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Cooler Master HAF X Full-Tower Case

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Need a full tower case you can cram a bunch of hardware into? If you answered "yes" to that question, head on over to Tweaknews and check out their review of the Cooler Master HAF X case.

Cooler Master made a big splash with the introduction of the original HAF chassis, and they have continued to develop and refine the design, resulting in the HAF X that we've seen today. Sporting a similar military/industrial look, the HAF X adds some convenience features and improved cooling, particularly with regard to multi-graphic card solutions.
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That's a really nice case. CM's can be big huge massive and suck to carry around to LAN's, but they're SOOOO roomy. Those wheels have been in dire need of an upgrade for some time now. I'd like to see some big ol rollerblade type jobbies...w/ suspension for bumps!
 
I just got this case, to replace a Corsair 600T. Spent all day installing my main system in it yesterday. I bought a 200mm CM Red LED fan with it. So I put the extra fan up top...
HAF-X%20007.JPG

At least this case can keep my video cards fairly cool. (I installed the SLI Duct.)
 
It's probably just me, but I'm getting sick of all the mesh. I want to replace my antec p150 that both the power and reset buttons have broken off of, but do I buy now or wait for the usb3 header spec to be adopted and put in cases?
 
I went from a rather cramped mid-tower to a Coolermaster HAF-932 about 8 months ago. I've never regretted it. The HAF cases may be physically huge and a little pricey, but they do exactly what they're designed to do - allow high air flow and a lot of breathing room for the components. My board temp dropped 8 degrees Celsius, and my case is silent now. I run all air-cooled, and right now I'm running 26c CPU and 31c on the board, ambient is 22.2c 50% relative humidity. I prefer 26.6 ambient - yes I like hot conditions - but it is winter, so I cannot do much about the colder ambient temperatures. Good for the computer, but not as pleasant for me. CPU is Opteron 175 overclocked from 2.2GHz to 2.64 GHz, motherboard is Asus A8N-SLI Premium. Heatsink is Thermalright XP-120 with a 75CFM 120mm fan, video card is MSI GeForce GTX-260. Video temperature is 41.1c. Not the most impressive system by today's standards, but before I moved my components into this case my board temperature was hitting 40c at idle. If you prefer water cooling they're very easy to work with. If you're like me and prefer air cooling but like a warmer environment these cases work insanely well.
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
I am just sick of all these HAF cases... gross
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Haha...I would definitely appreciate a more streamlined P182ish look w/ the HAF functionality. It's not that hard...just make it wide enough.

The big fan's probably cool very well, but having an open top for drinks and what not to spill into kinda sucks. Also, the side fan hides most of the internals!
 
I love my HAF X. You can even cram a CM 230mm fan on the side and put the extra 200mm on the top. Thing moves a couple hundred CFM.
 
Jodiuh said:
Haha...I would definitely appreciate a more streamlined P182ish look w/ the HAF functionality. It's not that hard...just make it wide enough.
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I just don't understand why in that article they put "Pros: - Attractive" :confused:

Attractive is such a subjective word... to whom is this case attractive? what makes it attractive? all the plastic? or maybe it is the strange forms and shapes that are all over the case. the doors aren't even smooth/flat. case looks like a brick house that someone built without cutting the bricks to length.

- Warning - this is coming from a guy that likes simple and metal and smooth and straight lines and good engineering... something this case has nothing of and something my CC700D has everything of. or something P180 or like Antec cases have, yes.

I am sure the fans are great, but really 4 200+mm fans.... I wish they made this case less ugly and there was a copper 200mm radiator on the market.
 
I was thinking about either one of the HAF offerings or some newer Antec cases for my latest build. I went with the Antec D-35 because I'm not a fan of a full mesh front. The insides of the HAF are awesome though.
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
Attractive is such a subjective word... to whom is this case attractive? what makes it attractive?
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That is quite subjective, yes. I happen to like the appearance of the HAF series of cases, so I'll chime in. The features, first of all, are what impressed me. It does what I want and need it to do in the environment I prefer. As for the appearance, I do like all the mesh on my 932. It's there to let the air through. The case has a bit of a futuristic military look to it. I've seen a HAF case painted up in camo and all it was missing was the carry handle on the top to complete the effect. The strange forms and shapes, as you put it, add to that rugged effect for appearance. It is a large sturdy case, and it looks like a large sturdy case. It may not be "pretty" by some standards but it certainly does get the job done.

Jodiuh said:
The big fan's probably cool very well, but having an open top for drinks and what not to spill into kinda sucks. Also, the side fan hides most of the internals!
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The simple solution is don't keep open containers of liquid near the computer. The fans do work extremely well. As for hiding the internals... that's a trade. Do you want/need the airflow, or do you prefer to stare at the guts of your machine? If you're into showing your components at LANs or Quakecon or whatever, that's certainly going to cut down on visibility. The 932 has no window at all, the HAF-X has at least some visibility. I don't look at the guts of the machine unless I'm working on it with the side removed so visibility was never a concern for me.

