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CoolerMaster CM690 Case Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Monday, September 24, 2007
Case Cooling
As was mentioned earlier there are 8 places for fans in this case and only one is restricted to the 80mm variety. 4 will accept fans up to 140mm and the remaining three are limited to a maximum of 120mm. The fan placements are universal so they will accept just about any size fan.
The front mounted fan has been a stable in case design for quite some time now and the one found in the CM690 is tasked with keeping air flowing around the Harddrive cage. This fan is LED enabled so to provide a little bling when the lights go down.
To access this fan you'll need to remove the front bezel and loosen the screws holding the mounting bracket in place.
The front mounted fan has been a stable in case design for quite some time now and the one found in the CM690 is tasked with keeping air flowing around the Harddrive cage. This fan is LED enabled so to provide a little bling when the lights go down.
To access this fan you'll need to remove the front bezel and loosen the screws holding the mounting bracket in place.
The main side panel has room for 2 140mm fans and one has come pre-installed. The default configuration is to have these fans blow in on the expansion slots and CPU.
The next fan placement can be found at the bottom of the case right next to the PSU. You can consider this fan the reverse "blow-hole" that can be found in just about any enthusiast casemod. This fan is completely optional though does come with a filter screen to keep the dust mites and carpet fiber out.
The other hole is a cooling vent for a PSU, the normal PSU will feature the cooling fan pulling air down and out of the case though you do have the option of flipping the PSU over and having it get "cool"air from outside. The vents found in the rubber feet are to help with the cooling effort.
Much like the front mounted fan the rear fan is one of the original cooling options so we are not surprised to see a vent here. A 120mm fan comes pre-installed and happens to be the largest that will fit.
Much like the front mounted fan the rear fan is one of the original cooling options so we are not surprised to see a vent here. A 120mm fan comes pre-installed and happens to be the largest that will fit.
As this case features a "reverse" design we now have plenty of room at the top of the case for a real blowhole, actually make that hole(s). At the top of the CM690 you'll find spots for 2 140mm fans with free airflow directly outside. Black mesh hides these fan locations from passers by.
We did get a tour of this at Computex 2007 and never realized how many fans were actually in there.
We did get a tour of this at Computex 2007 and never realized how many fans were actually in there.
The only drawback to having fans here is the limited proximity to the motherboard, but the creative modder will find an easy way around this. 
The last fan placement is the 80mm fan that can be placed on the backside of the motherboard tray. It is a noted theory that you can lower operating temperature by getting air moving behind your motherboard and a slow moving 80mm will provide just enough airflow.
The last fan placement is the 80mm fan that can be placed on the backside of the motherboard tray. It is a noted theory that you can lower operating temperature by getting air moving behind your motherboard and a slow moving 80mm will provide just enough airflow.
