[Chunky_Chimp]

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Official Cooler Master ATCS 840 Website
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Spoiler: Cooler Master ATCS 840 Owners List

Chunky_Chimp
leedash13
vis213
N0rmal
ochoco
Oupavoc
Das Capitolin
nyder
BULLATTACK
chuckonator
ShrikeT
KShirza1
430
MakubeX
boredgunner
Mattb2e
VincentXXX
rpgman1
Mezzler
ltulod
Sheira
maoriii
fedex1993
dodgyr
EXmaxinZ
Keehar
04orgzx6r
j148
rusky1
Xur
guttzu62
All_Ways_Custom
NickBorgo
Phoenixx45
ZachB
10speedr
Synchronic
wetfit9
TopFuel1471
mr.derp
Synchronic
pvp309rcp
rfjunkie
txtsd
tom.slick
Digital Artist
ZeusBoltThrower
aaronmonto
Regel
Cthulhu Dawn
kylzer
dham
Choggs396
Fr0st
Bastiaan_NL
amtbr
LarsMarkelson
bill31k
wetfit9
Exek
ma2k5
niallm1
Schuhmi
Drazhar
tjmagneto
n8t1308
maverickpk
TPE-331
DarkFury
unf4z3d
Dobbie
sephiroth_vg
mru
Savvas M
humbleguy
DJLiquid
lilmanmgf
astrodanco
Doc Lost
coolmiester
Konkistadori
cRaZyEddie187
bulmung
faraz1729
BrokeBrain
Ginsu543
Turgin
Teh Noob Slayer
Bi2on
Daywalker Lee
iMagi
GreenStone
Sukach
anachronism
Grillz9909
MattsyBoi
CarFreak302
philologos
Mercyflush64
Mitchell7
twistedbran
Inq
breenemeister
Nemesis429
sanjuroM
Pissa
Draygonn
jax0527
Eggy88
VigorStrive
HORNO
nobbert
laofad
Siegfried262
DCP23
flipv6
loop0001
mindwarper
zyamak_zealot
Pedros
ttoadd.nz
shelter
Xeio
Junglerog
FuzzDad
seven7thirty30
coolmiester
gre0481
xxsashixx
delavan
Deed
Inteller
Estarlux
adanmtxt1
Swiftes
ckoons1
Endracion
Haze_hellivo
ckoons1
The-End587
arko1983
e911
Father Fuzzy
Cptnvortex
jiJa
tediore
ncharms
romv19
Caddys83
edgasket
Zamora
CoD511
cohibaman
oldAMDnew2Intel
Henners
Jakg
KingDonko
Doc Zinger
Spunky424
TrustNoOne

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※: Please post or PM me, preferably with photos of the case, if you wish to be added. That's the best way for me to know as I DO check this thread at least a few times per week. Thanks!
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Since I haven't seen one of these started yet, I figured "why not?". I know the cost turned down at least a few people, but I was lucky enough to get mine as a Christmas present. I'll add and update a list as people around here start digging deeper into their credit lines. I also figure there will be some that will ask if it's lonely being one of a handful to own this, and the answer to that is a big yes; emphasis on the big. (Late note, this first paragraph has not been changed since I first wrote it, besides this note itself. Of course, there are MANY owners of the case here now, and it obviously no longer costs $279.99, but that doesn't mean I should change or remove this part.

) Newer edit: from this post we've found out that a new model/revision is coming*; as soon as details are pushed out officially and publicly I'll make the proper edits to this.

*Regarding the next ATCS: As promised I will make official updates to this club as soon as the new case name and other details are publicly released by CM, which hopefully will happen sometime this year. It's likely they've abandoned it but just as likely they're updating it silently and want no additional info going out at all. They did not even have it behind closed doors at this year's COMPUTEX but I did get another tip that it's still being worked on. If anything comes of it I'll make an immediate update here.

I've touched up this post to show what I'd like out of a new revision. Outside of that, here are pros and cons lists done on my part for those considering this case:

