nad_masters's Full Review: Master Heaters Cooler Master - Tower Case - Gaming...
Basically building a whole new machine around an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 overclocked to 4 GHz, I figured I'd need a new case that will promote better air flow than my current Antec Super LanBoy case.
After looking around Fry's Electronics, I found two that fit my needs: the Cooler Master HAF 932, and the HAF 922.
Both cases use large 200mm fans, and both have mesh grills on the entire front part of the case (yes, mesh grill on every 5.25" blanking panels!). Both are wider than usual to accomidate wires hidden under the motherboard tray, and both are screwless in design (hard drives, optical drives, card slots, etc). There are slight differences between the two, however.
The HAF 932 is a full tower case, offering an additional 5.25" bay. The HAF 922 is shorter because of this, but, as you can imagine, not by much. The HAF 922 also have the ability to turn off the front fan's LED light. This is great news for me, since as most of my readers know, I hate bright LEDs.
Then there is the large front intake fan - the HAF 922 comes with a front filter, while the HAF 932 does not. In fact, each of the blanking panels have a washable filter on the HAF 922. The HAF 932 does not.
A huge difference is the side panel - while the larger HAF 932 comes with a 200mm side panel fan, the smaller HAF 922 does not. However, it does allow the owner to place an optional 200mm or 2 120mm fans if they wish. There are mounting holes for such a thing.
So which one did I get? Well, I personally got the HAF 922, while my friend picked up the HAF 932. Both of us got a deal on them, since we bought on different days.
My friend bought the HAF 932 on NewEgg.com for just under $150 with shipping. Later, I wanted the same thing, but found that the HAF 922 can be had for $99 with free shipping. I used the money I saved to buy the missing fan on the side panel directly from Cooler Master. Unfortunately, I found out that they are propriatary fans only Cooler Master sells, and only directly from their CM Store.
I wanted a smaller case anyways, and while loosing two drive bays make the 922 technically a mid-tower, it's still a very large case!
Cooler Master HAF 922 Standing just below waist high, the HAF 922 mid-tower case is spacious and very easy to work with. It comes with 5 accessable bays, one of which can be used for a 3.5" drive (such as a floppy or card reader).
The HAF 922 have a very utilitarian look, almost military-like. The entire case is black, which makes it look very intimidating. The sides of the case buldge out, giving that muscular look, but does service a function (mainly more space for wires to hide underneath the motherboard tray).
The top houses a large square power button, and two smaller buttons to the side of it. The smaller right button is used for reset, while the left button is to turn the front fan's LED on or off. There is a decent size tray-like area for your MP3 player or the like. However, it's too small to place CDs or DVDs there.
In the front, you get two USB ports, an eSATA port, and a headphone and mic jack. I do miss having a firewire port as well as another pair of USB ports. The Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R motherboard comes with firewire, and an internal 1394 and USB header goes unused.
The feet are heavy duty in nature, and comes rubberized on the bottom. The steel case on it's own is pretty hefty. You won't want to haul this around for LAN parties, though I know some will do it anyways. The textured black paint seem to be made for a bit of abuse, unlike those with glossy automotive paint jobs.
I do wish Cooler Master painted the inside of the case black as well. Currently, it has that silver steel look inside, which doesn't match the outside. Then again, there isn't really a window to peer inside, so that's not a huge deal breaker.
The HAF 922 does have holes with rubber grommets made for porting tubes if you have a water cooling set up. In fact, the large exhaust opening for the top was made for a dual 120mm fan set up as well, giving you a perfect spot for a heat exchange (radiator).
The power supply sits down low, while the case have an opening for the PSU fan to intake fresh air for itself. Basically, the PSU's fan won't be helping with exhausting air from inside the case.
Fans and Cooling The HAF 922 comes with two large 200mm fans - one red LED-lit on the front, and one non-lit on the top. The fan on the front is installed for intaking air over the well-spaced hard drive cage, while the top is installed to exhaust air out the top. A single standard 120mm case fan is installed on the back to exhaust air out as well. As arranged, the case should give you negative pressure inside of the case. However, because it is very open (lots of grills), air getting sucked into the case is spread througout.
The bad in this situation is that the side panel that is left fan-less is just a gaping hole (albeit, there's a grill there). There is no filter for this large opening. This is bad in dusty environments, especially if you decide to put in the optional fan(s).
You'd think this case would be loud with all these fans, but it is not! I was pleasently surprised to hear almost nothing at all once everything was turned on! In fact, the loudest thing you'd hear are the hard drives.
There is an optional 120mm fan mount on the bottom of the case. Not sure if it's a good idea to place a fan there or not. If sucking air in, you will be basically using this case as a vacuum cleaner! However, I did this anyways, and placed a home-made filter there. This made more noise than the other fans combined. Not only that, but the fins scraps against the grill. This was obviously made for an exhaust configuration. However, because it is facing the floor, and there realy isn't much clearance down there, I'm not sure how effective it is.
As for filters, they aren't easily removed for cleaning. The filters in the blanking plates should be cleaned with compressed air. Worst is the front intake fan's filter. You cannot remove it easily. You just remove 6 screws to remove the entire front face to get to the intake filter for the 200mm fan. So not everything is rosey with this case.
