Cooler Master CM 690 Case Review

[One4yu2c]

Never waiting a single moment to cool their heels, CoolerMaster has unleashed a brand new monster of a mid tower. Their latest offering, the CM 690, is a veritable smorgasbord of features that many of the more expensive, higher end full/server towers lack. With a complement of features that would make even the Lian-Li PC-A70 blush, CoolerMaster hopes to appeal to enthusiasts that are as serious about cooling as their CoolerMaster moniker implies. Will the CM 690 be able to withstand the heat that only HardwareLogic can deliver? There’s only one way to find out!
Dave Montez

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[PrOLifIC_onE]

It does look sweet.

[Hitman]

That is one pretty cable management job.

[Yellowhello]

Very nice review! Looks like one slick case...

[Jokerswild]

Nice review. Thats a good sounding case for the $ other than the side panel problem.

[garetjax]

I'll be honest: this was probably the easiest case to review. Not because it's a simple enclosure or is lacking in features. Rather, the whole affair of installing a system in it was such a pleasure. Truth be told, installing the components and routing the cables the way you see them took me less than 30 minutes. Usually, it takes me about an hour or more to configure the cables in a way that not only looks good, but is most effective.

The plastic cable clips in the CM 690 are friggin' sweet. I wish more manufacturers would use them in their cases.

[Stormcrow]

Ooo cha cha! Finally something that beats the Centurion 5 for Price/Performance. I know what my next Newegg purchase is gonna be

[Carl Martin]

Not trying to raise the dead here, but after living with this case for a month now, I thought I'd post a few comments.

Dave wasn't kidding when he said that this thing is heavy. Although I had read his and others' reviews before buying, after living with a seven pound Ultra Aluminus for the last couple years, I still was not prepared for the shock I experienced the first time I picked up the box. (The case arrived only a couple days after my fiftieth birthday, and the effort of lifting it off the floor of the front porch suddenly reminded me of my age!)

After searching for nearly an hour, I finally noticed all the screws, enough for my next twenty builds, mounted on the frame of the 5 1/2" drive bay cage - both sides. (Great; glad I found them!)

The positioning of the PSU on the bottom of the case is a stroke of genius! Not only does it make for significantly cooler power supply operation, it also adds stability to the case by greatly lowering it's center of gravity - something hardly necessary in heavy unit such as this, but a tremendous plus in a lighter case. One drawback of the bottom mount however, is that my ATX_12V cable was not long enough to reach its connection on the motherboard. That was easily remedied with an extension, but since I could not buy one locally, I had to order one which set me back five days.

Although the 3 1/2" adapter proved useful for mounting my floppy/flash card drive, the screws on the adapter didn't quite line up with those on the drive. Easy remedy, but I don't like the idea of pushing a drill into a brand new piece of equipment!

Removal of the front of the case takes a bit of effort; so much so that I was afraid of damaging the case in the process. Although Dave mentioned having some difficulty with the side panels of his test unit, mine remove and mount effortlessly.

I was very surprised at the intolerable noise level produced by the three fans. I am definitely going to replace them in short order.

On a final note, I cannot express how much I love the cable clip system. It really does make wire management effortless and so effective. (Sorry I didn't get a picture after I had tied off the SATA wires next to the hard drive bays. Anyway, picture gives a good idea of how even a klutz can do a decent cabling job on this case.)

My verdict: 8.5 Very nice.

Carl