Spoiler: Pros

• The sheer size is great if you need room to breathe, but I highly doubt you'd fit a quad 140 rad without substantial modifications. Otherwise you can stuff just about anything you want inside that doesn't require more than the standard 7 expansion slots at the back.
• Pop-up I/O panel. Although it's not a fancy hydraulic assembly or anything like that, it's actually VERY well constructed. A minor niggle is that mine came with the headphone and microphone labels reversed. This means if yours comes like this, connect by COLOR, not PRINT. Both connectors worked when connected (with the "AC'97" lead) to the header on my Xonar DX.
• Power/HD activity LEDs. They ARE as bright as everyone says they are. I really thought they wouldn't be but they are. They could be used as emergency indicators in a highway crash if you really wanted. Just don't stare directly into them for more than a few seconds or you'll regret it. Strangely, as with the headphone/microphone jacks, the labels are reversed. However as both LEDs are the same color I don't think this is a problem.
• Drive mounting. The push-button pins for the 5.25" bays work as advertised but they only lock one side of the device, making it appear uneven. It IS secure however, so I don't mind too much. The hard drive trays feel a little cheap but they actually work quite well and it was easier to insert my hard drives into the trays than I anticipated.
• Motherboard tray. The ball bearings work better than I thought they would and the tray makes ZERO noise as you remove it. I'd like to have had the tray removal process be tool-free but CM seem to favor traditional screws for this. Not a biggie but not something I expected.
• Fans/filters. I've added an S-Flex G on the bottom of the case behind the hard drive cage, a Panaflo U1BX to replace the stock rear exhaust, as well as 2 Panaflo H1BXes on the back of the hard drive cage itself to assist intake, but I quite like how well it works for airflow out of the box. I noticed, before adding fans and (nearly) equalizing pressure, after several hours of running the system that the ENTIRE enclosure was cold. Not cool or even very cool, I mean COLD. Especially the plate in front of the 23cm intake fan. The filters also do their job as advertised, and are easy to remove. Nothing special to note about them.

Spoiler: Cons

• I severely underestimated the size of this thing. As noted in one or two posts before, I had the floor tower shelf of my desk slightly modified so the right-hand support column was moved just enough to allow the case to fit. As for the interior, in my case the size was ultimately a disadvantage as my Liberty's power cables were ALL too short (save for the 4-pin ATX connector, the extension worked well for that once I properly keyed it) to take advantage of the cable management features.
• Some of you might have noticed I had posted that the side panels bowed outward slightly. I have fixed this but the panels are still VERY slightly distended at the center and make a milk-bottle-ish "POMP!" when pressed.
• Speaking of the side panels, they're quite thin considering how thick the front fan's cover plate is. I assume this was a cost-cutting measure, but I still don't like how thin the side panels are. Maybe if Cooler Master makes a mid-tower version of the case like they did to the HAF932 by making the HAF922, they'll have thicker side panels, and I hope that would be the case (no pun intended). They're thick enough to be side panels, though not thick enough to avoid being easily bent/damaged.
• The exterior finish, as most reviews have stated so far, attracts LOTS of fingerprints. Keep a dust-free, lint-free cloth handy at all times. I say lint-free because if you buff prints out of the front, any lint will be sucked into the filter. Not that this is a con so much as a minor annoyance.
• The plate in front of the 23cm intake fan needs a technique to remove without breaking the clips (and no, I haven't broken anything on the case at all... yet). The clips on the left side of the plate are plastic, have substantial give, and have a lip that's hooked on the inside of the faceplate; the hooks on the right side are aluminum tooth-like hooks. Given this, removal involves pulling the panel from right to left until the hooks on the right side are released, then you simply pull it straight off. Be warned that despite being aluminum, said cover plate has quite a bit of weight to it. It's not heavy, but I STRONGLY advise that you be careful, as, if dropped, it most likely will either scratch up a solid surface (especially wood) if you have that, get scratched up, or it'll simply crack a bone in your foot or something. Just don't be reckless.
• The interior's size works against itself in 2 ways; airflow and cable management. Because of the open design, that is to say that the area around the mobo tray isn't closed with cable holes like the HAF, it's harder to hide your cabling than in the HAF932 and Antec 1200. Airflow suffers because cool air pulled in the front is immediately directed upward by the huge ceiling fans. Air may reach parts of the mobo but it's not as effective as it should be. Mounting fans in the bottom and on the back of the hard drive cage would compliment the stock fans VERY well.
• Make absolutely sure your power and data cables are long enough to reach all components with ease at the very least, preferably long enough to take advantage of the spacious gap between the motherboard tray and the side panel. This was the one thing I hadn't accounted for when initially building as the Liberty modular PSU I had at the time had insufficient cable length to effectively hide everything. I now have a new buildout with the Corsair HX850, and it works VERY well with the case. Simply warning you to ensure your power and data cables are long enough to take advantage of the cable management of the case, and still reach their intended components.
• The top fans vibrate against each other, creating a resonance effect; I picked up some 60-cent-apiece rubber grommets from FrozenCPU and cut them in half, and they work perfectly for mitigating this resonance.
  It's still a con since the fans' housings are not separated by anything.

Spoiler: Notes/Edits

Another edit; I've only just realized that the screws left over are for the box thing that mounts on the back of the case to, according to CM, assist in cooling the video card(s). I have also re-done the list in the board's own list format. This should make the points clearer.

