Gadgetory

cool master is launching its first full that I see under the CM storm series this being the CM storm trooper incorporating all the enthusiast gaming needs for a mobile system now the aggressive look of the case really adds this armored and tough feel to the case using the concept of armored transport as the main idea behind the design and coolermaster has added a number of features that will stand out from the rest of the mobile towers the case is to be released in October 2011 at the retail price of around $190 so for the full package with all the features that this trooper offers you'll be pleased to know it is fairly priced first as you notice the large handle at the top of the case which is rubberized along with a rear support handle and no worries it can handle up to 43 kilograms of weight so considering the case itself is only around 15 kilograms additional 28 kilograms of Hardware can be installed inside while still maintaining a safe carrying capacity now coolermaster thought of coating the case with damage resistant rubber surface to prevent from scratches if the case is in transport now not only will that prolong the life the chassis but it also adds this quality feel to the outside plastic the top panel is quite busy featuring your activity light your audio 2 USB 3.0 and 2 regular USB ports eSATA and the reset button now the trooper comes with an integrated fan controller and an illuminated CM storm logo for your power button be able to connect six fans to the fan controller which can also regulate LEDs on the fans and the LED indicator on the top of the case shows either dimmed or solid light corresponding to one of the six speeds unfortunately Coolermaster does not provide USB 3.0 2.0 adapter so for non-supportive motherboards two of the USB ports of the front will not be utilized right below that is what they call an X Doc allows for a 2.5 inch hot-swap drive to be installed is a much welcomed feature and would be nice seeing more case manufacturers incorporating that into the chassis design below that are our nine five and a quarter inch drive base with an included 3.5 inch adapter all the dust filters and can be easily accessed and removed from the front next this is what makes schoolmaster ahead of its competitors see the nice brushed aluminum cover at the bottom remove that and here you have yourself a hidden toolbox inside which case accessories can be stored and found along with an 8 pin CPU extension moving on to the side panel we have a large venting area with the option for two 120mm fans and the other side panel has more venting area if you want the hard drive cages to be installed facing the back side panel to allow for passive air flow at the back of the trooper we have water cooling holes rear exhaust fan io area nine PCI ventilated expansion slots plus an additional vertical one either to use with the storm guard security or mounting additional accessories now the storm guard security bracket allows for effective lock of a gaming peripherals to the case especially used for four LAN parties now Coolermaster recognizes the importance of a dust-free interior and incorporates three easily removable dust filters okay moving inside users have the option for different harddrive mounts either facing the back side panel and hiding the cables or rotate it either of both pages in a more traditional matter with cables facing the motherboard the advantage of such layout is that allows for passive airflow throughout the case meaning delivering cold air inside the case for further cooling if the cages are facing the back none of that air is being utilized to cool any other component but the drives themselves speaking in which in total 8 3.5 inch drives can be installed all of which have support for 2.5 inch drives so a total of 13 2.5 inch drives can be installed with 12 being inside the case and additional hot-swap ex-dog on the exterior now in terms of cooling this full Tower comes equipped with 2 120mm fans in the front 200 millimeter fan at the top and a 140 millimeter fan for exhaust but in total troopers cooling potential is 9 fans and support for 2 dual rads one at the top and the other at the bottom but cooler master suggests that with some creative mounting users are able to mount a quadrat if you remove the hard drive cages the optical drives and the toolbox but also says that altering the steel frame may void your warranty and the potential mounting bracket for the front may also be released in the future as you see there is an extra large CPU backplate opening with rubber grommets around the motherboard tray for routing and cables and this scary-lookin amount of cables for the front panel but not to worry there is enough room in the back for cable management with plenty of cable time mountings the rest of the assembly went really smooth with no issues for your cable management and as you can see cleans up nicely on the inside with plenty of room for future expansions our eleven and a half inches long graphics card fit in with plenty of room to spare and the case supports up to twelve point seven inches in length for your GPU so an AMD 6990 will be no problem coolermaster year again has delivered an exceptional photoshops II this time concentrating on the mobile gamer incorporating all the enthusiast features into this enclosure and armoring this trooper even if your main purpose for the chassis to be used as a workstation the carrying handle doesn't interfere and most likely will come in handy in the future but for a mobile user a steel construction is durable and the carrying capacity should suffice for even extreme gaming configurations the integrated fan controller along with the hot sorbet really adds value to the chassis and the damage resistant rubber coating will definitely protect against minor scratches during transport but also keep in mind it is plastic the internal hard drive configuration options allow the user slightly more flexibility with their own setup which doesn't require too many steps and an included toolbox really can be useful for storing extra case parts or accessories that will not be lost and finally for a price tag of one hundred and ninety dollars this being a mobile full tower that can handle practically anything cool master has yet again delivered to our expectations for a reasonable price the only negative comment that we can make about Trouper is that a triple rad support the top would have been made that deal and make this case even more competitive among other full towers and the USB 3.0 to 2.0 converter should be available with the case to utilize the USB 3 ports on the front even with non-supportive motherboards beside the slight drawbacks thumbs up for cool masters damn go Trooper thanks guys for watching and we'll see you next one