CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced Review

Coolermaster are regarded as one of the most well known manufacturer's when it comes to PC cases, and have been one of the main contenders when standing the test of time. As we all know, companies are started and in this day and age, it's very hard to keep afloat due to the recession that has "apparantly" ended, but Coolermaster have kept the market share and are still going from strength to strength. This is all down to many different aspects of the company as a whole and the products they develop. Over time, Coolermaster have been devoted to giving you the best quality, features and design for the best possible price. Even if you go back to the days of the Black Widow which is still remembered to be one of the best looking cases ever developed. Couple that with the amazing build quality that we see invested in every Coolermaster product, and there really is no place to go wrong. Sometimes however, companies do release products that are great and hundreds upon thousands are sold, but feedback gathered at later dates, give them ideas on bettering the already great selling product. This can then lead on to the development of a slightly improved product, or a version 2 for instance. That is where the 690 II Advanced comes in, based off of the original 690 and 690 II, we clearly know from the start, that this has a tried and tested method, design and functionality to boot. With all of this in hand, it gives us hope for all products that Coolermaster have released lately, and of course, any products that may be released from them in the future.PackagingCast your mind back when cases were becoming more and more stylish but still used the god-awful ivory colour that was the norm at the time. The boxes were generally very bland and didn't give much to the imagination. With cases giving more design flair now than ever, the box is the first thing you see, and reflects on the decision of how the contents will look; especially when looking in high street retailers. Due to this, Coolermaster have plumped for a stylish black box with a big product shot and model name printed on the front. It gives a very dark, artistic feel and spreads hope that the case itself will be as stylish. The side shows another clear view of the product and gives a brief description on the CM 690 series and where you can find out more information on Coolermaster products. You will normally find a full list of specifications on the box somewhere, and this one is no different giving a clear list of specifications on the side of box and also listing exactly what model you have. This generally details if the case comes with a power supply or a special feature, such as a side window. The model we are looking at is called the RC-692-KKN2. As said about the specifications, some of the main features are also listed on the box, giving clear picture views on the:Rear retaining holes for water coolingCPU retaining hole for easy cooler installCable management for cable routing and neatnessFull mesh and filter on the top and front7+1 expansion slotsTool-free HDD cageTool-free 5.25" bayFront blue on/off LED fanThese features are labelled on the 3 views of the case we can see. Below this are a few other features including:Stabilized with rubber standAccommodates top or bottom radiator installationTop HDD dock2.5" and 1.8" HDD or SSD adapterSpecificationsThe main things people look for when purchasing computer products are the features that it has, as everyone likes the little toys and gadgets and need to know if the case is going to be perfect for their needs. They also look at the specifications to make sure it's going to fit their needs. Especially when looking at a case, you need to know that your motherboard will fit ok, how many drive bays it has among other things. You can see if this case fits your needs from the features and specifications below: FeaturesFront, top an bottom mesh including dustfiltersAccommodates 120*140mm radiator on top or bottomUp top 10 casefansExternal SATA X-dockFront blue led fan on/offIncludes 1.8 and 2.5'' HDD and SSD adapterGood cable managementCPU retaining hole for easy maintainceIncludes VGA card bracket up to triple GPU cardsSpecifications Available ColorBlackMaterialSteel body/ Plastic + mesh bezelDimension214.5*511.8*528.8mmWeightNet weight: 9.56 KGGross weight: 11.56 KGMotherboardsMicro ATX / ATX / Mini ITX5.25" Drive Bay43.5" Drive Bay6 hidden1 exposedI/O PanelUSB 2.0*2 / eSATA*1 / MIC*1 / Audio*1Expansion Slots7+1Power SupplyStandard ATX PS2 / EPS 12V ExteriorAs said in the specifications, the case is made from various materials including it having a steel body, plastic and also a mesh bezel. The top of the case is mainly mesh giving fantastic ventilation to the extreme top of the case. The same styling follows around to the front of the case with a ventilated mesh design giving the best