As a side note, I'm going to get the mobo tray (including the outside back end where the connectors poke out), HD cage, and the 5.25" assembly done in satin black sometime soon by a shop in town (already done, see my later posts), and sometime later I'll tack on a side panel window. I know the modification potential for this case is as enormous as the case itself, but due to my lack of experience (and a receipt), I'm going to leave the more complicated and hard-core modifications to those that have done it enough before to know what they're doing.

If anyone wants pics that other reviews can't possibly provide for some reason, then I'll see what I can do about that.

Late edit; thanks to Oupavoc for the suggestions for the post style and the image; image was resized to 66% of its original size to avoid page stretching (which is more of an annoyance than a real problem).

Later edit; post streamlined with spoilers. Should look much less busy now.

Edit:

Added existing photos I took during the build. The first one compares the ATCS to my old Rosewill; yes, I did clean the dust off after I took the pic. The second one is self-explainatory. The third one shows just how large it is inside with both side panels off. The fourth one shows the best I could do with the now-insufficient length of the Liberty's power cables and my SATA cables (corrected with newer components, see later posts). The fifth one is self-explanatory.

Spoiler: Initial build photos

Made official by prosser13, 7/5/09.
~coolerthanyou

 

[Oupavoc]

Nice little review, I'm actually thinking about getting this case

But can you do me a favour, is there a way you could mesure from the center of the bottom foot to the other, lenth wise

O <-------------------> O Thanks again

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

Definitely. Let me get a pic.

Edit; nevermind about the pic but the closest I have is 471mm from the center of one front "foot" to the back one on the same side. Different tape measures have different levels of accuracy so I can't say if that's exactly what it is.

 

[kimosabi]

Nice thread! May I suggest some pic's of the case in the OP? Many members here may not have a clue about how this case looks like and IMO it would be a nice start to this "Owner's Club".

I read through the whole text mainly because I have this case on order but I'm sure many won't bother. Pictures say more than a thousand words!

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

It'd be a lot easier to look at the ones on Bit-Tech or DriverHeaven. Not to mention my camera's batteries are dead.

I'll get some up when I've recharged them, though, which takes a while.

2nd edit; added pics to the first post to give it the appropriate 5,000 words as kimosabi advised.

1st edit; Here's a teaser on just how overwhelmingly big the case showed to be when I hefted it onto the shelf, the pic was taken about a week ago and shows that I underestimated the height, though I can still slide it on and off without scratching it, it also shows how close it was to not letting me use the I/O panel (I have about a half-inch of leeway for moving the case side to side so I can pop the panel up and down as needed without issues):

 

[Oupavoc]

Hey thanks for the measurements, also I think this case will be a able to fit on my computer table

Your measurement came to 18.5 inches and my table is 22 1/2 inches

So as long as the feet stay on the table I'm happy. Plus its not that much bigger the my Antec 1200 case

 

[kimosabi]

That case rocks!! Cant wait till I get mine!

 

[siric]

I'll be joining this club soon. Did you try out the external airduct that's supposed to cool the video cards? And cool pics, I can see it gets dirty real quick. Must be the aluminium or something.

 

[Derp]

I love this case even though its $280

. definitely buy those slipstreams and throw them on the back of the hard drive cages and maybe even another one to fill that bottom slot in front of the power supply.

have you tried using that external blower that sucks out hot air away from your video card? if not buy a fan slap it on and do a before and after temps test for us!

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by siric I'll be joining this club soon. Did you try out the external airduct that's supposed to cool the video cards? And cool pics, I can see it gets dirty real quick. Must be the aluminium or something.

Nope, I haven't tried the duct yet. It gets dusty simply because it's a dusty environment and I'm a bit lazier about preventing dust build-up than one would think.

To answer to Auld, I actually can't monitor any temps besides my hard drives and video card for some unknown reason; Everest refuses to detect the sensor on my CPU. If you guys want to know anyway, here's what Everest says:

 

[Derp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chunky_Chimp Nope, I haven't tried the duct yet. It gets dusty simply because it's a dusty environment and I'm a bit lazier about preventing dust build-up than one would think. To answer to Auld, I actually can't monitor any temps besides my hard drives and video card for some unknown reason; Everest refuses to detect the sensor on my CPU. If you guys want to know anyway, here's what Everest says:

thats odd. have you tried some different monitoring programs like HWmonitor from CPU-Z's website? But that fan box in the back is suppose to exhaust hot air away from the video card area and since you can at least monitor your card how much did it help with temps compared to not having it on at all?

