Cooler Master CM690 Review

Hello!

I just received my Cooler Master CM690 in the mail today, there are a few guides out there for this case, but I decided to write one just for OCF. This review will be based more on pictures instead of impressions. So if it seems short, I wanted it that way.

You can pick this case up for around $59.99 at newegg:\
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

A friend recently got this case and I got to check it out first person before buying it; I was impressed by the entire case. It had alot of room for a "mid" tower and good tool-less devices. I was so impressed by it that I ordered one later that night.

Enough talking, let see some pics!!!

Here are a few pictures of the box, front and back:








No one is really interested about the outside of the box...it is all about what is inside.











With everything unwrapped, here is what the case looks like. I like its design very much, there is mesh that goes up the front and along the top. Behind the mesh, there are filters for the fans.

On to the inside! Cooler Master did a good job of not including very much inside the case. There is a white box with a manual, 3.5in mesh bezel, motherboard standoffs and a tie down for cables.








If you open the other side of the case, you will be confronted with something you probably have not ever seen on a case; a place for a 80mm fan!




Please not that the fan I installed is a 80x25mm fan, to be able to put the side back on you have to use a 80x15mm fan. I did not have one on hand that fit in.




You must be wondering now..."Where are the case screws????".





Right there! The case itself holds the screws, this would be very nice if you forgot your screws at home (if you were at a friends house or lan).




Tool-less installation of the 5.25 bays. You push the blue tab to the left, lift up the flap, install the drive, drop the flap back down and lock it. Very simple and easy to use, it holds drives very securely. The only issue I ran into was with a fan controller, it just uses the first pin and didn't hold it very well. Even with the tool-less system in place, you can still use screws very easily. When you put the 5.25 device in, it doesn't feel snug (like on an armor) and you can move the drive around easily. Once you lock down the tool-less device, it is decently snug, but I opted to just put screws in.

Tool-less installation of the 3.5 bays. The case holds up to 5 hard drives which are next to a fan (set as default as intake). To remove the tray, you push the tabs together and the tray slides out.










To install the drive into the tray, you simply bend the tray, drop the drive in and unbend it.










Here are the rest of the tool-less devices. For the PCI slots, you push down on the "arc" while pushing it back through the case. The first time you do it, it seems awkward, but it quickly becomes easy.

Time to remove the front and top panels to get a better look at how this case is built. To pop the front off, you just pull, there are no tabs to push (unlike the top). I thought I was going to break it at first, but it came off with a jolt, the front was unbroken. To remove the top, there are 8 tabs that you need to push in.
















Here are some pictures comparing the case size to my modified armor.

Power supply installation is exactly like all other cases except it is at the bottom instead of the top. Cooler Master also include a foam pad to eliminate vibrations from the power supply. The power supply I used is the Corsair HX620W, which is a regular sized PSU. With a 120mm fan installed, I could get the plugs in with little difficulty. This may prove troublesome to those who have longer power supplies. Without the fan (or a smaller fan installed) there are no obstructions, so they will fit.














Now pictures of everything assembled. I removed the front sound header from the top. It just pops out and you can

do that with the sound, usb and firewire. Sadly the eSata can't be removed, so it is just sitting tied up in the
top of the case. I have a very large heatsink (TT 120 Ultra Extreme) and found that it hits the fans in the top of

the case (stopping one of them) and will not allow installation of a fan in the second door slot.

Conclusion:

The case is larger and roomier than most mid-tower cases. The tool-less devices ACTUALLY WORK in this case unlike others (*cough* armor *cough*). Users who have long power supplies or large heatsinks will have to "work around" the problem. I could mount a fan on the outside of the case, but it would detract from the look. This case is a steal for $50 or even $60. The case's cooling is where it lacks. It has spots for up to 7 120mm fans, but they use VERY restrictive mesh and "finger guards". My temps rose on my processer by around 3c, but it is worth it for the smaller case.

I give it 4 out of 5.


Comments appreciated!!!!

perhaps you should add a "56k massacre" edit.

Pretty nice thideras, Im supprised you didnt pain it stealth black. OR is it in the making?

just one question, is the case elevated at all? cuz the fan on the base of the case seems pointless.

other than that good job =)

Hey thanks for the review thideras. There are certainly many unique features inside this little mid tower. I want to order one but I just have no need for a case.

imposter said:

perhaps you should add a "56k massacre" edit.

