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Cooler Master HAF 922

Nathan Edwards — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:45:00 -0500

And now for something rather similar

Cooler Master wowed us last year with its full-tower HAF 932, which garnered Maximum PC’s coveted Kick Ass Award (November 2008). Now we’ve gotten our hands on the midtower version of the HAF, the 922, and it looks awfully familiar.

Superficially, the HAF 922 is like a cross between the full-tower HAF 932 and last month’s CM Storm Sniper. In fact, HAF 922’s interior is virtually identical to the Sniper’s—it has the same fixed motherboard tray with the CPU backplate cutout, cable tie-downs, and cable-routing holes. The five 5.25-inch drive bays use the same toolless retaining mechanism, and the five 3.5-inch hard drive bays use the same slide-out toolless trays. But where the Sniper had toolless PCI locking mechanisms, the HAF opts for more-traditional thumbscrews. And the interior of the HAF, unlike the Sniper’s, is unpainted metal (although the Sniper’s motherboard tray isn’t painted, either).

Inside, the case is roomy, with plenty of space for all your parts and plenty of tie-downs for cables, though the side panels don’t bow out as much as the Sniper’s, so there’s less room behind them. Building in the HAF was a dream—in addition to the standard seven card expansion slots, Cooler Master has added an extra backplate connector on the case for installing supplemantal USB, eSATA, or audio jacks.

It's not quite as pretty as the Storm Sniper, but the HAF 922 is nearly as good, and $50 cheaper.

Also like the Sniper, the HAF comes standard with three fans: A 20cm LED front intake fan, a 20cm top fan, and a 12cm back fan. There are mounting holes for another 20cm fan on the left-side panel, and you can add a 12cm or 14cm fan to the bottom of the case, or swap the 20cm top fan for two 12cm ones. Just like in the Sniper. The only difference is that the HAF’s top fan doesn’t have LEDs and the front fan’s are red like the full-tower HAF’s, not blue like the Sniper’s.

The side panels and frame of the 19.7x22x10-inch HAF are black-painted steel, with a chunky plastic front-panel and mesh bezels. Front-panel connectors include two USB ports, eSATA, and audio. A front switch lets you turn off the fan’s LEDs.

Although the guts of the HAF 922 are solid, we wish Cooler Master had painted the interior.

Like the Storm Sniper, the HAF 922 has a mesh side window; the HAF logo is printed in black-on-black on the left panel. The top panel seems a little sparse and unfinished, but there’s room there to mount an external radiator for a water-cooling setup.

Though it lacks some of the features we’ve grown used to, like removable dust filters, and seems at times like a budget version of the Sniper, the HAF 922 is still an excellent case with plenty of airflow and room to add more fans. And because it’s $50 cheaper than the Sniper, you can buy more fans with the money you save. We HAF to recommend it.

Cooler Master Storm Sniper

Nathan Edwards — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:15:00 -0500

The funky-fresh cases keep comin'

The Cooler Master Storm Sniper, with its matte-black, mesh-covered shell and blue-glowing fans, looks like a prop from a sci-fi movie, the kind where cyber-soldiers rush into a building and start furiously hacking its defenses. And that’s awesome. It’s large for a midtower case, and looks even larger than it is, thanks to bowed-out side panels and feet that raise the bottom of the case an inch above the ground.

The Storm line is all about sturdiness, style, and portability—Cooler Master is apparently targeting LAN gamers—which it delivers. At 22.7 inches tall, 22.3 inches deep, 10 inches wide, and weighing in at more than 23 pounds, the Sniper is big-boned, but with sturdy handles on top, surprisingly luggable.

The Mesh bezels run from the bottom of the front panel all the way to the top, and the top panel has black mesh between its sturdy steel handles. The side panels are steel and bulge outward. The left side-panel has a large window covered by black mesh, to allow for air flow, and contains mounts for one 20cm or two 12cm fans.

The Sniper has a steel frame with a black ABS plastic shell, which Cooler Master says is inspired by military weapons.

The Sniper comes with front and top Force 200 blue LED fans and a rear 12cm non-LED fan. The two 20cm fans (and any additional Force 200 fans you install) are variable-speed and controlled by a knob on the front panel, which also includes a switch for the LEDs. Strangely, the 20cm fans and their controller use two-pin connectors with Molex for power, so the standard three-pin rear fan doesn’t work with the controller.

The rest of the case’s interior is reassuringly familiar. The Sniper contains five 5.25-inch drive bays and five 3.5-inch hard drive bays using Cooler Master’s by-now-familiar and efficient toolless mounting systems.

The motherboard tray extends just a bit past the confines of a standard ATX motherboard, and has cable tie-downs every few inches, perfect if you like neat routing jobs—and who doesn’t? Thanks to the side-panel bulges, there’s plenty of room behind the motherboard to route cables.

In addition to the aforementioned fan and light controller, the Sniper’s front-panel connectors include four USB 2.0 ports, mic and headphone jacks, and FireWire and eSATA.

As with the H.A.F. and ATCS 840 cases, the CM Storm Sniper includes a cutout in the motherboard tray for easy CPU cooler installs.

Though all the intake areas include dust filters, we wish Cooler Master had thought to make them easily removable. Any dust filters are better than none, but the lack of slide-out filters means you’ll have to take a vacuum to them every once in a while.

