Gadgetory

cool master has been recognized for delivering some of the best consumer oriented cases that fit the bank and do the job right it was almost two years ago when Kula master upgraded the half series with the introduction of the full tower the half X that was leaning towards enthusiasts and water coolers so today we're looking at the newest addition to the half series behalf XM it is meant to close the gap between those who appreciate the industrial look of the case but don't necessarily agree with the size or the price of the half X so in essence the case displays many of the impressive qualities of the half X but in a smaller form but the release price of $130 while it is considered to be a mid tower the chassis is fairly large perhaps a new category should be created that fits somewhere in between the fool and the mid size range the half X M carries with it the common aggressive characteristics found on all the half series with a combination of plastic and steel for construction kill master managed to deliver a solid case throughout so let's take a closer look for the front panel connections we have the audio ports USB 3 and USB 2 ports USB 3 connecting through the internal 20 pin cable and unfortunately no adapter is included located at the top are the power button LED switch for the front fan and a reset button the front panel has three optical drives with built in dust filters below which two hot swap drives are located an excellent addition for any enthusiasts that supports both 2.5 and 3.5 inch drives the panel is easily removable just don't forget to take out the hot swap base first and it also has a built in dust filter for the front intake cooler master includes a 200 millimeter fan with mounting holes for dual 120 or a single 140 millimeter fan so plenty of fan sizing options to suit your configuration moving back to the top a neat little feature is this top pocket with a rubber insert that acts as a non-slip surface excellent for storing USB keys and other small items to get rid of some of that table clutter and the top panel can easily be removed with just one thumb screw and has a built-in dust filter and allows for the fans to be installed above the steel frame a welcome sight for water coolers the half XM comes equipped with another 200 millimeter fan with many other cooling options available such as installation of a second 200 million fan for extremely powerful exhaust or a dual 120 and 140 million their fans are supported perfect for dual radiators at the back we have water cooling holes and exhaust fan ion slot a PCI slots plus the vertical one for accessories and a bottom mounted power supply unfortunately without an easily accessible dust filter and the chassis is elevated with pre-installed case feet that allows for ventilation for that power supply both of the side panels are not flat and have these pop outs to allow for easier cable management in the back and installation of fans to the side panel without interference with the internals getting inside the 1/2 X M has been made extremely simple and is now more convenient with this latched handle the side panel is solid and supports an optional 200 millimeter fan or dual to 140 million fans and the removable dust filter is also provided the chassis will also be available with a side window for those who want to show off the internals and starting it from our usual spot the optical base user to list mounting mechanism below which the internal ports for the two hot swap bays are located and the hard drive cage that can mount six drives using a toolless bracket with SSD support the top half of the cage can be disassembled to allow more clearance for the front intake and the caged wall can also mount a single 120 millimeter fan that would help in the thermal Dept directing the airflow straight into your graphics card additional cutouts are also available to route any small cables that would come in very handy on the other side we have a large CPU cutout with the rubber grommets around the motherboard tray to accommodate for all the wiring and this sliding power supply cover which seems to become the staple for the half series and is really useful to hide all the cables coming from the power supply the cover can slide based on the length of your power supply but must be removed prior installation now one disappointing aspect of such a promising interior is the dust filter for the power supply it is placed directly the power supply removal of which requires plenty of work just to clean the filter and in the market we're easily accessible dust filters are becoming a must Coolermaster needs to step it up it's a minor drawback that really shouldn't be overlooked in the future at the back of the case the large back plate opening should come in handy when replacing coolers and all the rubber grommets are placed appropriately especially the enlargement at the bottom very handy for hassle-free cable management with plenty of cable tie notches for all the wiring and one cool little feature is the ability to mount the single 2.5 inch drive right behind the motherboard tray and says these are still pretty pricey and many use only one drive as a boot drive leaving more room for the 3.5 inch drives for the hard drive cage so beginning with the assembly the cutout below the motherboard comes in quite handy especially for routing those audio cables and putting back the power supply cover the system looks clean and even with non modular power supplies all the excess cables can simply be hidden the case will have no problem supporting the longest cards in the market even with the fan installed onto the hard drive cage this means all the drive mounts can be utilized without any hardware limitations as you see our 11 half inches card still has plenty of clearance between the fan so the 1/2 X M is quite impressive coolermaster has yet again delivered an outstanding chassis suited for enthusiasts the essence of the half X is felt throughout with indeed the high airflow design both for air and water cooling the build quality is nothing to complain about and internal hardware limitations are none so the case is ready for practically anything and lastly cool masters pricing for this high-end mid tower is just right entering the market at a really competitive price the only flaw we see with this case is the placement of the power supply dust filter that is not accessible when the system is assembled and it'll be frustrating removing the power supply just to get to the filter and as with every case in the half series the rough industrial looks may not be to everyone's taste but thumbs up for kou masters damn good and damn good value case keeping up the tradition with practical and affordable chassis thank you guys for watching and we'll see you next time