possible cooling whilst maintaining a sleek design. The silver trim seems to follow the contours of the case. There is also a pre-supplied 140 x 25mm blue LED fan at the front of the case at the bottom. Of course, the front of the case can be removed for easy cleaning of the fan. Taking a look at the sides of the case, you can see that it comes in as quite a tall case, even though advertised as a mid-tower sized case but that just means you get more for your money in our books. The side panels are both solid steel with spaces for various sized fans. The right side has a single space for a fan measuring 80 x 15mm and is an optional extra, you can choose to fit any desired brand or style as long as it conforms to the correct size. By installing a fan here, it will be flowing into the underneath of the motherboard, giving ventilation directly to the CPU backplate. The left side has a bit more flexability with regards to fan sizes and dimensions as firstly it has 2 spaces for fans, and also supports different sizes including 80, 92, 120 or 140mm fans which again are all optional extras. The rear of the case once again carries on the colour scheme, being completely black and from what we can see, has everything you would. At the top we can see that the case includes 2 grommit holes for water cooling tubes to slip through. A pre-supplied 120mm fan is included which operates at 1200RPM at 17dBA. The usual I/O slot and PCI expansion slots are easily seen of which there are 7 as well as an extra one in a vertical poisition. This may be used in conjunction with a Riser card of some sort. Down the bottom of the case is where a standard ATX PS2.EPS 12v power supply would be fitted. Cases have used the bottom for the power supply location for a while now, and it's becoming more and more mainstream as products are developed. Next to the PSU slot is where you will find the slot for adding some form of locking mechanism. The bottom of the case is probably the most boring part of the case to look at, but is also one of the most vital parts too. This is all down to the type of feet that the case uses. The reasoning behind this, is all down to anti-vibration properties and thankfully this case has rubber feet to aid in that. There is also a huge mesh supplied for PSU ventilation and the space for two option 120mm fans with removable dust filter for easy cleaning. We could have mentioned the main features on the top of the case earlier, but we believe in leaving the best things till last, or at least until later. On the top of the case is a very nice feature for the novelty value of a hot-swappable hard drive dock for all 3.5" SATA drives. As long as your SATA controller is enabled via AHCI, you will be able to use this feature in hot-swappable mode. Also on the top, are an array of buttons and connections. These include from left to right:Fan LED on/off switcheSATA portUSB 2.0 portHeadphone jackMicrophone jackAnother USB 2.0 portReset switchPower switch You will also see 2 LED's, of which one is for power and the other for hard drive activityInteriorThe inside of this particular case follows the same colour scheme as the exterior which is fantastic, as there are so many maunfacturer's today, making stylish cases with bland, boring, unpainted insides which personally lets the product down as a whole. This case is different though, as you can see it is painted black inside and has plenty of cable management holes. If you're lucky, you might get to see our effort at building a tidy machine for our temperature testing. Looking inside the case and taking a gander at what comes included fan wise, we can see there is enough space for 2 fans at a maximum 140mm. The case does come pre-supplied with 1 x 140mm x 25mm fan which operates at 1200RPM at 19 dBA. As we spoke about earlier in the review, there is a 120mm fan at the rear of the case, ready to exhaust any heat rising to the top corner. You guessed the specs of it, it's another 1200RPM fan, but this time running at a quieter 17dBA. The other pre-supplied fan is the front 140mm Blue LED fan which we touched on lightly earlier. This runs at 1200RPM again, and due to its size, is 19dBA just like the top fan that comes supplied. Looking around the rest of the case, you can see that its made to look extremely simple due to its tool-less design. To install a cd drive for instance, is a simple tool-less design. Installing a hard drive is a simple task again, with removeable drive bays for fitting 2.5" SSD's and 3.5" drives doesn't have to be a daunting task. Simple slide the drive bay out, place your drive in and slot it back in, though you will need to take the other side panel off to get to the drives connectors. With games getting more and more popular, consumers are upgrading their computer components more than ever, especially when it comes to graphics cards. You can even see people updating more and more frequently now to