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My short Cooler Master CM 690 Review.

CDdude55

Crazy 4 TPU!!!
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Memory 8GB Corsair Vengence @1600mhz
Video Card(s) XFX HD 6970 2GB
Storage OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD/WD Velociraptor 300GB
Display(s) ASUS VH232H 23" 1920x1080
Case Cooler Master CM690 (w/ side window)
Audio Device(s) Onboard (It sounds fine)
Power Supply Corsair 850TX
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1


I have had the Cooler Master CM690 case for about a year and a half now, and i would like to share my opinions and view on the case, this review is a fairly short one and more info can be found on it at Cooler Master site. I currently have no mods done on the case and am running all air cooling.


Size
The Cooler Master CM690 case is actually a fairly large case, i remember when i first viewed it on Newegg, i thought it was so tiny. When i decided to order it i found out the true size of the case, the innards of the case will fit any card of today you need for your gaming and etc. Fortunately, its not as heavy as cases like the TT Armor or the CM Cosmos series(that would be because those cases are bigger in size). Once everything is in the case it can get quite heavy(i can only imagine the weight for those with a 4870 X2/ GTX 295:eek:). Overall its a great sized case with a good amount of room, yet not being to bad in weigh like the cases mentioned above. Also, the bottom fan mount can get in the way of long Power Supplies, so if you have a long PSU you will need to get rid of the fan mount.


Cooling
Luckily, due to its size mentioned above. This case the has the ability to fit 8x fans( 2x at top, 1x 80mm CPU back fan, 1x Front fan, 1x Exhaust fan, 2x Side panel fans, and one fan at the bottom of the case). These really help with cooling of the PC components inside, if you have all those fan slots filled, your power hungry hardware should have more then enough room to stay cool. For those Water Cooling folks, there are two premade holes in the back for your water cooling tubes(don't worry there covered by some plastic so theres no worry for dust or whatever else to come in), i have yet to use WCing so i can't go far into that, but it does have the available holes needed. One problem would be dust from fans, there is no mesh on the side panels and what not so if your in a dusty area it will attract some, but i am pretty sure if you put your mind to it you can make your own fan mesh mod or just position it in a less dusty area (like not on the floor). Also keep in mind the stock fans that come with the case don't push much air, so if you know for a fact your system is going to be burning up if it doesn't get proper air moving through the case, i would really recommend you change the stock fans.


Wiring
This was one of the things i really worried about when i first saw the interior of the case, the Power Supply is mounted at the bottom, so make sure you have the available length in cords to reach the sockets(i.e CPU power socket), I do believe there are premounted holes to route your cables through, though i haven't payed much attention to them. I would recommend a PSU with a good length in cables just to avoid the hassle in routing or drilling. There are also ports at the top of the case(e-SATA,etc) so there are some cables that will come down from the top of the case, if you don't need them you can easily stuff them into a CD drive bay, you can also use cable ties to make it even easier. If you are planning to use them the cables are long enough for some good routing.


Overall
This case is overall awesome, lots of room for the parts you need while keeping then cool in any situation. As stated above only cons are really the PSU cord length/mount, dust.etc. The entire build went smooth with this case, nice tooless expansion slots/drive day slots and easy to use HDD mounting system. With room for today's video cards and possibly future cards(lets hope they don't get bigger). I don't see myself parting away from this case till a long time. I hope this review has helped someone out trying to pick a great case, cause this one truly is one of them. Also, there is another version of the CM 690 case, its the ''Nvidia Edition'' version, Its a great looking case for those that want to add a little more color to the case.(It has a green side window and a Nvidia logo at the front, so if you hate green and Nvidia, you'll hate that version).


4.8/5

Posted this originally over at Castiel's site, thought it would be a good idea to share it here.:)
 

alexp999

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Motherboard ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) | HP 6715b
Cooling Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
Memory 4GB OCZ Platinum PC2-8000 @ 1000Mhz 5-5-5-15 2.1v | 2 x 1GB DDR2 667 MHz
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Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D | 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s) Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 | ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply Corsair TX650W | HP 90W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 | Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores 3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0
This is why we need a User Review section.

