Cooler Master Storm Sniper
Not to be confused with the smaller Storm Scout, Cooler Master’s Storm Sniper suits high-end gaming systems by supporting cards over an inch longer than ATI’s super-sized Radeon HD 5970.
The combination of support for an extra-long graphics card and a dual-fan radiator was, in fact, what caused us to initially select the Storm Sniper for our most recent high-end System Builder Marathon configuration, only to find out that adding a radiator really isn’t an option for many users. More on that below.
The bulge that exists on the mesh side panel is reflected on the opposite side, providing cavernous capacity for storing cables behind the motherboard tray.
The top-panel angles slightly forward for easier access from the front and provides power and reset buttons, a fan controller with center-touch fan LED control, eSATA connectivity, a headset, four USB connections, and a single FireWire port.
Mesh panels up front are backed by a fine screen to reduce dust, though these will obviously require regular cleaning to retain their sharp appearance.
An extra slot plate placed on the back panel’s right side is designed to hold peripheral cables securely, but could alternatively be replaced with one of the interface plates that accompany many motherboards. Also notice the rubber grommets at the top of the rear panel, which are necessary for installing an external radiator.
Server-style swing-out feet add stability to the base, though Cooler Master also includes standard feet in the Storm Sniper’s installation kit that reduce overall height by around half an inch.
Related Stories :
- Thermaltake Announces Chaser A31 Gaming Case
- In Pictures: Four More Sub-$100 Cases For Your 2013 Gaming Build
- Four Sub-$100 Cases For Your 2013 Gaming Build, Reviewed
- In Pictures: Four Sub-$100 Cases For Your 2013 Gaming PC
- Corsair Adds Headset, PC Case to Vengeance Gaming Line
- Rosewill's Blackhawk Ultra Gaming Case Released
- Raidmax to Release Seiran Gaming Case
- Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 3: Lian Li, Nanoxia, And SilverStone
- Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 2: Corsair, Fractal, And Gigabyte
- Quiet Gaming Cases, Part 1: Antec, Azza, And Cooler Master
Good article. But I'm a little surprised that the Element actually found the Buy award. Usually seems like that's set aside for superior products that don't have the QC issues this did.
I'm sure there will be request for this case and that and across a lot of price ranges.
If you do enough of these, you could do a "Best Gaming Case for the Money" series. Or is that peeing in Don's yard?
No Antec Nine Hundred case...
That wouldnt be a bad idea tbh skora, would like to know what the best budget case is out there... not excactly a fan of the antec 200/300
No CM 690 II??
the cm doesn't have a fan control option, afaik.
Gosh, that Zalman is butt-ugly.
ANTEC 902?
More cases need to be added. There are other case under $150 that are better choices.
the lancool (lian-li) k62 is a very, very good case for a sub $100 range. i'm using one, and it has pretty much everything you'd want in a mid-tower case. i especially like its HDD bay system, which can be configured to have the hard drives straight on, or perpendicular. in addition to that there are four quiet fans (two on top) and room for two 5870s.
No Antec Nine Hundred case...
No OLD cases. The Cooler Master case ended up in here by mistake, it was supposed to be for stuff released from November onward.
the cm doesn't have a fan control option, afaik.
Scroll up and look at the BIG KNOB in the picture maybe?
No CM 690 II??
Got the CM Storm Sniper instead, was looking for 4-8 cases due to time constraints which means one per company.
Gosh, that Zalman is butt-ugly.
And the NZXT isn't?
More cases need to be added. There are other case under $150 that are better choices.
More companies were contacted. Every major brand who released a case between the end of November and the end of January was contacted. These are the ones Tom's Hardware got...most of the older-yet-popular cases have already been reviewed.
More companies were contacted. Every major brand who released a case between the end of November and the end of January was contacted. These are the ones Tom's Hardware got...most of the older-yet-popular cases have already been reviewed.
Fair enough.
While the lack of connector on the side fan of the Thermaltake chassis is a bummer and you painted it as such, you don't necessarily have to get a replacement from the factory. From the looks of it, it still uses the same 3 leads that standard fans do - an 11 year-old with a soldering iron could get any given fan to run off it.
I could, of course, be mistaken. There is only one picture of it.
No CM 690 II Advanced?
While the lack of connector on the side fan of the Thermaltake chassis is a bummer and you painted it as such, you don't necessarily have to get a replacement from the factory. From the looks of it, it still uses the same 3 leads that standard fans do - an 11 year-old with a soldering iron could get any given fan to run off it.
I could, of course, be mistaken. There is only one picture of it.
Yes, the connector was not removed to show the back side but anyone with wiring skills could wire the original connector to a generic replacement fan.
Good article. But I'm a little surprised that the Element actually found the Buy award. Usually seems like that's set aside for superior products that don't have the QC issues this did.
I'm sure there will be request for this case and that and across a lot of price ranges.
If you do enough of these, you could do a "Best Gaming Case for the Money" series. Or is that peeing in Don's yard?
It was a tough call. Compared to the other cases it's an incredible value, but only when the side fan works. Hopefully if Thermaltake sells enough of these and is forced to replace enough of these, they will eventually solve the problem at the manufacturing level!
ugly, big, expensive ... describes all of the cases :-)
cannot help myself, but there's no case that would pass for a decent gaming case ... they are either ugly, have too many lights or too much wasted space or bad airflow.
ugly, big, expensive ... describes all of the cases :-)cannot help myself, but there's no case that would pass for a decent gaming case ... they are either ugly, have too many lights or too much wasted space or bad airflow.
The NZXT is tiny...and both Cooler Master and Thermaltake let you shut off the lights from the fan controller. IMO the big cases are too big, the small cases are too small, and if you're right about the looks than I guess you're not in their target market.
No CM 690 II Advanced?
Got the CM Storm Sniper instead, was looking for 4-8 cases due to time constraints which means one per company.