Cooler Master Storm Sniper Review

Finished Look and Conclusion

Our test setup consists of Intel Q9450, Zerotherm Nirvana 120mm, Gigabyte EX-38 DS4, 2 x 640GB WD 6400AAKS HDD’s, Palit 9800GT 1GB, and Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio. Here is a pic of some of the components:

Installation was pretty easy.  Place the power supply on the floor of the case and use the screws to hold it to the case.  Then install the motherboard standoffs (which are included in the accessories that come with the case) according to the motherboard form factor.  Place the motherboard on these standoffs and use the included screws that hold the motherboard in place.  Install the components like CPU, CPU cooler, expansion cards, hard drives and optical drives next.  Connect the cables and you are done.

Installation was one of the easiest ever in this case thanks to the cut-outs in the motherboard tray.  Cables were routed at the back and the case looked nice and clean.  Also, the low weight of the case was another big factor in ease of installation.  As we had to flip the case around to access the front and back of the case, low weight certainly helped.

Here’s the finished look:

Pros-

Lightweight, very easy to move around

Security for your peripherals at a LAN Party

Can fit the longest of video cards without any problem

Hard drives and optical drives are easy to install

Big fans provide very good cooling

Cut-out in the motherboard tray allows the CPU cooler backplate to be fastened without removing the motherboard

Cut-outs in the motherboard tray and space behind the motherboard tray allow the wires to be routed behind the tray

Feet can turned sideways to provide extra stability

Fans speed can be turned down to lower the noise

Fan LEDs can be turned off

Tool-less installation of PCI expansion cards

Cons-

Fans loud at full speed

Could have more cut-outs in the motherboard tray for better cable routing

Storm looks like an improved product over Cooler Master’s previous high-end offering, HAF 932.  Some of the small nuisances like dust filters have been taken care of in the Storm.  We highly recommend this case to anybody building a new PC.

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