Motherboard Installation Because of the spacious size, mothebroard installation was a breeze, even though the HAF 922 does not come with a dedicated removable motherboard tray. Cooler Master puts a paper template on the tray for easy installation for the first timer. However, I still say it is best to match up the posts yourself since every motherboard is slightly different. One motherboard may need a post in a certain spot, while another may not. Placing a post where one isn't needed may cause an electrical short.
For those who use large aftermarket heat sinks that require a bracket installed on the underside of the motherboard, you'll love the fact that Cooler Master have you in mind! The motherboard tray have a gaping hole where the CPU is usually located, which allows for you to remove and install these kind of CPU coolers without needing to take the motherboard out of the case! This is an excellent feature, since removing a motherboard entails removing every cable connected to the motherboard, every expansion card, as well as every screw that is holding it down. This is why system builders hate heatsinks that require a bracket on the underside. However, with this case, it won't matter any more!
Wire Management Also nice are holes that allow you to pass wires behind the motherboard tray, leaving a clean-looking area. This also helps with air flow as well. Areas for zip ties to tie down your wires are also available throughout the case.
Cooler Master understands that with a PSU down below, it may be hard to pass the auxillary 12v cable behind the motherboard tray, and still make it to the motherboard. Because of this, they include an extention cable for it! I do wish that they included an extention cable for the full 24-pin power connector for the motherboard. Mine barely reached when I try to pass it from underneath. Of course, your experience may vary, since every motherboard places their connectors in different spots, as well as different PSUs have different lengths for their cables.
I'm happy to say my build looks clean thanks to the thoughtful design. Underneath the motherboard tray, however, is a different story. :) Thankfully, those buldges on the side panels aren't just for looks. They allow clearance for all those hidden cables and wires.
Drive Bays and Expansion Slots Being a tool-less case, I find that Cooler Master have a very thoughtful design in this area.
The 5.25" drive bays are all screw-less. You just remove the front blanking plate, which is also a grill, and slide in your 5.25" device through the front. With a bit of aligning, you can then push in a locking mechinism to lock the device in place.
If you have a 3.5" device, such as a memory card reader or floppy drive, you will need to use the included 3.5" to 5.25 adapter. The adapter itself requires 4 screws, though. However, once your device is adapted, you can slide it in the case as usual, and lock it in as if it was just another 5.25" device. You can now place the 5.25" blanking plate back, but you must remove the inner 3.5" blanking plate.
For hard drives, Cooler Master gives you 5 plastic trays. They are installed by 4 push pins on both sides of the drive. I found them a bit hard to use, since they have to be aligned just right. However, once installed, it's easy to just slide them in and out. The back side of the drive should face the rear so the wires can be hidden. Removing the drives can be pretty hard though. You'll need to pry the pins out, or bend the tray. Either way, it doesn't give me a very good feeling.
The drives are spaced out very well, though, giving the 200mm front intake fan a chance to cool the drives as well as pass the air to the hot expansion cards.
The card slots requires screws, but thankfully, they are thumbscrews. The larger HAF 932 (this case's bigger brother) uses plastic latches, which doesn't really do a good job for something as large as a dual-slot video card, or something really small such as a bracket plate for USB or eSATA (in other words, not an actual card that slides into a PCI slot of the motherboard). My friend had to use screws to secure these down, which leaves the plastic latches dangling. With the HAF 922, the thumbscrews give you a better secure installation, while still remaining a tool-less design.
The Upshot The Cooler Master HAF 922 is a very well thought-out and designed case. It is not made out of aluminium, so weight can be an issue if you use it for LAN parties. However, if you don't plan on moving it around a lot, it is a great case for both air and water cooled systems.
I was able to keep my Core 2 Quad Q9550 overclocked to 4 GHz using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 heatsink/fan. Temperatures were hitting around 65c while in the case with an ambient temperature of 76F with four cores loaded with Prime95.
I absolutely love this case for the CPU heatsink mounting hole, tool-less drive bays and expansion slot, and a very good airflow design. The large fans keep air flow high while keeping noise very low.
Not everything is great, though. I would have liked a side fan to come with the case, as well as filters for the side fan. The front fan's filter isn't easily removable either. The steel material makes for a strong case, but it also adds to the weight. Also, the plastic trays for installing hard drives can be frustrating to use, though I still like the design.
It's not perfect, but nothing ever is. I still really enjoy this case, but would love to have the same kind of form and functionality in the smaller and lightweight Antec Super Lanboy. I know I'm hard to please. :)
Following the overwhelming success of the full tower HAF 932, Cooler Master extends the HAF (High Air Flow) line to a mid tower in the HAF 922. This b...More at Buy.com
Following the overwhelming success of the full tower HAF 932, Cooler Master extends the HAF (High Air Flow) line to a mid tower in the HAF 922. This b...More at eCOST.com
Cooler Master brings together outstanding quality and user-friendly design in this rugged mid tower computer case. The HAF 922 has an innovative butto...More at Newegg.com
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