robertoburri

Hi everyone, I recently posted a thread asking for good cheap starter cases and was referred to the CM690 (refurbed) from CoolerMaster for $45.99. I have bought the case and am wanting to know, How is the case in your own opinion? and also if you bought a (refurbed) CM690, how was it when you received it?

P.S.: I know i should get some good answers b/c there is a whole club dedicated to this case.

P.S. (2): I want to be a member once my case arrives

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losttsol

I used to have a CM690. It's a good case. The only thing I really didn't like was the side panel. It has little tabs that insert into slots when you close it. Those tabs are easy to bend and make the side hard to close sometimes. Other than that it is fairly solid.

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mr.derp

Its a nice case but the fan holes on the side panel are useless because they will make a hissing noise from sort of a whistling effect when you have a fan/s in them. Im planning on a little modding for mine. Ill be watercooling, I hope to paint the inside and cut it up a little

cs_maan

I love this case, I bought the Nvidia version of it to replace my 900, cable management is great, overall I'm very happy with it .

Still need to get rid of the honeycomb style fan grille in the back to reduce the noise of airflow. It is great though I recommend it especially if you call it a "starter case", worth the money .

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Freelancer852

Just got this case after seeing some awesome cable management showcased by xguntherc before he got his HAF case. The case is extremely easy to cable manage with and the case dropped my temps by around 2-5 degrees when it comes to performance.

The only "con" I had about this case was that the 5.25" bays are only tool less on one side, the other side still requires you to screw in the drives. However this is generally made up for by the bank of screw holders on either side of the case!

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richardshewfelt

Iv had this case for about a 2 months now and i love the look, the feel, the thought, of it. its a great case IMO, i suggest taking the "honeycomb" out of the from fan intake and the top fan grill, just to get better flow, i also cut out and c-channeled, my fan grils to try and reduce noise. another great thing is that if you not using your front firewire you can disconnect the cable so its not running wild in your case, the big thumb screws on the back make it easy to open, tool less HD cage is great when swapping drives around.

In my opinion the best part of the case is just thinking about all the mods that you can do with it, theres a bunch on here that have been modded to get an idea.

plus with a price like that you cant go wrong

B-rad G.

overall a great case.

enough space for a GTX2xx series GPU.
enough space for a tall CPU cooler such as the Noctua UH12P.

easy cable management.
bottom mount PSU. [very nice when modular]
take out the plastic honeycomb by the front fan and top 2 fans easily for a little better air flow.
sturdy.

pretty solid case overall. sidepanel does scratch a little easy if you work on the internals and take it off a lot. pretty easy to get back on. toolless is pretty nice for the most part.

2 USB ports on top
1 e-Sata up top
1 Firewire up top
Mic/Headphone plugs up top.

and the nvidia edition looks amazing if you like the green hints.

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coollettuce

I love my case. I loaded it up with seven fans and it's freezing in there.

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noahmateen1234

This case looks great, I want to get one just to mod. I didn't know you could buy them for that cheap refurbed. Let me know how yours is once you get it. I don't want it to be all scratched up or anything. I am still debating between this and the Antec 900, both are great cases and have lots of modding potential.

I just am waiting for a really good deal on one or another.

However, I HATE that plastic tool-less design on the 690.

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MNiceGuy

I've used a couple of these between builds for myself and friends. I picked it because it was built well, had great air-cooling options, and was conservatively styled in comparison to other popular cases; especially the Antec 900. The hard drive racks are genius and are now a staple in Cooler Master's cases and there are enough cable management options to tidy even the most stubborn power supply cables (like my ultra-stiff Silencer's). Also worth mentioning is the ability to run the super-tall tower coolers without interfering with the side panel.

Water cooling options are next to nil unless you're a somewhat experienced case modder or just hang the radiator out back with a Rad Box. I've seen some mount a dual radiator on the roof but they then have troubles getting the top mesh to sit flush again.

With all that said, when you consider the price-point this was a no-brainer until the Antec Three Hundred came out. In my opinion, the A300 still can't match what the 690 has to offer but as with most anything, your mileage may vary.

I'd normally agree with you on that one but the retainers on the 690 are pretty solid. You could always just remove them and use screws. I do on my HAF.

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