Cooler Master CM690 Mid-Tower Enclosure

Introduction:

   Arriving at my front door in a plain brown box, this mystery item puzzled me. Not knowing if I should open it up or call Home Land Security, I took the chance and risked life and limb to find out what was lurking inside. Lo and behold, it was the CM690 SLI-ready enclosure from Cooler Master. This sleek, black enclosure sports a black mesh front and top with chrome dividers, tool-less installation, internal cable management system, and enough fan openings to create your own hovercraft. A bunch of other neat, little options are included, but I will mention those in the review - no need to spoil things now.

Specifications:

Packaging:

Stealth Package

Foam Protection

Contents

    The CM690 arrived in a plain, brown box with no discernable markings whatsoever, and after it sat around here for a few weeks, I completely forgot who it was from until I opened up the box. Once opened, I found that the CM690 was protected with the softer foam and wrapped in plastic.

Exterior:

Front Mesh

Front Intake

Mesh Recessed

Front Buttons

    The exterior of the CM690 is black with a mesh front bezel. The bezel is the area I start with when doing my overview of the exterior. The bezel, like I said, is made up of steel mesh from top to bottom, including the five 5.25" bay covers. Behind the lower portion of the bezel is the intake fan. The Power/Reset buttons are on the right side of the bezel and on the curved portion. The curved areas are beveled on a 45° angle and give the case a wider appearance.

3/4 View	Left Panel	Rear Panel
Right Panel	Top Side	Front I/O

    Moving around to the left side panel, which on most enclosures is normally windowed, on the CM690 it is not. Instead, two 120mm fan openings are located here to blow air across the video card and CPU. Moving around to the rear, the layout is slightly different with the PSU opening located on the bottom and an 120mm fan opening on the top. Next, it's time to move over to the right side panel, which, oddly enough, is not a panel either. Here is located a fan opening that is intended to cool the backside of the motherboard where the CPU is located. The last area to mention is the top, and on the CM690 the top has the same mesh that is continued from the bezel. Toward the front in the middle are the front panel I/O connections. Those connection are the dual USB2.0 ports, IEEE, Audio/Mic and one eSATA connection.

Interior:

Interior

Panel Fan

Right Side Fan

Cable Clips

    Two thumbscrews on each side panel are used to keep the panels secured. After removing the thumbscrews and removing the side left side panel, it's now time to go over the interior. The first think that stuck out was the included cable clips for cable management. Seven clips are installed on the motherboard tray. Upfront is the optical and hard drive rack. The upper portion holds the 5.25" bays and the lower section is for the hard drives.  The optical drives are held in place with a tool-less locking clip.

Optical Bays	Tool-less Clip	Locking Pins	Tool-less HDD rack
Floor Fan	PSU Opening	Expansion Clips	Top Fans

    The hard drives are held in place with tool-less slide trays. The HDD trays slide out and already have mounting pins installed. These pins are in rubber grommets to reduce vibration. The other items that are tool-less are the expansion slots; a simple clip keeps the cards in place. The last thing I want to mention is the openings for eight fans. Three fans are included: one up front, one at the back, and a side panel fan. The openings for the five others are at each side panel, one on the floor, and two up on top.

Installation:   

Optical Drive	Rubber Grommet	Locking Pin
HDD in Tray	HDD Installed	Cable on the Back
PSU Installed	Gear Installed	Front LED Fan

    Installation was a breeze, and with everything being tool-less, the installation was also faster. The first item I tossed in the was the optical drive. This is done by removing the bezel, which is snapped in place, and removing the drive bay cover. Next was the hard drive, which just pops into the tray by bending the tra'sy sides outward gently - just be sure to install the drive with the cable connections towards the right side panel for a clean looking install. Now install the power supply and motherboard, and route all possible cables through the cable clips.

Conclusion:

    The CM690 is a simple, yet stylish-looking, enclosure with the mesh top and front, and chrome highlights. Three distinct things I like on the CM690 are the shape and location of the Power/Rest buttons, the cable management system, and the ability to add a fan to cool the back side of the CPU socket. The only real drawback to this enclosure is the weight. Being all steel it gets heavy, but that is fine since it's a tower enclosure and not a LAN box.

    Although the CM690 has eight fan openings, only three fans are included. These openings are 120mm in size except the one for cooling the CPU backplate area of the motherboard - that one is 80mm. The larger fans allow you to use high-flow, low-noise fans, although I don't think you will need to fill up all the openings with fans. But it does give the option to place fans in certain areas to create a specific flow of air.

    Overall, I like the CM690 and will be adding it to my collection. You can pick this chassis up for just $39.99 after rebate at ZipZoomFly for a limited time! I would like to thank Cooler Master for sending this item out for VH to review.

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