Review Contents:

Cooler Master ATCS 840 Full Tower Case Review

by AkG     |     January 18, 2009

CONCLUSION


Wow, what a ride it has been; but like all good rides it must come to an end and now its time to wrap things up. In the beginning we said we would compare and contrast the Cooler Master ATCS 840 against the HAF 932 and we certainly came up with some interesting differences. Unfortunately, its like comparing to fine automobiles and trying to “prove” one is better than the other. On the one hand you have the equivalent of an American Muscle car and on the other hand you have a Jaguar E-Type. Both are great in their own way and both have their pros and cons. In all honesty there is no clear winner and really does come down to what you want in a case and what you consider to be the most important features. Thus it would be a discourtesy to both of these cases for us to point to one and say “there’s your winner”. Take your time and think it through, though just remember you can’t really go wrong with either one of these bad boys.

Of course this sounds a bit too much like a cop out for us so instead of focusing in on the HAF 932 vs ATCS 840 lets rather go over the pros and cons of the ATCS 840 and help you decide if this case is the right case for you or not. If you want, you can consider these the highlights of this review, but we still recommend going back and reading the entire review.

If you are looking for a case with classic elegance or just one which will blend in with your surroundings the ATCS is certainly right for you. This case is all about styling and honestly we wouldn't be too surprised if a future Apple PRO computer came housed in a similar looking case.

If you are looking at air cooling only, the ATCS does indeed do well in this area; however, it does so in such away that may not be right for you. We were not overly impressed with the accessory add-on for graphics card cooling, so if you are going to be running a hot rod GPU (or four) this case may not be the best first choice for you. Yes, it does have great internal air flow (and heck of alot of it at that) via those 230mm monsters, but other cases including the HAF may be better suited to meeting your gaming system cooling needs. With that being said, the built in filters are well designed and if you are concerned more about dust build up than overall total air flow the 840 may be right up your ally.

If water cooling is your thing, you are going to love the ATCS 840 as it has a very easy and user-friendly set up, which should be more than enough for most loops. On the other hand, if your are into crazy multi-radiator setups, the HAF 932 or various Mountain Mods cases are for you.

Once again the ATCS 840 is great piece of kit which is as well refined as it is multi-talented. For the majority of people reading this review you honestly can’t go wrong with selecting this case....assuming you can afford it that is. For all these reasons and the rest that we have mentioned throughout this review we are proud to award this case the DAM GOOD award. For its innovative tweak on the typical removable motherboard tray we are also awarding it the DAM INNOVATIVE award. Bravo Cooler Master for designed and building a truly wonderful and highly functional case.


Pros:
- Beautiful!
- Classic styling
- Removable motherboard tray
- Three 230mm fans
- Built in fan filters
- Room for 6 hard drives
- Freakin’ huge interior!
- Good WC’ing options

Cons:
- Price
- Heavy
- Plastic black box is ugly
- WC’ing options slightly limited in comparison to the HAF 932




 
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