Cooler Master HAF 922










Introduction

Cooler Master. A name among names. They're polarizing, most people love or hate their style,

and the HAFs are no exception. The 922 is dead sexy, particularly if you're warm for radiators

and bulkheads. Following in ammo box style, Cooler Master's made another very large, very

breezy case targeted at overclockers with an eye on water-cooling.

But size and big fans also mean quiet. It only takes so much turbine noise for a gamer to

start thinking that there's gotta be a better case out there. This is such a case. Sure, there

are only three fans, but two of them are 200mm--eight inches wide. 'Course, it's not size that

matters, right?

Unlike the front bezel, the whole case is steel, with the only tool-free hardware being the

5.25" clips and the 3.5" drive caddies. After a long wave of cheap, snap-prone tool-free crap,

all this steel is a sight to behold. Don't think of it as a heavy case; think of it as stable

Lots of mesh, lots of fan, and lots and lots of space

Besides the angles and holes, the HAF 922 is austere. I don't just mean visually, although

that's absolutely true; the buttons are square and undecorated, the activity lights are

slightly highlighted and countersunk, the whole I/O panel is simple and unobstructed. The fan

spots are stamped from the panels, and the only flourish is the glossed HAF in the

matte-finish paint. This case is straightforward in ways that minimalize in style and in cost.

The front fan is red LED-lit, but if that's not your thing, you can turn it off--there's a

button on the top panel for that.

Either foreseeing the desire to watercool or need to replace the 200mm fans, both the top and

side panels of the case can be converted to using dual 120mm fans, spaced correctly for

radiators. There's two holes in the back to pass hoses through for cooling loops.

This case isn't just about getting a lot of air through it, it's about having lots, and I mean

lots of space to work in. If there was any way for there to be extra space between the back of

the case and the motherboard, I'm sure Cooler Master would have done it. It's designed for

fast, easy building and speedy hardware swaps.

It's definitely a features-light case, with style about the only trick up its sleeve beyond an

e-SATA connection. But the overall minimalism doesn't impart any build flaws, it's all very

simple, and very, very accessible.