Pretty nice thideras, Im supprised you didnt pain it stealth black. OR is it in the making?

just one question, is the case elevated at all? cuz the fan on the base of the case seems pointless.

other than that good job =)

Click to expand...

For now, I won't paint the case; it might be a couple months down the road or never, I just don't know

Yes, the case is elevated around an 1", that is way more than enough for that bottom fan to do its job. I should also note that this case DOES NOT use plastic feet, it uses rubber! It grips very well.

Update: CPU temps may have gone up, but Idle temps on the graphics card has gone down by 2c. It looks like load temps on the video card have gone down by 1c.

Nice pics. FYI, I've got the same case (picked it up a week or so ago from Fry's) and it has plenty of room to use both 120x120x25mm door panel fans and still clear my TR Ultima-90 with a little under a centimeter to spare. I haven't installed any fans in the top of the case, but it doesn't look like I'll have any clearance issues there either.

In the mail on it's way from Jab-Tech I've got:

4 x Yate Loon 140mm (62 CFM) - D14SM-12
2 x Yate Loon 120mm (47 CFM) w/blue leds - D12SL-12
2 x Panaflo H1BX (56.8 CFM)

All I've got to do now is decide on a good fan controller and pick up a dremel to hack out those stamped fan grilles.

d4m0n said:

Nice pics. FYI, I've got the same case (picked it up a week or so ago from Fry's) and it has plenty of room to use both 120x120x25mm door panel fans and still clear my TR Ultima-90 by a little under a centimeter. I haven't installed any fans in the top of the case, but it doesn't look like I'll have any clearance issued their either.

In the mail on it's way from Jab-Tech I've got:

4 x Yate Loon 140mm (62 CFM) - D14SM-12
2 x Yate Loon 120mm (47 CFM) w/blue leds - D12SL-12
2 x Panaflo H1BX (56.8 CFM)

All I've got to do now is decide on a good fan controller and pick up a dremel to hack out those stamped fan grilles.

Click to expand...

Look for a Sunbeam Rhoebus, 20 watts a channel, works great

oops. double post.

this is a sweet case, nice review and pics

Thanks for the info on the heatsink clearance. I still need to order one and I was wondering about the clearance from the side door fan with the Ultra 120. Already dremeled out the front fan grill. I'm debating on the top grills. I don't want to hurt the integrity of the case structure and that's a lot of metal to cut. In theory, the plastic cover should help to hold it in shape though. It really is a super case for the price.

badvector said:

Thanks for the info on the heatsink clearance. I still need to order one and I was wondering about the clearance from the side door fan with the Ultra 120. Already dremeled out the front fan grill. I'm debating on the top grills. I don't want to hurt the integrity of the case structure and that's a lot of metal to cut. In theory, the plastic cover should help to hold it in shape though. It really is a super case for the price.

Click to expand...

You can cut the top ones out, you won't hurt the case

But...if your case starts bleeding, you've got other problems.

Looks nice on the outside, but on the inside; its still made out of dog food tin can.

I don't think it is very appealing to the eye on the outside. Needs to be more open if you know what I mean. The functionality seems just like any other case. Not bad for the price. But im still goin with the antec 900

thideras said:

Look for a Sunbeam Rhoebus, 20 watts a channel, works great

Click to expand...

Thanks. Ordered.

Elluzion said:

I don't think it is very appealing to the eye on the outside. Needs to be more open if you know what I mean. The functionality seems just like any other case. Not bad for the price. But im still goin with the antec 900

Click to expand...

i dunno man, the functionality isnt really just like any other case. Most cases are a joke when it comes to that. Having had a antec 900 and many other cases, the antec was somewhat of a letdown. I went to compusa and dismantled this coolermaster case infront of them because I wanted to check it out then to their amazement lol and then i didnt buy one haha.

Point is this case is AWESOME, if it was me I would pick this over the antec 900 even if they were the same price. Who knows maybe you like it though, I found it way to cramped and hard to manage wires and it was kinda cheesy build wise. In the end though it was an excellent cooling case.