stay ahead of the game. Due to this, they want to be able to upgrade their components as quickly as possible, and with ease. Luckily this case has thumbscrews for taking out PCI expansion slots for yet more simple operations. There is one feature of this case that i've never seen before, or maybe i just never noticed but when you look at installing your system into this case, you will want to know exactly where to place your motherboard stand-offs. To make your life easier, on the motherboard tray it lists exactly where to put the stand-offs if you are using Micro ATX or full-size ATX. Test SetupWith cases, testing and benchmarking isn't something that is really done in the review field too much, as it's more about the design and aestehtics as opposed to the tests that can be done and there is reasoning behind this. We could show you the system temperature of a case, but how would we make it fair? It would constantly have to be the same hardware used throughout every review, and with system parts being constantly updated and changed, this leads to make it an unfair test. Also, what about ambient room temperature, and factoring that in too? Simply put, we don't believe it will be a fair test no matter how precise we aim to do it, but it still gives a comparison to work with, so for the benefit of you (the reader/viewer) we will compare it the fairest way we can by maintaining the same room temperature and using the same parts in our comparison tests. Our test system consists of: Test SystemProcessor (CPU)AMD Phenom II X6 1100TMotherboardECS A785GM-M Black SeriesMemory (RAM)8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1800MHz Graphics CardAMD Radeon HD 6850 1GBPrimary Hard DriveKingston V+ Series 64GB SSD x 2 (Raid 0)Power SupplyBFG EX Series 1200wattOperating SystemWindows 7 Professional 64-bit To run our tests, we will be measuring the temperatures of the most vital components of any computer, the CPU and GPU using a select few applications for temperature monitoring. We will note the idle temperature after 20 minutes of sitting at ambient room temperature, and will then run benchmarking applications such as FurMark to put as much possible strain on the GPU, and Prim 95 torture test to do the same on the CPU for 20 minutes. At this point we will measure the load temperature Throughout these tests, we will have the case fans that come supplied on their maximum fan speed settings. To make the comparison a fair test, we will not be using any other types of cooling devices.ResultsFor the purpose of comparison, we have pitted the 690 II Advanced against the Xigmatek Midgard White Knight. These are both similarly sized cases with similar cooling solutions. This makes it perfect for comparison. As you can see from the CPU temperatures, regardless of case, the temperatures were very close. At idle, we recieved the same temperature, and only 1 degree difference on load, with the 690 II Advanced coming out on top. The GPU temperatures were a little bit more varied, with a clear 3 degree different at idle and a smaller 1 degree variance at load. The 690 II Advanced came out on top with better cooling results for the GPU too.ConclusionWhen you buy a case from CoolerMaster, you expect nothing but the best. This includes the overall build quality, the design, and even the performance. This case is no different giving us exceptional build quality whilst keeping the essence of CoolerMaster with fantastic design properties and amazing performance too. If you are in the market for a mid-size tower case and you don't want to spend mass amounts of money but obviously want a product that will last you the test of time; any CoolerMaster case will be suitable for you. Then if you want something that gives that little bit more, you'd look at the 690 II Advanced. We couldn't find any fault with this case apart from it being a little bit over most consumers budgets, but I think that myself and cooler Master are on the same page and we both believe that you get what you pay for, meaning that you could get something cheaper but you would be sacrificing the design, performance and the build quality. Unboxing Video: Video Review: Pros: Reliable manufacturerStylish in blackTool-less designUnique featuresWater-cooling capabilitiesTried and test designCable managementMulti-connector fansCons:5970 graphics card won't fitRatings: Design - 9Features - 9Performance - 9Value - 8Overall - 8 Attached files 1.jpg (70.8 KB) 10.jpg (88.4 KB) 11.jpg (47.9 KB) 12.jpg (96.1 KB) 13.jpg (78.8 KB) 14.1.jpg (66.6 KB) 14.jpg (62.8 KB) 15.jpg (52 KB) 16.jpg (70.3 KB) 17.jpg (90.1 KB) 18.jpg (34.7 KB) 19.jpg (95 KB) 2.jpg (45.3 KB) 20.jpg (73.1 KB) 21.1.jpg (99 KB) 21.jpg (77.3 KB) 22.jpg (97.3 KB) 23.jpg (44.6 KB) 24.jpg (76.7 KB) 3.jpg (63.7 KB) 4.jpg (79.5 KB) 6.jpg (94.9 KB) 690IIAdvanced.jpg (10.6 KB) 7.jpg (71.7 KB) 8.jpg (96.5 KB) 9.jpg (57.9 KB) chart1.jpg (25 KB) chart2.jpg (27 KB)