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Cooler Master HAF X Case Review
Author: Will West
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Conclusion
It wasn't long ago when people would say that the full tower computer case was a dinosaur of old thinking. However, the reality is that mid-tower cases don't offer the flexibility required for a high end enthusiast system, nor enough cooling to keep noise levels to a minimum. While the traditional full tower case we grew up with may be extinct, it has been replaced with highly customized full sized cases with ornate designs, thoughtful cooling, and expandability for system builds to come. The Cooler Master HAF X is a perfect example of this transformation, and joins a long line of gaming chassis designs from Cooler Master.
The HAF X comes with a variety of features that help it stand out from previous designs. In the review we mentioned a variety of different drive mounting options including HDD and SSD drive adaptors and a 2 drive SATA hot swap controller. Cooling is also a big feature on the HAF X which includes several 200mm fan positions that can also be converted to a multitude of 120mm locations for convenient watercooling setups.
While the HAF X is what we would call a pre-modded case there are still plenty of modding opportunities available. Some of these modifications are fairly simple such as watercooling installs, fan swaps, and custom paint, while others may require more work like removing the lower HDD cage to make room for watercooling gear and installing panels to direct airflow. Regardless of your intentions, modding or not, the HAF X is bound to be on your short list of cases to choose from.
The HAF X comes with a variety of features that help it stand out from previous designs. In the review we mentioned a variety of different drive mounting options including HDD and SSD drive adaptors and a 2 drive SATA hot swap controller. Cooling is also a big feature on the HAF X which includes several 200mm fan positions that can also be converted to a multitude of 120mm locations for convenient watercooling setups.
While the HAF X is what we would call a pre-modded case there are still plenty of modding opportunities available. Some of these modifications are fairly simple such as watercooling installs, fan swaps, and custom paint, while others may require more work like removing the lower HDD cage to make room for watercooling gear and installing panels to direct airflow. Regardless of your intentions, modding or not, the HAF X is bound to be on your short list of cases to choose from.
Good Things
Incredible build quality
Lots of cooling options
Dedicated graphics card coolers
More expansion slots for long motherboards
Hot swap drive bay
Triple fan radiator support
200mm fans standard
Lots of cooling options
Dedicated graphics card coolers
More expansion slots for long motherboards
Hot swap drive bay
Triple fan radiator support
200mm fans standard
Bad Things
Riveted drive cage
Almost too many options for cooling the graphic cards
Only one 200mm fan included on the top of the case
No fan controller
Almost too many options for cooling the graphic cards
Only one 200mm fan included on the top of the case
No fan controller