CM Storm Trooper Full Tower Chassis Review

With cases of the past from Cooler Master, you know that before you open the box, the case will yield a high level of feel and build quality.  This is certainly no-exception here and the case is solid and easy to handle even though its much larger than the majority of cases we see come through our hands.

The number of features included and installation options that are available is just staggering. For starters, we got what is pretty much the standard with cases in that there is the usual USB and audio jacks on the front I/O panel along with an eSATA port, and a cable management solution inside.  Where the Storm Trooper exceeds this is with the built in fan controller, USB 3.0 support, the lovely carry grab handle, cable security panel on the rear of the case, internal parts/ accessory tray, huge expanse of space inside for fitting hard drives / optical drives/ SSDs and any 5.25″ accessory with space to spare on the front panel.  The option to rotate the hard drive cages and /or remove them entirely is a great feature (albeit not a new concept from Cooler Master). Normally a case like this would be bordering near or above the £200 price mark, but at a mere £139.16 the deal just got a lot sweeter, considering how many other cases of this price can offer this much and more without reducing the quality and feel to them?

As with any case and any product we get in for that matter, I always try put my self in the shoes of the person that is looking for a product of this type and ask myself; “Would I buy this myself?”  The Trooper has a very clear answer to this question, yes.  The Trooper has entered into a market where on the extreme end of the scale, the competition can be quite fierce, but this is nothing like that, its entered in a position where it is directly taking on cases on the next level down, and by doing this I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sell out very quickly as everyone goes out to grab a huge bargain.

Even though I did point out a couple of niggles through the review, like most things these are a mere petty point.  If I was to go out and buy one of these for myself, I would not mark the case down for those reasons and I’m sure that given a little more time and careful planning, I could have worked my way around these. I asked right at the beginning if the Strom Trooper would be running at the front line or whether it would be left behind with everyone else, however it is very clear from its striking yet simple design, the huge amount of space for drive fitment, and included extras such as the X-Dock that the Trooper is way out ahead in the lead and the Cooler Master Storm series has firmly made its mark in the case department.