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CoolerMaster CM690 Case Review
Author: Dennis Garcia
Published: Monday, September 24, 2007
Case Features Cont
Most of us have finally gotten rid of that pesky 3.5" floppy drive but for those of you that need to still have one on occasion CoolerMaster has you covered with this handy drive adaptor and mesh bezel.
All 5.25 drive bays feature a tool less locking system that will fit most dives on the market. For those that require a different configuration you can use any of the provided mounting holed and screws to secure your drives in place.
External connections are actually found at the top of this case instead of on the front like traditional designs. Generally speaking most towers are placed beside or under our desks so having the ports located at the top of the case makes perfect sense.
The cables for this pass thru an opening in the top of the case and down a cable channel comprised of a series of plastic clips.
External connections are actually found at the top of this case instead of on the front like traditional designs. Generally speaking most towers are placed beside or under our desks so having the ports located at the top of the case makes perfect sense.
The cables for this pass thru an opening in the top of the case and down a cable channel comprised of a series of plastic clips.
Our first thought was that this cable channel was too close and wouldn't provide enough room for our motherboard to fit. Sure enough after installing a LanParty 680i motherboard we discovered that no room exists between the cable channel and the edge of the motherboard. Luckly these clips can be removed and/or relocated by simply unscrewing them from the motherboard tray.
The expansion bays all feature a tool less locking system that makes installing cards quick and easy. However it has always been our experience that expansion cards really do need to be locked into place with screws no matter how good the tool less locks are. Luckly for us that is still an option on the CM690 simply remove the pivot pin and the plastic locks will all fall away giving you the ability to use screws once again.
One last feature found on the CM690 is something that you wouldn't expect on any level of case are these 2 self sealing rubber grommets. What are they for you ask? Well with the advent of external self-contained watercooling units the question of how to get the hoses inside your case has been answered. Simply thread the hoses thru here during installation and you're done. These grommets won't support 1/2" ID watercoolers so if you have one of them you'll need to enlarge the holes anyway.
