Coolermaster HAF 932

Not exactly a case of love at first sight, but this case will grow on you.

At first blush, we really weren’t all that excited by the HAF (or, as we have lovingly dubbed it in the Labs, the HOFF). It’s exaggerated industrial style design, and the claim that it’s a case designed by gamers for gamers, left us a little cold. But after a few minutes messing about inside the HAF, and sampling some of its not quite so obvious delights, we were sold.

HAF stands for High Air Flow, and with that in mind you might think that a mere four fans falls way behind the air-cooling pack. Well, you’d be wrong, truth be told, as the large 230mm fans in this case push a large volume of air through the HAF’s innards. What’s more, they do so remarkably quietly – we could barely discern any kind of hum or murmur as they spun up. The 140mm rear fan is a little louder, but not by much. The front fan is also blinged up with the addition of a red LED to light up is clear plastic construction; the other fans are all plain black. In a dark room, the combination of red glow and metal mesh is really quite attractive. It’s a good, aggressive gaming look.

The side and top panels are also studded with more mounting points, so you can swap out the 230mm fans and replace each with four 12mm models. If noise isn’t a problem, but you want some serious airflow – perhaps for an air-cooled overclock – it’s a great option. The faux-industrial look is further cemented by an embossed X-shape on the left-hand panel, and a small window with metallic cross-hatching on the right. Some after market paintwork – perhaps some industrial striping – would be an ideal addition.

Some quick work with the comfy thumb screws on the case’s side panels sees both easily hinge out and off, revealing a rather well-appointed interior. The first thing that strikes you is that the front IO cables are all quite long, and that you can mount a PSU at either the top or bottom of the case. Combined with the excellent clearance behind the mobo backing-plate, making sure your cabling is neat and tidy will be super easy with the HAF

The HDD bays orient so that they face out of the side, and the sliding and locking brackets combine secure mounting and ease of swapping. Mesh vents cover the front bays, and these are much easier to remove than some earlier Coolermaster designs. Still, with all that mesh, and the high airflow this case engenders, it would have been nice to see some kind of filtering included. Otherwise, the build quality is solid, with a mix of smooth metal edges and some limited plastic sheathing to protect cables and fingers alike.

This is a big case, and one that hides a lot of useful features and functionality. Like many strong case designs, it may not be for everyone, but the features – especially the quiet and expandable airflow – alone make this a case that’s hard to hate.

Internal shot and front view.