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

As I don't have a fan just yet to use in that box, I can't say it would make a real impact right now. Given the completely open cooling on my card, I'm sure if I had at least a spare lying around for the box that I could lower the card's temps noticeably.

Ah, I'd forgotten about HWMonitor. Thanks. I'll get a screenshot momentarily. Treat my posted temps as "idle" as I haven't done anything stressing today.

Edit; here.

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

Bumping with an update; I'm taking the case to the shop tomorrow for a full back panel and interior satin black powder coat. Cost of labor and used materials will be ~$45, unless they decide different; they're more than willing to take the task but haven't done it before and are not familiar with CM's newer cases, so they may up that a little. I'm told it will take 2 days; one day to clear a bench and prep the case, the second for coating and baking.

Before anyone asks, yes, they can give it a side window, but they're strongly advising against it as it would cost about 100 dollars. I agreed with them and will do that myself sometime. I will definitely post pics when I get it back and have the parts re-mounted inside, so don't worry a bit about that part. If anyone has suggestions on what else should be done, go right ahead, but I'm only willing to spend so much, so keep it small.

Edit; I'll be checking this for suggestions twice in the morning before it goes to the shop; once at about 9:30 AM EST before I leave for work (assuming I haven't slept through my alarm), and again at about 1:30 PM EST; I'll be leaving then since I have afternoon college classes, the case will come with me at that time so I can drive straight to the shop afterward. If anyone has something interesting and affordable I'll need the ideas by the latter time for them to make it to the shop. Thank you.

 

[[nK]Sharp]

Wish there was a place I could go to for a power coat

Going to have to do this all myself to my case (HAF 932). Don't know why CM is so lazy as to not paint the inside.

 

[kimosabi]

The ATCS 840 was too slow to hit the market here. Got me a TJ07 instead. Sorry guys.

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by [nK]Sharp Don't know why CM is so lazy as to not paint the inside.

Lower cost, I suppose. Anyway, according to this post I found, there's supposed to be a side panel available within a few weeks from CM themselves, so depending on how much that'll be, I'll just use that.

EDIT; I'm going to drop off the case now before class, and discussing more about what will be done with the guys that will do the work. I'll ask if they can black-sleeve the fan cables and how much it is, and if that works out, then it'll be a nice bonus to go with the powder coat. Let's hope it turns out great for their first time; I may even tip them if they do a good enough job.

2nd (and final) edit; The person at the shop that was to manage the powder coating said that he couldn't do satin black, but he could do flat black with a protectorate that gives it a sort of anodized sheen, which I think is close enough to what I want visually. But he was utterly shocked at the size of the case, and thus, the workload I'd assigned, so he bumped the cost up. He couldn't give an exact cost yet so I just put 50 dollars down and they'll notify me of the difference when they're done. The last thing he noted was that due to the ATCS' interior size and layout, it would take twice as long as normal, so I'll end up picking it up either Monday after work, or Tuesday after class. Either way I'll be notified by phone when they're done.

I had them also sleeve the LED/switch leads and fan cables, so that along with the increased size impact on the cost could put it over $100. But that's fine by me, as long as it's done, and I'd rather do that this one time with them responsible than have a rough first experience. If I want to screw something up, I'd rather it not be with a $280 aluminum citadel.

Until it's done, I've "fast-installed" my parts back in the old Rosewill in such a way that they're reasonably secure but very easy to take back out when I get the ATCS back from the shop. Until then, fingers crossed!

 

[kgd1]

That will be my next case.

 

[Oupavoc]

wow, not a lot of people got this case :| OP should make a list of members that got the list just like the other case owner threads

 

[Chunky_Chimp]

That's the problem, I don't know who else actually has one as of this moment. I know siric, who posted earlier in this thread, will get one (or maybe he already did, I'm just looking at the parts in his sig system with "complete" by them), but right now, if there's anyone else that has the case, just post with a pic of your internals and I'll start a list.

As for my own, I'm expecting a short phone call tomorrow saying the work is done and I can pick it up. If I'm not too shameful about how much they charged, then I'll say, but otherwise, I'll just provide pics as in the end that's all you guys will want. Right?

 

[Sonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by [nK]Sharp Wish there was a place I could go to for a power coat Going to have to do this all myself to my case (HAF 932). Don't know why CM is so lazy as to not paint the inside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chunky_Chimp Lower cost, I suppose.

When Cooler Master introduced the case on their forums, I brought them attention to an idea of doing a full black case like the A1200.

One of the CM's rep said he would submit the feedback to his superiors. http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewto...p=85375#p85375

Just something to keep in mind, for those who are interested in this case but would prefer a full black case.