Cooler Master Storm Sniper Case Review

Conclusion

So there you have it! If we had to sum up the Storm Sniper in one sentence, we’d do that by saying that it is an extremely practical and easy to work with case. Cooler Master claims to have spent countless days at Lan Parties to gauge the ins and outs of what gamers really want in an enclosure. We now say that this is no idle boast as we can see the Sniper as a must-have item for gamers who want to replace their current enclosures with something infinitely more practical.

Of all the features the Sniper brings to the table, we were most impressed with its extremely spacious and easy to work with interior. Cooler Master paid a great deal of attention to detail and implemented some great cable management and tool-less installation features that made working with it a real pleasure. Its spacious interior also made tasks like installing the motherboard a real piece of cake and the sturdy top handles and the StormGuard security feature make it a great choice to bring to LAN events.

In the performance department, Cooler Master has definitely put a lot of thought into the design. The case is very well ventilated with oversize 200mm fans, optional fan mounting locations and some healthy watercooling potential. The included fan and LED controller also provides a nice degree of performance and noise control. The fans selected for the case were all very quiet at even maximum RPM. Just about anyone concerned with quiet operation will be satisfied with the Sniper in this regard. The only real complaint we have about airflow is the somewhat restrictive drive cage that blocks some much needed airflow to the video cards. Thankfully an intake fan installed in the optional floor location will remedy this issue.

About the only real criticism we have of the Sniper is the somewhat flimsy expansion slot clips and the excessive number of connectors leading to the top I/O plate and these are very minor gripes. Overall we were quite pleased with the Cooler Master Storm Sniper. Priced at around the $200 mark, it is certainly not a cheap case, but given its solid construction, spacious interior and rich set of features, we’d consider this to be a fair price. As such, we’re pleased to award the Storm Sniper with Hardware Canuck’s “DAM GOOD” award.


Pros:

- Good build quality
- Lots of space
- Quiet and oversize 200mm fans
- Watercooling potential
- Thoughtful cable management features
- Sturdy handles and security features for LAN events
- Lots of I/O connectors on the top panel


Cons:

- Flimsy expansion slot clips
- Lots of header and fan connectors to hide away
- Packaging a bit inadequate

Thanks to Cooler Master for sending us this case