Any installation that can be performed with the fewest number of tools is greatly appreciated by most enthusiasts. Unfortunately, most of these “Quick Install” components are not well designed and perform sub-par. However on the HAF, the quick installation drive bays and expansion card locks work great. The only issue lies with the motherboard tray; the standoffs required the use of a screwdriver as the thick power coat had permeated into the threads. It’s a tradeoff, but for the sheer elegance of a black interior, it’s worth the minor headache.

Installing the 2.5 inch hard drive in this system was a snap, just slide out one of the two top drive caddies and mount your drive. There are four 2.5 inch drive mounts in the HAF, two per caddy.
As with most chassis, the cables to connect the front panel peripherals are exceptionally long, so plan on some serious cable management.

All in all, the HAF allows for a clean installation. The pictures below are taken after spending ten minutes organizing cables.

Enough of the installation, time to test out this beast!

The following system was installed and used to gather temperatures:

• CPU: AMD Phenom II 555 unlocked to x4
• MB: Biostar TA785GE 128M
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix PC2-8000
• Video: Evga Nvidia 8800GTX
• PSU: Thermaltake TR2 430w
• HD: Hitachi TravelStar 100GB 2.5?
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7

• Comparison Chassis:

• Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
• Antec P180
• Open Air Chassis

• Ambient temperature was maintained at 23 degrees Celsius. For idle temperature readings the system was allowed to stand at idle for 3 hours before temperatures were taken. To achieve full load temperature, OCCT was run for three hours and the average peak temperature was recorded. This test was extended for an additional 30 minutes if the core temperature or ambient changed more than one half degree Celsius. Voltage readings were taken from the BIOS and temperature readings were taken using OCCT.

  

  Idle temperatures are excellent, easily passing both other chassis configurations. It’s somewhat easier to allow for great idle temperatures, but let’s see if this incredible performance translates into the load performance.

  

  Once again, the HAF dominates the competition. Overall, this result is staggering. While the noise floor in my house isn’t exactly low, the HAF is barely audible at a distance of five feet.

  « 1. Introduction 2. Package, Features and Specifications 3. Packaging 4. Unpacking and Exterior 5. Interior 6. Installation 7. Conclusion »

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