Gadgetory

the Coolermaster half 9:32 if you haven't heard of this case before you need to step out from your fallout shelter upgrade your Commodore and continue watching this review the whole premise of the half design is high airflow it is intended for serious users that want to be able to squeeze the most from their system components without having to worry about Heat the case we're looking at today is the half 932 released as a limited edition AMD version now despite the fact that it's labeled as a limited special edition the case rings in at basically the same price point as the original as is great news for penny pinchers but it also tells you there isn't likely to be any radical changes so to be honest before we get into things not much has changed with this revision aside from the general look of the case but let's dive in and see if it's all for the better the case is definitely not small however as we will say it makes it the perfect candidate for larger hardware and despite the fact that it's full of holes it still weighs 30 pounds the most striking change is the ATI red front panel and unfortunately it's little more than red plastic resembling something that feels almost like a child's toy at the bottom a large and very specific AMD phenom ii x4 case badge which is andy's current top-end processor line there are no alternatives or generic case badges included the front piece comes off for cleaning but there's no real dust filters to actually clean up the front 6 external drive bays and the front panel has a full array with USB ports firewire eSATA along with audio and LEDs power and reset buttons are at the top along with a storage area sort of covered by the rubber that can be taken off to reveal a very handy water cooling port at the back a 230 millimeter red LED fan which can be replaced with 220 millimeter fans the side panel is the biggest design change the original featured an intake 200 millimeter fan with a small end slightly cheesy security window at the top they've taken it all out to feature a full-fledged window that has a unique graphic featuring AMD's fusion dragon logo as well as the company symbol at the back there's space for a top-mounted power supply with water cooling holes in the middle i/o where 'ya 140 millimeter fan with space for 127 PCI expansion slots more venting and the bottom mounted power supply area skipping to the bottom we have 220 millimeter fan spaces though no dust filters along with removable feet if you want to attach the included wheels jumping right into the case there's plenty of room for bottom mounted power supplies and it supports longer PS use with this extendable cage that keeps it raised there's six sideways mounted hard drive bays using cooler masters excellent sled system then the front another 230 millimeter red LED intake fan at the back the tool is PCI Eclipse the 140 millimeter exhaust fan and at the front the tool is five on a quarter inch drive bays using the cooler master button system up at the very top are second power supply area but you will have to take out the top 200 millimeter fan to use it as is becoming common on the motherboard tray they've included a CPU backplate opening and as we'll see with the halves punched out back there is just about an inch of room for cables making it very easy for wiring the motherboard tray includes plenty of cable management spacing and supports the standard size boards including the larger EE ATX form factor as you can see at the back of the case right over the tray and cable spaces they push the back panel out to allow for more cable wiring and the drive bays are inset a good inch to allow for cable storage there shouldn't be any problems wiring this thing up and one of the more disappointing features for this case was despite the fact that they've added a full side window supposedly so you can see inside in your handiwork the interior is still this very drab gray we've recently seen the move for a bunch of cases too well painted black interiors and even a lot without as we move on to the installation the half 932 really begins to stand out cooler masters to list drive caddy system has always been a personal favorite it's simple to install and fairly secure rom drive installation is again a breeze the covers can be taken off without removing the whole front panel and the drive just slides in and clicks into place with expansion cards the plastic retention clips do work fine to hold Hardware in but it's probably not a bad idea to remove them and use screws if you want something more secure and with 13 inches of space for video cards fitting the ridiculous cards like the 12 and a half inch or ATI 5970 will not be a problem one thing to love about this case is that coolermaster has done a great job with cable layout nearly everything can be kept in behind the motherboard tray with just a little creative positioning and for us messy kevlars the back panel has no trouble fitting back over top of a rat's nest for the most part this all keeps the front clear looking very clean and sharp and perfect for airflow a quick note as we pass the back on our particular core i7 motherboard the mounting holes don't quite line up now this case was designed before Intel's Core series went mainstream so the issue is forgivable but it may cause a bit of a headache a standout feature of the 932 is it's unprecedented water cooling options it's large size and wide interior allow for easy placement of tubing and extras and as far as radiators go there's a bunch of different options you can place a single radiator at the rear or depending on your power supply placement you can fit a dual 120 millimeter rad at the bottom of the case or have one up at the top either on the inside or outside now with the name like half temperatures and cooling are clearly the focus so we had to put this case to the test and that wraps up our look at the cooler master 1/2 932 AMD edition now because nothing has really changed with a basic layout of the case all the original pros and cons still apply the cooling and air flow is still superb and relatively quiet even with the loss of a giant fan the construction is excellent and Coolermaster has designed an interior layout that sets the bar for water cooling and usability and we still lament the lack of dust filters and unfortunately the rest of the downsides all revolve around the look so here's my take when it comes down to it a limited edition promotional item should be something unique something special in something that offers more than the rest now I would imagine that someone who would be interested in purchasing a limited edition type of case wouldn't be shy to spend the extra money to get something special that really shows itself off a little more time and a little more investment would have been well worth it to see some improvements on things like a black interior and a better quality and color of front panel no to their credit the side panel design is very eye-catching and well done it's not just some cheap slap on sticker ultimately I could be completely off-base because in reality beauty is all in the eyes of the beholder if you like what AMD even cooler matte have done with the case then you get the almost famous benefits of the half nine three two in a design that breaks the mold of the other who knows how many cases out there so thanks for checking out our hard work next product showcase on new coolermaster hath 932 AMD limited-edition case and if you like our videos definitely subscribe and don't forget to check out triple W Hardware canucks calm thanks for watching