The HAF series is definitely not for everyone, but that's why there's a large selection of cases on the market, no? :)
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
I just don't understand why in that article they put "Pros: - Attractive" :confused:

Attractive is such a subjective word... to whom is this case attractive? what makes it attractive? all the plastic? or maybe it is the strange forms and shapes that are all over the case. the doors aren't even smooth/flat. case looks like a brick house that someone built without cutting the bricks to length.

- Warning - this is coming from a guy that likes simple and metal and smooth and straight lines and good engineering... something this case has nothing of and something my CC700D has everything of. or something P180 or like Antec cases have, yes.

I am sure the fans are great, but really 4 200+mm fans.... I wish they made this case less ugly and there was a copper 200mm radiator on the market.
Click to expand...

Apparently what we may think is "Good Engineering" is also rather subjective. I have heard that the Corsair 800D and 700D are both "hot boxes" with rather pathetic airflow. I thought that the Corsair 600T would be different. Yet when I actually purchased one I could barely keep a single GTX-275 video card cooled well enough for it to be stable. So, in hind sight, I give far more credence to the guy who said that the Corsair cases are not designed with proper ventilation.

Personally, I will chose "Function" over "Form" any day. That means I don't care about Windows, and bright LED fans, if they mean I won't have good cooling. Therefor when I see "Mesh" I don't see an aesthetic blunder. I see a Functional Feature which I require in order to keep my hardware running.

In the past few years I've now purchased 4 Cooler Master cases. A CM Stacker 831. A CM Storm Sniper, which was rather odd looking but still performs well with an added 230mm fan in the side panel. A CM HAF 932, which when 4 120mm fans are used in the side panel, is capable of keeping ANY set of video cards cool... And now the HAF-X, which is actually a slight step backward in cooling SLI video cards compared to the HAF 932.

In short All my Cooler Master cases are "keepers". Yes the mesh does mean that dust gets into the case. And I live in a very dusty environment. I just clean out my computers once a month and live with it. In fact the HAF-X had fine filter screens, behind the mesh, which I removed to improve my airflow. Because while they do keep out some of the dust. They don't eliminate all of the dust. Instead they were acting as a restriction.

In conclusion, I cannot see myself ever buying another Corsair case. Corsair makes Excellent memory, and wonderful SSDs. But I don't really care for their other products as they don't seem to be that well "engineered" to me. Any of you, on the other hand, are completely free to buy whatever you want... Its your money. And these opinions are just my 2¢ worth.
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
I am sure the fans are great, but really 4 200+mm fans.... I wish they made this case less ugly and there was a copper 200mm radiator on the market.
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At a recent LAN party, I got a chance to compare a pair of PC's.

i5 760 @ 4.0 (Venomous X)
GTX 460 1GB @ 850
Stacker 810 (removed mesh filters in front and grills in rear)
3 intake and 2 middle Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM
2 exhaust Arctic Fan 12's

i7 920 @ 3.6 (Noctua 14 dual tower thingy)
GTX 580 Stock
P180
Stock fans @ medium speeds

You'd think the 2nd machine'd be roasting, but the temps were fine. Both machines were quiet and although you could see inside the Stacker, the P180 looked better in every way.
 
I have used a lot of cases, but I think the best case for the price, size, and features is the azza hurrican 2000. Before you buy a case, take a look at the azza.
 
I have a HAF 932 and love it. I don't care to see the inside of my PCs, yet I understand others do. I'm not a big fan of the HAF X. I like it's PSU cover and a few other things it does. But I don't like how they cut back on the cooling options for the door just to get that window on there. I also like the option to have to PSUs in my case.

That Azza Hurrican 2000 is amazing and not over priced. It might be the case for my next build.

Blue: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517010
Red: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517011
 
Yeah, the Lian Li's out in space. But I've seen the Fortress for less than $200 before. While still approaching madness, it's borderline.
 
The Silverstone looks pretty decent. The bottom-to-top cooling scheme looks like it would work fairly well, and the inside looks plenty roomy. I'd say if someone wanted a smooth case with a huge window to show off their computer's guts and still have good cooling that's a pretty nice pick. If I was building a "show piece" machine I'd certainly consider that one. Knock $100 off the price and I'd recommend it to people without hesitation. It's just a bit too pricey at $249.

The Lian Li... There are only three expansion bays in the front...? For a $340 case, I'd expect more options. To me, the Lian Li is very ugly and grossly out of proportion, and I could complain about that case as much as Nickbaldwin86 complains about the appearance of the HAF cases. I guess it just shows how tastes can vary. :)
 
No, it doesn't..that Lili's too funky for me after all. Friend of mine has a narrow Lili and everything's all cramped up, despite being taller than the Empire State Building.

If that SS went for $150, I'd bite. Its just so versatile, roomy, and sleek. Its a trifecta of win.
 
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