It’s late Friday afternoon. By my count, I’ve written three reviews, one news story and most of a 2,000 word feature article this week. I’ve also built or re-built four PCs – more on those at a later date. But with regards to system building, I have to note that I’m getting tired of cases that require me to remove four screws just to remove the drive cage just so I can use four more screws to attach a hard drive. I’m looking at you, Antec and Zalman!
One of my favorite cases currently is the Coolermaster CM 690 II. It’s roomy on the inside. You can route cables behind the motherboard tray and still attach the back panel without difficulty. All the drive bays use tool-free mounting. It’s reasonably priced – I’ve seen the basic version for under $75. It’s not perfect – the cutout on the motherboard tray for CPU cooler backplates isn’t well positioned for LGA1156 motherboards, for example. But it’s a great example of a modern PC case more manufacturers should emulate.
Now, on to dinner and the weekly Friday Night Follies LAN party!
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3 comments
Brandon Champion says:
August 19, 2010 at 9:43 am (UTC -7 )
I’d really like to know what video card(s) you are using in that CM 690 II and if you think a GTX 275 will fit comfortably without having to remove anything (like in my Antec P-180).
Loyd Case says:
August 19, 2010 at 9:56 am (UTC -7 )
All graphics cards, even the foot long monster that is the Radeon HD 5970, should fit comfortably in a CM 690 II — more so than the P180. It’s quite a deep case, with usable internal space.
Brandon Champion says:
August 19, 2010 at 10:35 am (UTC -7 )
Thank you!