Coolermaster ATC210 Aluminium Case Review
Date : day, 00 April 2002
Author : Rikk
Provided by : Coolermaster
UK
A few years ago I was in the market for a performance car - I had a desire to own something bright red with a prancing horse on the bonnet emblem. Why? I guess that it had something to do with the racing heritage, the way that the name Ferrari conjured up mental images of chequered flags and the pure exhilaration of speed. I wanted a gleaming Ferrari Dino 328 GTS Targa-roof, and I was prepared to pay whatever the price. Then, one Saturday morning, the dream died ... I took one for a test-drive. I thought that it was the most bad-tempered, uncomfortable and unforgiving car that I have ever driven. It just didn't suit me physically, but what's more, the disappointment I felt made it's shortcomings seem even worse. The 10 year-old car that I owned had more features, was easier to drive and, even more importantly, it had a better sound system! What a let-down :-(
So, what does that have to do with a computer case? Is the CoolerMaster ATC-210 really that bad? No, not at all - in fact, it is one of the highest quality cases I have ever had the chance to get my hands on. My point is this. If you are going to buy a CoolerMaster case purely because it costs more than double the price of any other similar case on the market, and therefore expect twice the features, you will be disappointed! Put simply, the CoolerMaster doesn't have a dozen fans, a tricky sliding front bezel or a built-in force field (!) What the CoolerMaster does have is sophisticated design principals, attention to detail, and a quality of build that is better than any other case I have seen.
Sure, other manufacturers have produced similar cases for lower prices, but when you have a good look at them they aren't even in the same ball-park when it comes to that one elusive attribute - Style :-)
After that boring annecdote, lets get back to the job at hand ... putting the CoolerMaster ATC-210VX1 under the microscope!
Model:- ATC-210 VX1 (Verdant).
Material:- Aluminium and Acrylic.
Dimensions:- 520 mm (L) x 196 mm
(W) x 452 mm (H).
Weight:- 6.5Kg.
Drive Bays:- External 4 X 5.25", 2 X 3.5", Internal 4 X 3.5".
PCI Slot Brackets:- 7.
M/B Type:- Standard ATX.
I/O Bracket:- Standard ATX.
Power Supply:- Retainer bracket for DIN ATX, PS2 Redundant.
Cooling:- 2 X 80mm Exhaust, rear and top.
Door:- 5mm thick Acrylic, magnetic catches.
Notes:- Tool-less assembly, 2 X USB Port at front.
First
Impressions
Once I got the carton open - man, they didn't hold back on the packing tape! - the first view inside was the one above. As you can see, there was little chance of it getting dented-up during transit - in fact, the carton was better constructed than some modern houses!
A little more unwrapping, and what we have is:
wOOt!
As always, seeing pictures on websites and brochures is
never the same as being 'up close and personal'. Like meeting Pamela Anderson
'face to face' - if you know what I mean. The first impression was how light
the case is - but then I remembered that there isn't a PSU supplied. Even so,
the case is still very trim at only 6.5kg / 14.3lbs. An average PSU will add
another 2kg / 4.5lbs straight away.
The Front Bezel
The front bezel is the 'draw-card' of this case, with the hinged door being the main thing that sets it apart from the rest of the aluminium crowd. Have you noticed anything strange about it? Unlike the majority of cases, all of the drive bays, switches and LED's are lined up down the centre of the case. So what? Nothing, just different! What is different is the thickness of the aluminium that the bezel is made of ... 5mm! That's right, nearly 1/4 inch thick. Do you have any idea how many Coke cans have gone into this thing? :-) The power and reset buttons are separated by two 'sunken surrounds', one each for the blue power and HDD activity lights - one less mod to do! At the very bottom are the two USB ports also fitted into a very cool recess.
The faceplates attach with screws through the sides of the chassis, and are standard DIN size - if you want to do a 'stealth' or 'faceplate' mod you will have to grind down the bezel of whatever you are going to fit, so that it slides inside of them. The chassis is a very 'closed' design, offering very little in the way of extra ventilation around the internal bays.
