The CM 690 II Advanced Case Thread

[Wrigleyvillain]

Great please post pics!

[dr emulator (madmax)]

Originally Posted by Wrigleyvillain

More pics coming tonight I swears! In the meantime here's a few manual pages I thought might be of interest.



http://img.techpowerup.org/100203/man2.jpg

http://img.techpowerup.org/100203/man3.jpg

http://img.techpowerup.org/100203/man4.jpg

thanks Wrigleyvillain i now know what the largest card this case will take

i was planning on getting the lian li pc-pcx1000, but although it's a very techsy object it's just to big
(it's bigger than my bedside cabinet ) so i'd struggle to fit it anywhere

anyways i've a few weeks before i absolutely must buy a case for my gigabyte ud7
so i'll keep checking back to see what you guys love/hate about it

[dr emulator (madmax)]

btw has anyone got this case with a 5870 ?
just curious as to what your temps are as i've got a 5870 so

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by dr emulator (madmax)

btw has anyone got this case with a 5870 ?
just curious as to what your temps are as i've got a 5870 so

Meeee.

well, sometimes in gaming the fan goes up off idle on the video card... :P


translation: it runs very cool with a 140mm side fan blowing on it.

[dr emulator (madmax)]

pics please m as i'm getting drawn back to this simply because of the amount of fans it can have,
money ain't the problem, just i felt burned a bit when i bought this thermaltake Xazer skull
(i would have used this thermaltake but as my thread here says nothing fits properly if at all

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by dr emulator (madmax)

pics please m as i'm getting drawn back to this simply because of the amount of fans it can have,
money ain't the problem, just i felt burned a bit when i bought this thermaltake Xazer skull
(i would have used this thermaltake but as my thread here says nothing fits properly if at all

well i cant really show you pics of the fan, since the side panel blocks the view of it all :P

as for pics, i'm sure i posted them earlier in this thread.

edit:

heres the post, silly me i never took one of the vidya card! will do so in the next few minutes.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showth...97#post1921597

[JATownes]

Here is my 690II Advanced. My main rig. There is a Xiggy 120 1800rpm fan in all of the slots for a total of 7 internal (I added a fan in the 5.25" bays). 4 controlled by a Scythe Kase Master. 4 internal HDD. I wired the CCFL into the switch in the top. What do you think?

[Chicken Patty]

A bit dusty, but extremely well done. Love the lighting

[JATownes]

Yea, West Texas dust. I hasn't been cleaned in a bit, I just got a little happy with the camera yesterday.

[Chicken Patty]

Originally Posted by JATownes

Yea, West Texas dust. I hasn't been cleaned in a bit, I just got a little happy with the camera yesterday.

It looks great bro, some dusting and you are good to go.

[dr emulator (madmax)]

i got one (it pays to ask what your local store has as this case had only just come in)



first impressions good

a sturdy case that needs a few tweeks here and there, but on average a fairly descent one
that won't need you to take it back to the store and complain


i had heard of earthing problems so me being me i tested the continuity, and yes when you first put it together, you'll need to put the motherboard standoff screws in and take them out once or twice, due to the holes on the motherboard tray being painted ( i only had to remove one screw to sort this problem out )

black anodised screws:

this case comes with a bag full of them
and to be honest they aren't the best things to earth your motherboard with, so i used some slightly larger (on the top) chrome plated screws (purchased seperately)


quality good

paint :

well it comes with a fairly descent coat of it, but like everything, it can be scratched


hard drive holders :

they are plastic (not metal), and fairly sturdy (you have to bend them to get your drives to fit) but these are the only way to hold them in this case ( unless you purchase a seperate caddy that will fit in the drive bays )


ease of use : average

i found the thumb screws holding the side panels very tight at first, but that's to be expected with a new case

Motherboard insertion:

apart from potential earthing problems i found the motherboard fitted in ok, maybe needing about 1mm taking of the standoffs (as there is a slight gap in the i/o shield, but nothing to worry about )


graphics card insertion:

my gigabyte hd 5870 fitted in without any problems (at this point i also used chrome plated screws for the earthing, as the holes on the pci expanson slots are also painted

sidenote:

all modern cases that are painted black will have potentential earthing problems these generaly don't pose any threat to your pc


fans noise level: virtually silent

airflow:

wow this case needs better fans


final thoughts

on average a good case with plenty of room for extra cooling and gadgets, stealthy places for cable ties and plenty of room for power supply wires to be hidden away behind the motherboard tray with no deffineable sharp edges

the docs rating 8/10

buy it you'll like it


i will put this in the reviews section with pictures and more waffle also tidied up(when i get round to it maybe tommorow )

the views held here are the authors and are in no way linked to any member of techpowerups staff or owners

[JATownes]

Great simple straight-forward review. I liked it.