Nice Mini-review, I have 9 fans in my CM690, and have the windowed side panel with only one fan place :D

:toast:
 

CDdude55

Crazy 4 TPU!!!
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
8,178 (1.34/day)
Location
Virginia
System Name CDdude's Rig!
Processor AMD Athlon II X4 620
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Cooling Corsair H70
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengence @1600mhz
Video Card(s) XFX HD 6970 2GB
Storage OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD/WD Velociraptor 300GB
Display(s) ASUS VH232H 23" 1920x1080
Case Cooler Master CM690 (w/ side window)
Audio Device(s) Onboard (It sounds fine)
Power Supply Corsair 850TX
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1
This is also posted in General Nonsense, i wanted to post it there, but i accidentally posted it here.

I guess it fall under this section too.

Thanks Alex!:)
 

alexp999

Staff
Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
8,012 (1.32/day)
Location
Dorset, UK
System Name Gaming Rig | Uni Laptop
Processor Intel Q6600 G0 (2007) @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45625v (LLC) / 4 GHz Bench @ 1.63v | AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 2 GHz
Motherboard ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) | HP 6715b
Cooling Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
Memory 4GB OCZ Platinum PC2-8000 @ 1000Mhz 5-5-5-15 2.1v | 2 x 1GB DDR2 667 MHz
Video Card(s) XFX GTX 285 1GB, Modded FTW BIOS @ 725/1512/1350 w/Accelero Xtreme GTX 280 + Scythe sinks| ATI X1250
Storage 2x WD6400AAKS 1 TB Raid 0, 140GB Raid 1 & 80GB Maxtor Basics External HDD (storage) | 160GB 2.5"
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D | 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s) Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 | ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply Corsair TX650W | HP 90W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 | Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores 3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0
I see no reason for it not to be here. A comments and feedback thread has started for user reviews, hopefully W1zz will implement it.
 
K

kyle2020

Guest
6 fans in mine, and I must say its the first case Im considering keeping :toast:

That said, im considering removing the HDD cage already . . . Already hacked her to bits for cable management and airflow . . . Added 4x 14cm fans (thanks again alex :D) and it keeps everything lovely & cool.

Ill only go back to a full size case if its either a rocketfish or a TJ-07. That cosmos 1000 was so ghastly, eurgh.
 

alexp999

Staff
Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
8,012 (1.32/day)
Location
Dorset, UK
System Name Gaming Rig | Uni Laptop
Processor Intel Q6600 G0 (2007) @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45625v (LLC) / 4 GHz Bench @ 1.63v | AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 2 GHz
Motherboard ASUS P5Q Deluxe (Intel P45) | HP 6715b
Cooling Xigmatek Dark Knight w/AC MX2 ~ Case Fans: 2 x 180mm + 1 x 120mm Silverstone Fans
Memory 4GB OCZ Platinum PC2-8000 @ 1000Mhz 5-5-5-15 2.1v | 2 x 1GB DDR2 667 MHz
Video Card(s) XFX GTX 285 1GB, Modded FTW BIOS @ 725/1512/1350 w/Accelero Xtreme GTX 280 + Scythe sinks| ATI X1250
Storage 2x WD6400AAKS 1 TB Raid 0, 140GB Raid 1 & 80GB Maxtor Basics External HDD (storage) | 160GB 2.5"
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster SM2433BW @ 1920 x 1200 via DVI-D | 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 resolution)
Case Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W ~ Logitech G15 R1 / Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
Audio Device(s) Soundmax AD2000BX Onboard Sound, via Logitech X-230 2.1 | ADI SoundMAX HD Audio
Power Supply Corsair TX650W | HP 90W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64 | Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7100 x64
Benchmark Scores 3DM06: 19519, Vantage: P16170 ~ Win7: -CPU 7.5 -MEM 7.5 -AERO 7.9 -GFX 6.0 -HDD 6.0
6 fans in mine, and I must say its the first case Im considering keeping :toast:

That said, im considering removing the HDD cage already . . . Already hacked her to bits for cable management and airflow . . . Added 4x 14cm fans (thanks again alex :D) and it keeps everything lovely & cool.

Ill only go back to a full size case if its either a rocketfish or a TJ-07. That cosmos 1000 was so ghastly, eurgh.

I still havent seen pics yet, unless I miseed them.

The idea with the HDD bay, is that the front intake cools the drives, and if you look at the hole layout, if you fill all the bays, it doesnt restrict the airflow.

Very well designed IMO.
 
K

kyle2020

Guest
I still havent seen pics yet, unless I miseed them.

The idea with the HDD bay, is that the front intake cools the drives, and if you look at the hole layout, if you fill all the bays, it doesnt restrict the airflow.

Very well designed IMO.

Ill do a full picture roundup one day :)

Its a big chunk of metal in the place of where a rad could possibly be . . . ;)
 
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