The door is 5mm thick Acrylic (perspex) that has been nicely finished off with a chamfer around the edges. The bottom is cut in an arch so that the front USB ports are easily accessible. Each side of the tower has a rounded 'L'-profile acrylic trim, that matches the door, to nicely finish off the bezel edges. In a well thought-out piece of design, this finishing trim also overlaps the side-covers by 19mm / 3/4", and gives the covers a very secure, retained position. No unsightly gaps here! In fact, getting the covers off, especially as there aren't any handles, is a good test of how tough your fingernails really are! The door has a pair of small magnetic catches that hold it closed, although the amount of effort needed to open it is minimal. "Hang on", I can hear you thinking, "how can a magnet be attracted to aluminium?". Sneaky stuff! The magnets line up with the metal screws that hold part of the bezel together, as you can see above. The door is attached so that it swings well "past centre", so there is no chance of a CD / DVD tray getting jammed by it.
These four images were sourced from the CoolerMaster Website
HERE.
There are actually several variants to the ATC-210, but the only obvious difference is the door! Firstly, there are two tint-colours available, Verdant, or green, and a blue shade called Azure. Then, within the two colours, there are two other variations - one style is clear, while the other style has a semi-opaque section that blurs the view of the drive-bay area (that CoolerMaster refers to as 'Fog'). On the subject of the door, I must admit to a misconception that I have had for a long while. I thought that it was made of glass. Yes, I know that the Website mentions the word 'Acrylic', as does the brochure, but it never really made an impression on me ... and on this case, the greenish-tinge makes it look even more like glass!
The Back
Moving to the rear of the case brings no surprises, with an
ATX I/O bracket, 7 PCI openings and the standard rear exhaust fan - an 80mm
YS Tech FD1281unit, with a pass-through Molex plug. This is part of the Active
Thermal Convection System, ATCS.
The fan grill is an integrated unit, however it appears to be an effective design.
There is a 150mm X 30mm / 6" X 1.25" vent grill that runs down the
side of the PCI slots. Considering that the rest of the panel-fit on this case
would be relatively air-tight, this is where most of the inrush of fresh air
would enter, as shown in the really professional illustration below. As you
have probably guessed, my family couldn't afford to send me to art school.
There are two PSU retaining brackets shipped with the ATC-210, one for standard ATX and another for fitting a PSII Redundant unit. The ATX support is fitted out of the box, but the inclusion of the PSII bracket reinforces CoolerMasters' claim that this is their entry-level server case.
As you would expect the ATC-210 is fitted with a removable Mother-board tray, which 'slides' on a pair of nylon 'tracks', making the process much smoother than 'metal-to-metal'. I really like this idea, as my present tray has a tendency to jam several times on the way out ... guaranteed to make me panic that there is a wire that I forgot to unclip! The motherboard tray is held in by 5 thumbscrews to facilitate removal without tools. All 7 of the PCI slots get the same treatment. Motherboard stand-offs are metal 'A' shaped brackets, that push though from the blind-side of the tray.
Another nicety are the two reinforcing brackets that strengthen the corners of the tray. You are not dependant on the rigidity of the PCI cards to stop the "L-shape" from becoming a "<-shape" as you are working on the components, or while pushing it back in. Lian owners will know what I mean! They are also a great place to secure errant wires as well - like Molex connectors for high-powered HS fans.
The Interior
The layout of the interior is not ground-breaking, but it is effective. The PSU is at the top-rear, the four 5.25 bays at the top-front and the six 3.5" bays below that.
The first thing that I noticed was that the 'external
device' bays do not have 'guides' between them. I have
racked my brain trying to think of a 'double-DIN' bay device where this would
be of advantage, but I can't think of any - other than an LCD Panel!
As you can see in the centre photo above, the bays are
a simple design of two separate "shaped" sheet-metal plates that are
attached at the top, bottom and front of the case. There is no cross-bracing
between them, but that extra strength would be provided by installed
components, similar to the 'monoque
construction' techniques used in Formula One cars.
The finish of the interior is as good as the outside, and the
sections that have not been polished have been given a brushed finish that has
a 'watermark' wave running through it - pointless, but pretty! The side-covers
have rolled edges to give them some additional rigidity, and are the usual 'slot
and slide' fit - not forgetting that they are also secured by the acrylic bezel
edges mentioned above. Two thumbscrews at the back 'lock' them into place.