Originally Posted by dr emulator (madmax)

airflow:

wow this case needs better fans

Agreed. It raises the cost of the case dramatically to swap out all the fans, but it is worth it IMHO. I swapped all of my fans out with Xiggy 120s. I have three off MB headers and four on a fan controller. When all of them are cranked up it is definately audible, but the airflow is amazing.

[JATownes]

Anyone know how to (easily) remove the front and top dust filters? I have tried but it seems overly complicated.

Edit: Whoops, sorry for the double post.

[Wrigleyvillain]

Originally Posted by JATownes

Great simple straight-forward review. I liked it.



Agreed. It raises the cost of the case dramatically to swap out all the fans, but it is worth it IMHO. I swapped all of my fans out with Xiggy 120s. I have three off MB headers and four on a fan controller. When all of them are cranked up it is definately audible, but the airflow is amazing.

Yeah though this is not news. Every Cooler Master fan I have ever owned, especially those that come with a case, moves waaaay too little air. The ones that came with my original CM 690 were an absolute joke.

[blu3flannel]

Originally Posted by JATownes

Anyone know how to (easily) remove the front and top dust filters? I have tried but it seems overly complicated.

Edit: Whoops, sorry for the double post.

Apparently you have to bend the metal tabs out and push it out of the panel. I've looked and looked at mine, and that seems to be the only way to do it. That kinda pisses me off, because I wanna paint all the mesh blue and Cooler Master is making it hard for me to do that.

[JATownes]

Originally Posted by blu3flannel

Apparently you have to bend the metal tabs out and push it out of the panel. I've looked and looked at mine, and that seems to be the only way to do it. That kinda pisses me off, because I wanna paint all the mesh blue and Cooler Master is making it hard for me to do that.

That is the same method I came up with. Don't get me wrong, I love my CM690II, but what is the point of a dust filter that cannot be removed for cleaning?

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by JATownes

That is the same method I came up with. Don't get me wrong, I love my CM690II, but what is the point of a dust filter that cannot be removed for cleaning?

air compressor ftw?

[minhtri]

hello, i plan to buy CM 690 II A
i will attach 6 hdds, but my friend says they will be hot because hdd cage is horizontal, and if hdd cage is full, the air which is used to cool down hdd will be block
like his NZXT Lexa S

is that possible?

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by minhtri

hello, i plan to buy CM 690 II A
i will attach 6 hdds, but my friend says they will be hot because hdd cage is horizontal, and if hdd cage is full, the air which is used to cool down hdd will be block
like his NZXT Lexa S

is that possible?

yes, it will reduce the air coming in through the front of the case.

This case has a workaround for that, the fans on the sidepanel provide the fresh air in that situation.

[minhtri]

er...
look trouble for me
but thanks for your support

[dr emulator (madmax)]

i would say get your dremel out, but obviously you'd need to remove all of your components first,
plus it would void your warrany on the case ( not that you really need a warranty on a case )

i'm not sure about hard drive temps in this case though, because i don't beleive they are monitorable using the current HW monitor (they feel cool to the touch after several hours, i'll stick my temp sensor on them to find out

[So_Bad]

Hi!

It's my new case.

Needed a VGA off, decent.

Also nees sleeves cables of the case, but I'm too little time free.








It's a shame that a HD 2.5" does not fit perfectly on the DOC. It was close.
So I think I will use this 500 GB HD I have, the internal SSD adapter.













Best regards, from Brazil!

[blu3flannel]

It's a fantastic case, I think the airflow is good enough that when I get a 5870 or buy into Southern Islands that I won't need to water cool it.

[Jakeman97]

Hi all,
Can someone please tell me where I might get a'window' side panel for my 690 II Advanced. I got the one from the Egg and it was a solid right side with two fan ports.
Thanks,
Jakeman97

[Wrigleyvillain]

They are sold separately, try Cooler Master's site and /or other retailers like Newegg. Thats where I bought the one for my original 690 which I am presently using on my 690 II (fits fine tho I would like a different one).