| Cooler Master HAF-XB Computer Case Enclosure |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by David Ramsey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 12 November 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cooler Master HAF XB Computer Case Review
Manufacturer: Cooler Master, Inc. Full Disclosure: Cooler Master provided the product sample used in this article. I told my wife recently that building computer systems for me was like knitting was for her. There's design, execution and a certain contemplative mental state involved in both disciplines. By now, Benchmark Reviews has seen just about every significant interpretation of the "full size ATX tower case" design possible, so I've gotten pretty used to builds in these types of cases, and know what to look for via component placement and cable routing. But a tower is not the only possible design for ATX cases, and Cooler Master's HAF XB RC-902XB-KKN1 case proves it. It's likely different from anything you've ever seen before, and its design, while not unique, is certainly not common in the consumer desktop computer arena. Cooler Master says that this case's design makes it suitable for both a (large) LAN box as well as a test bed for people who like to tinker with their systems. To test these claims, I'm going to examine this case and detail and build a complete gaming system in it. Onwards!
HAF XB Features
RC-902XB-KKN1 Specifications
Let's take a closer look at this interesting case in the next section.
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Comments
I still love it! ITS SOMETHING DIFFERENT YAY!
First off, the large footprint is a non-starter. Less room on your desk and you can't put anything on top of it because you'll obstruct the top vent. Can't put it on a lower shelf either for the same reason. Just dumb.
I hate cases that put the PSU on the bottom. Restricting airflow to the something that needs more air than any other component to cool? Dumb again. Cool thing it supports water cooling. You're gonna need it.
Case fans that blow right on your slots disrupt the cooling effectiveness of your vidcard fans. A definite no-no. NEVER put fans where they can blow on each other.
Yes, there are some very nice features with this case, and the accessibility is great too, but a "9.35"? Forgetaboudit.
2: There are no case fans blowing where the video cards would be so that isn't even an issue.
3: If you don't like the size or shape of this case then it is not made for you, you don't have to comment with ridiculous facts that can easily be proven wrong by someone that took the initiative to look at the product. ( This isn't an android vs apple debate )
2) There are clearly two inward blowing case fans blowing directly on the slots clearly visible in the photo.
3) My only issue was the high "9.35" rating. I never said it wasn't a good case for certain enthusiasts.
Please don't lecture me on "ridiculous" with a response like that.
Like most modern power supplies, the fan is thermostatically controlled, and will audibly spin up when the power supply gets hot. Since this would happen were the air flow into the power supply noticeably occluded, I would have noticed it, and it hasn't. It could be because I'm not pulling enough power to warm the supply noticeably, but since most of the industry has moved to bottom mount supplies, I don't think there's any kind of endemic problem with them.
The bottom-mount systems I don't like are ones like Antec uses in some of their cases, where the power supply intake fan must face up, into the case, by design. This makes it amazingly easy to drop small screws into the power supply.
Likewise, on the slots, I was having difficulty cooling my video card until I realized one of my side fans was blowing directly on my vidcard fan, disrupting its rotation and causing it to turn slower than needed. Only after much head-scratching did I discover removal of my side fan fixed the problem.
If I were to improve this case, I'd put the psu in the top so it sucks heat off the MB (heat rises), place a large low-speed intake fan in the top (as designed), and move the two side intake fans to the other sides of the case (one under each handle, parallel the slots) blowing heat out the sides instead of blowing in.
Live & Learn.
I've been building PC's for over a decade (two?). And I find it more than a tiny bit ridiculous to criticize my criticism, only to then note a half dozen criticisms of the design yourself.
My ONLY complaint was that the case is not deserving such a HIGH rating. Your mileage may vary.
In this particular case, there are two inward blowing fans right in front of the slots, while most fan-cooled cards blow outward to EXHAUST heat FROM the case. Depending on your card design, having a fan blow against your exhaust fan will only prevent it from venting. There should not be a fan near the card slots at all unless it is somehow positioned BEHIND them (like a front case fan) and blowing the air out IN THE SAME DIRECTION as any cooling fans you may have on those cards.
I find I keep having to explain basic simple physics to people that are quick to insult over things they clearly don't understand.
I've tested a fair number of cases with various video card cooling fan arrangements. Some have been more effective than others, but I've yet to run across one that made the cards warmer than they would have been otherwise.
Blower fans suck air into a fully enclosed channel from the top of the fan, pushing the air across the components or across a heat sink until it exhausts outside the case via slots or holes around the monitor connection ports. When installed in a typical case the top of this fan is actually facing downwards to suck cool air up into it.
Axial fans are usually placed atop a heat sink which isn't fully enclosed and push air from the top of the fan down across the heat sink and the underlying components. When installed in a typical case, these fan's are again "upside down" moving air from below up and over the heat sink and then through the case towards the! top of the case rather than venting through a channel.
In both situations a side panel fan would be blowing perpendicular to these fans in a typical case, and is generally considered a good thing in both instances, by bringing cool air to them. Only a very powerful fan with high RPMs would be able to interfere with the spinning of a video card fan, and would likely be better used as a rear exhaust fan or front intake fan. I have a Cooler Master Storm Sniper Black that has a 200mm side panel fan which provides a lot of air flow to the video cards because of it's size, not it's RPMs. If you had the problem you described, I can only assume because you used a fan that was too powerful in the side panel, or because the video card had a poor quality fan design.
I really don't use my drives too often, if they were external dvd or bluray it would be the same to me.
"just stepping from the box"
Thanks,
Slit.
So yes, it will fit.
Thanks! :P
P.S. current heatsink ##newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109021
##newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103100
heatsink+fan and was wondering what you (or anybody) thought about it going into this case. Would it work well because the air blown down would then get pushed out the back of the case?
Thanks in advance,
Slit.
##thermaltakeusa.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001664