Stripped down as far as you can - without drilling out the rivets :-)
- you can see just how different the design is from other, similar cases.
Here you can see that monoque design in its purest form. This is not eight square-section
aluminium rods simply joined together, but a series of plates that gain strength
from the intricate way that they are folded and locked to each other.
The Top and Bottom
Not too many case reviews include the top - after
all, flat and smooth is pretty obvious! However, one of the advanced
inclusions of the ATC-210 is a top blow-hole, which is also fitted with an 80mm
YS Tech FD1281 fan (with pass-through Molex plug), as the second part of the
ATCS. I was surprised at the use of an 80mm fan running at 12V, when
a 92mm running at 7V would have been much quieter and just as efficient. More
on that later, hehehe!
The other interesting point is that the top is double-skinned - there
is another layer of aluminium under the visible surface. The top fan is mounted
to the 'hidden' layer, giving the visible layer a 'stealth' look, as none of
the mounting screws are visible around the grill.
The bottom is smooth, apart from the obligatory rivet-heads and the four plastic feet. The feet are of higher quality than usual, and look like they were meant to go on an expensive Hi-Fi component ... which probably explains the 'gold' trim! Still, they are large enough for stability, and attached by screws - a nice change from the 'expanding plug' variety. I guess lockable wheels were too much to hope for :-)
Overall
It is hard not to compare the CoolerMaster ATC-210 with other
aluminium cases - especially the Lian Li range - but I have made a concerted
effort not to.
Why?
Mainly because there are some things that are purely intrinsic - you
cannot put a value on them. Just because a Ferrari and a Mercedes share certain
similarities, would you compare the two of them purely on performance? Or just
their luxury features? In each of these examples, one would beat the other by
a 'country mile' ... but that would not mean that either is less of a success
in catering to the needs of the market-niche that it was designed for.
Does the CoolerMaster ATC-210 meet the needs of the market it was aimed at? I think that it does. It offers:
It also has some peculiarities that don't really make a great deal of sense from the perspective that I viewed it from, such as:
Conclusion
When you start to look at premium cases such as the CoolerMaster, you have stepped out of one market dynamic, and into another league. At this end of the market, price will rarely be a major factor. The type of person who buys a ATC-210, or a Lian Li PC-6x, has certain reasons for their purchase. It might be the protective door that stops little fingers from pushing the reset button at the worst possible moment, or it might be that they prefer to have three external 3.5" drive bays instead of two. I'm not suggesting that the CoolerMaster case is out of most people's budget, but if you are on a budget, it might not be the box for you. That said, remember that this case might still be in your possession well and truly after the Pentium VIII or AMD 6100+ has been discarded for the latest model. Cases don't go 'out of style' every 3 months like processors do. My server case is 4 years old, and not in danger of being replaced yet ... well, it wasn't :-)
So, is this case a desirable item? My answer is a definite Yes. Can I give it a score out of 10? My answer is a definite No. This one is a personal call, something that will come down to your own needs and desires. If the ATC-210 has the features that you want, and you are seriously looking for a case at this end of the market, then I can vouch for the quality of the build. I am going to finish this review by quoting the Director of CoolerMaster in an excerpt taken straight off of the CoolerMaster site. This is something that I would not normally do, but I can vouch for the objective statements that he makes. The chassis aluminium is thicker than my Lian Li, the faceplate is 5mm thick, the panel fit is exceptional and the acrylic door does look and feel like glass.
Quote: "Most of our competitors use at best, a 1mm thick frame structure. We experimented with that originally but didn't feel it gave enough strength to be worthy of our case; our cases start at 2mm and up depending on the model. Much care and expense has gone into the precision and rate of our manufacturing process to provide cases that are over 95% air tight to minimise the inflow of dust and other particles inside from where the panels are joined and the air is unfiltered. Most our competitors build their case with 1 or 2mm thick Aluminium sheet all around; our face plates alone start at 5mm thick alloy for our lowest price case increasing to 10mm thick alloy for our high end cases. We shouldn't over look the quality of the acrylic used on our 210 range either. It combines the look and feel of glass with scratch and shatter resistance."