Is this a justified upgrade to a popular chassis?
The original CM690 case was - and for many, still is - one of the first affordable cases that didn't skimp on either cooling or room. Even if you threw dual graphics cards in there along with an overclocked CPU, the case gobbled them up and was hungry for more. It also only cost around about $130, which is pretty damn cheap for a relatively enthusiast-grade chassis. Coolermaster has recently announced the CM690 II Advance, but while we don't have a price on this yet, it definitely brings new things to the table. The question is, are they things that you're going to want to eat?
The fascia of the Advance is incredibly similar to the original design, with only a few ruffled plastic flares to the side of the Coolermaster badge to tell them apart. The same four 5.25in bays make a showing, and the entire front is constructed from a mesh with (very thin) filter behind. A single 140mm fan sucks in air; and the LED lighting is even controllable via a button at the top of the case. Power buttons are solid, and Coolermaster's external SATA HDD dock makes its first appearance, confusingly named the X-Dock. It clicks down, revealing a ramp that leads into a SATA port, but hides it when you're not using it. Sort of clever, and handy for those who don't bother with enclosures.
The sidepanels on either side remain the same, with the left-hand panel supporting the installation of up to two 140mm cooling fans, and the right-hand panel supporting a 15x80mm fan that blows against the rear of the motherboard. What is noticeably different is the paint that has been applied - it feels very tough, isn't prone to fingerprints, and gives a decidedly heavy-duty persona to the case. The rear of the case is very similar to the original design, sporting a PSU bay at the bottom and a large exhaust fan, but there's also an extra vertical expansion port that lies along the other seven horizontal ports. It's handy for fan controllers and other devices, but Coolermaster's thrown its think tank some cookies and they came up with a very novel addition that we haven't seen in any case outside Lian-Li.
What can best be described as a wedge of metal with large plastic teeth, the apparatus screws to the additional expansion slot and lies across the top of your graphics cards. In addition to holding them securely in place at all times (great if you're ever LANning), you can also install a slim 15x80mm fan into the bracket, providing some direct cooling. While it won't work with cards wider than dual-slot, it's still a very thoughtful inclusion.
Making a reappearance in the case are Coolermaster's tooless hard drive caddies, which wrap snugly around a drive and simply slide in; matched by the 5.25in catches that secure ODDs with a single flick of a switch. There are rubber pads that the PSU sits on to minimise vibration, wide cutouts in the mobo tray for cabling (including the 24-pin ATX cable), and every meshed intake is filtered - and the huge rubber feet that the original case was so well known for make a welcome reappearance.
The CM690 II Advance is an improvement over the original in pretty much every way, and though we don't have a price, if you take the plunge and grab this beast you'll be happier than a pig in mud.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012