 years? Difficult.

Weird, eh?

Not weird at all. I look at cases the same way. It's not going to hold one computer; it's going to have a lot of different stuff shoved in it and it's got to be practical. Simple, elegant, easy to work in: that's the recipe for a long and enjoyable life with a case. The last thing I want to do is build a new box every time I switch a few parts. I upgrade incrementally, and that case is the fulcrum...it's the one thing that remains constant.

Antec from around 2000, big and heavy, and lasts forever? Sounds like the SOHO, which is really a Chieftec Dragon. Look like this?

One of the greatest of all time, if not #1 on that list, and I think it had cost $80. It's the benchmark for cases still today. I didn't ditch it until I met the original stacker.

The CM690 was on sale the first time I got it. Free shipping, $25 off, and ended up to be about $50 (if not lower). It's got everything most need and a pretty kick ass layout. It's not blinged out and is just a great little tower to build in. It's sexy enough for me, but take that with a grain of salt. I love functional cases overall and looks are pretty much my own tastes. I'm not sure if it'll last 10 years since it has a lot of plastic on the outside, but it might. We'll find out in 8 more years

I like the TJ09 (I hate doors after the SOHO/Dragon or the TJ10 would get a nod), but it has it's issues. It's kind of too specific in it's design. It either works for you out of the box, or you mod the crap out of it to make it work out in the long run. The Lian Li 2200(?) also suffered from being too specific in the way it was to be built. It is good, but still restrictive in freewill building methods.

I'm just always comparing it to the OG stacker that wasn't so closed down. You want a 120mm rad? In the back. 2x120? In the bottom. 3x120? In the front. There was just so much freedom to build in the stacker that isn't there on the TJ09. A lot of that is due to the front of the stacker being entirely open. It's the Lego blocks of computer cases, and still run it as my left hand man.

Other than those, I just see cases as being basically the same ATX boxes; just with different bezels and bolt-on parts. They're all the same and have this little 8" section on the front/bottom that they toy with to make it different, or maybe some rearranging on the side panel.

Ha! That is my case, minus my lousy black rattle can spray paint and horribly amateur side window I cut into it. Nice work, Chum.

I'm looking around for a cheap / on sale CM690 for my post-xmas i7 build ... seems like the best case in my cheap price range. I really like the Stacker but I can't find one locally .. and shipping a case is horrendously expensive.

LOL...just sounded exactly like you described. 9 years man...just about to be a decade ago! I had no idea what I was doing back then but it was forgiving enough of a case to still get by. Instead of trying to match colors, I just used some Ford Blue engine paint and that still stands out to me. That's also back when I thought sound activated Cold Cathodes were kick ass for my late night Megadeth spaz fests. But ya...that is one case I'll never trash nor give away. That's the Hall Of Fame case by all and any means.

I think the RC-690 is the same as the CM-690 if you're looking around. I've never seen one in any brick and mortar store besides Fry's, and even then it was tore apart by idiots breaking shit off of it. Shipping is nuts, but perhaps you have a local store that'll get it for ya for about $10 more?

The 690 was on sale at the egg for $60 and free shipping a while ago, sadly no longer. I actually plan to retire my Thermaltake Shark for one this year. I thought long and hard and I really don't need a full tower, especially one as mediocre as my shark. It's not bad per se, its just not good either. I got it way back in 2005 for $80 and it seemed nice but the airflow is poor and the side vents let dust in like you wouldn't believe. I plan to stick two of these in the 690 because I'm bored to death of the old black case/blue lights scheme.

rattle can painting done right looks fine. With careful priming and application, and a clear coat to finish, it can look quite good. Not as good as airbrushing done right of course.

Black case red lights is the best looking case combo IMO. My case is black/blue, and being a relative newcomer to building (as opposed to you guys at least) I haven't really gotten tired of that scheme, but my brother's red/black scheme looks amazing.

Make your own advanced 690 for $73!

Lulz...agree dude. Don't forget the ScotchBrite though. Sure does a dandy job scuffing up the bare metal.

Blue has been around a bit too much hasn't it? Seems like it's getting harder to excape it as well. We can all cure a case's color scheme but not so much the hardware to go in it. MSI, Gigabyte, Asus...they're all blue motherboards. Green or Tan are too 80's, and Red's about the only other option. If one wanted a Blue theme, red ATI cards just looked out of place. I just think they need to be more creative with colors than black, red, or blue.

Remember the white motherboard? There's been purple/oxblood, orange, and teal/panache before too. All looked slick IMO.

A lot of Asus boards are black, which looks positively badass. My P5Q3 is black, and my XFX 4870 is a black PCB with a red shroud, my PSU is black, my RAM has red heat spreaders. Being awesomely color coordinated wasn't high on my priority list, it just turned out that way, and it's pretty darned awesome looking.
My second machine has a red MSI board, which looks cool but the green RAM and blue video card PCB kinda ruins it. No big deal though, performance>looks.

I agree red/black looks the best i think,my current build has that scheme with black WC tubes also which looks pretty good IMHO.My other rigs all have black/blue which i am sick of tbh.

Ya, Asus has pretty much been black for a while now. But not now. Hard to find any P55/x58 board that isn't blue. When going for a Red/Green theme...it's not so easy. At least the P6T Deluxe is pretty universal.

Ye kinda sucks all of gigabyts boards are blue ,thankfully my ud3r p55 is dark blue and looks black in my case.
I do miss my beautiful dfi blood in its all red glory

I've always hated the original CoolerMaster 690 case's design. Now the advanced version looks really good!

Figures.

Spot the differences for us all, cause you're reading something we're not

With the original 690 I didn't like how the top was so much rounder than the bottom. With the advanced version, the top and the bottom are more symmetrical, the bottom looks more rugged, and the mesh grill holes are bigger. The top is less slanted, the air vents are vertical instead of diagonal.

So 10° radius really bothered you that much? Cause that's all I see then.

The vents were dictated by folks that swore they need a fan over their video cards. It's been moved because I guess now it "looks" funny. And larger mesh is also visual enhancements. Fans don't go there, and air doesn't go there. It's just bigger holes.

Still looks like the same case, new bezel...and that's what we've been talking about. The USB and all that is still on top. That's still cool? Then it sits on the floor. Oh wait, the buttons are on the bottom, so it's suppose to be on the desk. Someone's doing exercise to work with this thing, but they rounded off the corners just for you.