Detailed Interior Features

The tool-less 5.25" drive bays on the Scout feature a new design that certainly fits in with the CM Storm design scheme. Sliding the lever forwards engages pins into the mounting holes on the drive. Once the lever is all the way forward, the locking knob can be slid downwards, securing the mechanism in place. It seems quite secure, as a bit more force was required than is usual, and is not likely to come loose while transporting the case.

The tool-less expansion slots are secured with a plastic latch that rotates up and towards the rear of the case. The basic design is not new; I first saw it on the Cooler Master CM690 I bought a few years ago. What is new is the poor quality of the molded plastic latches. One of them was disconnected from its pivot hole when it arrived. I pushed it back into place, but it never really worked as well as the others, it was always straining to disconnect itself again. I received an early production unit, direct from the factory in China, so there is a possibility that the QA team will sort this out. There is always the option of using old fashioned screws to hold the cards in place, and if I was transporting the case on a regular basis, I would definitely install them.

The Scout is a midsized tower case, a good 1-1/2 to 2 inches smaller in every dimension than the CM Storm Sniper that Benchmark Reviews looked at earlier this year. One thing that suffers in this smaller format is cable management.

While the Sniper allowed all the major power cable to be run on the backside of the motherboard tray, the Scout is 35mm narrower and does not have access holes in the right places. That said, there is a decent sized open area to the right of the motherboard where the cables can be run, and neatly tied down to well spaced cable tie points. The 12V cable for CPU power was out of luck though, and had to be run across hill and dale.

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