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Installing the hardware
was a breeze with the Cooler Master Stacker case. Once we got the mother-board and
water cooling kit installed it was smooth sailing from that point on. This is
one of the best cases we have seen, although I wish this would come in an all
aluminum chassis, this case can’t be beat for the sheer size and rugged strength
and over all cooling capacity.
With the final
installation and last minute checks and we finally got the case back together
and the Stacker really looks great. The locking levers are perfect for our
review site, being able to pull device in and out with out having to un-screw or
un-bolt the devices saves time and effort.
This is the standard
side panel that comes with the Stacker case. This side panel includes a huge
port that allows the attachment of a 80mm fan to the center of the port. There
is also a huge foam filter that covers the entire port hole and this will aid in
keeping out dust and dirt.
On the back side of the
Stacker case we mounted the water cooling kit radiator and customized the
pass-thru connector to the case by drilling holes directly into the
chassis to allow the pass-thru kit to work. On the right side you can see
the standard side panel with a row of intake holes, this is where the Cross Flow
Fan system draws in fresh cool air.
Cooler Master sent us a
side panel window as an option for the review and this will give you an
excellent idea of how good this window kit makes up the over all picture. The
window allows you to show off all that hot looking hardware one might decide to
endow a Stacker case with. The side panel just set's off the entire rig theme
and over all looks kick ass!
Again the side panel
just sets the mood of this rig and allows us to keep an eye on the water cooling
system, air fans and others components. At the bottum of the window Cooler
Master has a factory installed Logo that proudly sports the name Cooler Master -
Stacker!
Here are the last shots
of the front and back area's of the Cooler Master
Stacker case, the front
access control panel sites in its default location taking up the No.12 bay area
and right underneath that control panel is our water-cooling reservoir. To the
rear of the case you can see the trick looking external radiator. Over all we
are extremely happy with the Stacker case. This is a very easily modded and
tweak-able configuration and if you need room, then this is the case for
you...
Done
Deal!
Final
Thoughts:
This is in my personal
opinion, one of the best cases on the market and for the fact its selling like
hot cakes is no surprise to me or anyone else who owns one. While the case will
not suite all walks of life it suites ours perfectly and maintains a wonderful
blend of functionality and form.
The Stacker is very
versatile and suites even the server side groups with rolling casters and dual
power supplies, dual and quad CPU server configurations and will handle loads of
enthusiast’s hardware.
The interior is huge and
gives lots of room for tinkering around in and if you do not opt for the Cross
Flow Fan, the port area can be used to hide your power cables and other cables
that otherwise would be all over the place without some form of wire management.
With the absence of the Cross Flow Fan, you can get some free wire management,
thanks to Cooler Master R&D.
The front 5.25" grills
are not easy to take off from the front of the case. We found the best way to
take off the grill covers, was to unlock the 4-in-3 module and press towards the
bezel, using the module to pop the grills off.
The power supply was
tricky in that my first attemp I installed the bracket to the PSU. Wrong Answer!
Once I tried to bolt in the PSU with the bracket in place I realized the
mistake. So the PSU installation should be done with the PSU installed into the
case, then mount the bracket by inserting the "hinge" up top of PSU knock out
area and then lay the panel flat to the case and adjust the PSU from the inside
of the case to line up the mounting holes, once I did that everything worked
like a charm. The manual is lacking in that detail, but nothing wrong with a
little trial and error.
The Stacker is on the heavy side but
you cant sacrifice rugged craftsmanship for lighter weight material. While this
might not suite the LAN Party Gamer as much as smaller cases, this design
is the enthusiasts dream boat and offers so much room for expandability, the
weight issue wont effect us like it could someone else so for that fact that is
the only thing we can put a neg on, as the rest of the case suited our needs
with flying colors!
The Stacker simply
rocks! It's got to be the coolest case and we mean that quite literally. It has
been part of our reviews for almost four months now and we love the ease of use,
general looks and style it gives to our hardware reviews. The Stacker is a hot
item and with proven sales records and satisfied customers, the proof is in the
pudding!
Pros:
Cons:
- After tax tag and title this is
one heavy case!
Cooler Master
USA, Inc.
1951 S. Parco Ave. Unit A
Ontario, CA 91761
TEL: 909-673-9880
FAX: 909-6730-9882
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PNY 8800GT PCIe 512MB - Rev 04
