At first glance I would have thought that the doors would be servo operated, I guess a little modding can make that happen though. Nice case and great review.
Just looking through the pics of that case in the reveiw and reading what was said about it, I got thinking about the Coolermaster ATC-201 I have owned for years and I use as my main system case. Is it me or has the build quality from coolermaster decreased a little in the past couple of years?
I ask this as things like the fitted fans in mine all had wire grills on them inside and out and the blanking plates were all screw in (with smooth edges I might add). It has a removable motherboard tray and although there is room for 6 hard drives in the bays, only 4 are mounted as to give room for proper airflow from the intakes on the front.
Ok so I paid in the region of £140 for it over 3 years ago and it didn't include things like cooling ducts or windows (I wish I could find a replacement blank panel for mine) but I still get the feeling that it is put together a lot better than the newer cases from them.
Although all things said, it does look kinda nice and those sideways mounted hard drives are going to be a hell of a lot easier to get at than mine.
Originally Posted by Almightyrastus Just looking through the pics of that case in the reveiw and reading what was said about it, I got thinking about the Coolermaster ATC-201 I have owned for years and I use as my main system case. Is it me or has the build quality from coolermaster decreased a little in the past couple of years?
I ask this as things like the fitted fans in mine all had wire grills on them inside and out and the blanking plates were all screw in (with smooth edges I might add). It has a removable motherboard tray and although there is room for 6 hard drives in the bays, only 4 are mounted as to give room for proper airflow from the intakes on the front.
Ok so I paid in the region of £140 for it over 3 years ago and it didn't include things like cooling ducts or windows (I wish I could find a replacement blank panel for mine) but I still get the feeling that it is put together a lot better than the newer cases from them.
Although all things said, it does look kinda nice and those sideways mounted hard drives are going to be a hell of a lot easier to get at than mine.
I have to agree, the build quality has gone down hill, the thing is, case companies don't always seem to make the classis for thier cases, they all run of one barbone design and adapt it to whatever the company wants. I had some cheapo "sunbeam" case which has the exact same chassis as one of the low end CM cases, like they just make the side panels and front plate.
But I suppose if you willing to shell out more then you'd get the nice things like all Alu chassis and folded edges, removable mobo trays .etc I'd assume these chassis's are made by CM like the Wavemaster and the new Stacker as they are alot more unique.
Though being a Lian Li V2000 owner I could never go back to a cheap case. Ever.
I disagree with the suggestion that Coolermaster's quality has gone downhill. I purchased a Wavemaster when it came out and the quality was very good,and it was even used in some top gaming computer vendors products. Now I use the Stacker 830 and this thing is full to the brim with great features and the same great quality as the Wavemaster, with greater innovations. I do not think for one moment that the new case is worse than the old one, and both were/are at the top of their range at their time.
I was talking in more of a comparison between the cases being produced now and the almost hand finished feel that my 4 year old 201 has, I have had a look around the insides of a couple of the newer cases and found a fair few things that would make me think twice about them, I guess I have just been spoiled by the one I have now.
Originally Posted by Almightyrastus I was talking in more of a comparison between the cases being produced now and the almost hand finished feel that my 4 year old 201 has, I have had a look around the insides of a couple of the newer cases and found a fair few things that would make me think twice about them, I guess I have just been spoiled by the one I have now.
The 201 is more comparable to the Stacker 830 - the Mystique is much much cheaper than the 201 was when I bought one (I seem to remember paying over £230 for it in 2001...)
The build quality in the stacker is pretty incredible, IMHO. The only downside is that is a bit of dust hoarder.
me does not like poor air flow :( me does not like orange door thing :( :( me does not like FRIKIN VERTICAL USB PORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! :( :( :( but i do like the way the door opens :D
I think it looks pretty cool TBH. Did you by any chance check that orange plastic under a black light? Having UV-reactive stuff on a case always increases the cool factor, and that orange bit looks like you could mod a few LEDs behind it fairly easily.
im likin that case ! not likint he price tho i htink you are really only paying for the name with this ill probly wait a good while untill it goes down in price,the whole no swrews needed for dvd-roms,hdds etc i just love and seeing a quad sli set up init i can tell there is plenty of room.
myself im actually likin the fact that it dosent have loads of fans because noise is starting to become an issue with me and i think 2x120 mm fans will do imo.
Originally Posted by koola Not impressed with this latest offering. My money would go straight on a Lian Li PC7 Plus and I would still have £30 left!!!
WHY?????? ok the coolermaster may not be great but at least it has some style!!!
Coolermaster really seem to have upped the quality they're putting out in recent years. When people start paying Lian Li money to buy cases other then Lian Li's, the company has to be doing something right. I personally spent an obscene(to me at least) £120 on my stacker, but I love the case more then any other case I've worked in, and I've worked inside a couple of Lian Li's(including a full tower).
Good for CM for continuing to bring us quality cases after what I thought was a bit of a dip after the praetorians several years back.
Reminds me of a thermal-tacky product in both looks and name. I long for the days of the wavemaster design team - sleek and elegant without losing function.
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Being a V2000 owner anything else is sub-standard
But I'm happy with my Aerocool Bay Dream for now, cant go wrong for £35 :)
I just got one of these, from the same dealer too! ;)
Regarding the Coolermaster, it seems to me that if you do use the top mounted I/O ports,
your cables would keep getting caught the right hand door.
and I can put my 4 hdd's in one place, that rocks too.
Maybe this will be my next case. :D :D
I ask this as things like the fitted fans in mine all had wire grills on them inside and out and the blanking plates were all screw in (with smooth edges I might add). It has a removable motherboard tray and although there is room for 6 hard drives in the bays, only 4 are mounted as to give room for proper airflow from the intakes on the front.
Ok so I paid in the region of £140 for it over 3 years ago and it didn't include things like cooling ducts or windows (I wish I could find a replacement blank panel for mine) but I still get the feeling that it is put together a lot better than the newer cases from them.
Although all things said, it does look kinda nice and those sideways mounted hard drives are going to be a hell of a lot easier to get at than mine.
I have to agree, the build quality has gone down hill, the thing is, case companies don't always seem to make the classis for thier cases, they all run of one barbone design and adapt it to whatever the company wants. I had some cheapo "sunbeam" case which has the exact same chassis as one of the low end CM cases, like they just make the side panels and front plate.
But I suppose if you willing to shell out more then you'd get the nice things like all Alu chassis and folded edges, removable mobo trays .etc I'd assume these chassis's are made by CM like the Wavemaster and the new Stacker as they are alot more unique.
Though being a Lian Li V2000 owner I could never go back to a cheap case. Ever.
The build quality in the stacker is pretty incredible, IMHO. The only downside is that is a bit of dust hoarder.
myself im actually likin the fact that it dosent have loads of fans because noise is starting to become an issue with me and i think 2x120 mm fans will do imo.
WHY?????? ok the coolermaster may not be great but at least it has some style!!!
Good for CM for continuing to bring us quality cases after what I thought was a bit of a dip after the praetorians several years back.