Installing a system in the Sniper is easy, thanks to its roomy interior and the large CPU cooler cutout on the motherboard tray, though you’ll definitely want to spring for a side fan, especially if you have two graphics cards.

The Storm Sniper definitely lives up to Cooler Master’s hype as a sturdy, roomy, and stylish midtower case. But given its $170 price, the lack of easily removable dust filters and the strange fan-connector choices, as well as the lack of side fans, the case is a bit disappointing. But we gotta give props where they’re due—in most respects, the Sniper is a sure shot, and it beats out a lot of similarly priced midtowers.

Help Cooler Master Design a Kickass Case, Cooler, or PSU

Paul Lilly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:45:35 -0500

Nothing to see here, just an empty, desolate post.

Cooler Master Makes Splash in Mouse Market with Twin Lasers

Paul Lilly — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:25:17 -0500

Best known for its case and cooling products, Cooler Master this week announced its first mouse, the Sentinel Advance. Not an entry-level product, Cooler Master claims the professional-grade Sentinel is two years in the making.

The biggest standout on the feature list is the super sensitive 5600 DPI sensor, which CM says is the result of using twin lasers, Doppler Effect processing, and real-time tracking technology (as opposed to software prediction).

Other goodies include customizable macros and scripts, LED colors and light effects, a modular weight system, 64k internal firmware ROM for saving your settings, and even an OLED screen for displaying customized clan logos or whatever else you want your rodent to show off.

No word yet on price or availability.

Image Credit: Cooler Master

Cooler Master Selling Super-Slim Laptop Power Adapters

Paul Lilly — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:10:47 -0500

We've long heard that good things come in small packages, and that appears to have been Cooler Master's inspiration for its SNA 95, a compact 95W power adapter for laptops. In fact, it's the "smallest 95W adapter in the world," Cooler Master claims, measuring just 2.9 x 0.7 x 5.7 inches.

The late Billy Mays (may he rest in peace) would have a field day with this one, as not only is the SNA 95 the tiniest 95W adapter you can get, but it also sports a few extras, like a USB charging port, cable management base, and nine power tips so you can use it with your iPod, smartphone, PDA, GPS, and other mobile gadgets. It also comes with a smart LED indicator.

So far, we've only spotted the SNA 95 at Sundial Micro for $70 (currently out of stock), but expect to see more retailers carrying the device in the coming weeks.

Image Credit: Cooler Master

Cooler Master Announces HAF 922 Mid Tower

Paul Lilly — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:02:02 -0500

It's been nearly six months since Cooler Master impressed us with its HAF (High Air Flow) chassis, a full tower case we deemed worthy of a 9/KickAss award (get your recap right here). Its combination of effective and quiet cooling along with build and cable management options made it a joy to work in, and Cooler Master looks to duplicate those same qualities in a smaller, more compact mid-tower package.

Cooler Master says its HAF 922 supports up to seven case fans in all, three of which support 200mm fans that can be swapped for smaller 120mm units (the case will ship with three fans - a 200mm front intake with red LED, 200mm top exhaust, and and a 120mm rear exhaust). Despite being a mid-tower, Cooler Master also says the downsized HAF will still support liquid cooling with room for an internally installed radiator.

In the tale of the tape, the new enclosure will check in at 10 (W) x 19.7 (H) x 22.2 (D) inches and weight 19.2 pounds, compared to its 932 big brother, which checks in at 9.6 (W) x 22 (H) x 22.2 (D) inches and 29.1 pounds.

We're told the HAF 922 will start shipping on May 12 with an MSRP of $130.

Image Credit: Cooler Master

Cooler Master V8

David Murphy — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:40:00 -0600

Cooler Master’s V8 CPU cooler offsets a somewhat time-consuming installation process with near-record-setting performance for an air cooler. The sleek aluminum cooler’s 12cm fan sits between two heatsinks on the device, sparing fingers from the accidental nip of its 800rpm-to-1,800rpm variable fan.

The V8’s installation process is similar to that of most other CPU coolers, but with a few more screws involved. On an Intel platform, you start by attaching two retention plates to the cooler itself. You then remove the motherboard from your case and flip it upside-down, matching the ends of the cooler’s four retention screws with the mobo’s holes. You balance this contraption in your lap while using four large nuts to secure this beast of a device in place. You can also use an included backplane to mount the device, but we found the nut method to be far easier.

The 16-centimeter-tall V8 emits a slight red glow when you power up your machine. You adjust the speeds of the included fan using a knob that you can secure to your PC using an included PCI bracket. At its lowest setting, the cooler easily outperforms a typical Intel stock cooler and comes within a few degrees of our top air cooler, Thermaltake’s DuOrb. Cranking the V8 to its highest setting makes for a bit more noise than the DuOrb but produces only a meager two-degree increase in cooling performance on both our idle and burn tests.

This performance, nevertheless, places the V8 in the top echelon of coolers we have tested—second place, to be exact. The installation process isn’t a picnic, but we’ve experienced worse. All and all, it’s a great addition to a machine—both aesthetically and thermally.

Cooler Master HAF

David Murphy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:05:49 -0600

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.

The industrial look of Cooler Master’s HAF is accentuated by a single red LED fan. Lighting enthusiasts take note: It doesn’t add a lot of glow to the middle of the case.

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.