Cooler Master Storm Sniper Case Review

Exterior Impressions


Once we got the case all unpacked, we were pretty surprised by its size. To put it bluntly, this is a big case. This is not just due to its height, but also its extra wide stance and extendable feet.

The Sniper also left us with a good first impression as far as build quality was concerned. The case is not at all flimsy, and the plastics used appear to be of good quality. The black painted exterior parts appear to use a durable and scratch resistant finish as well.


Rather than using acrylic windows, the Sniper instead utilizes mesh screen for both internal viewing and ventilation. This may cut down on how much your LAN party buddies can see of your current setup but also has its benefits. You won't have to worry about the usual scratching that happens to an acrylic window after time but the mesh will tend to let quite a bit of noise to escape the innards of the Sniper.

From a side profile, the Sniper appears anything but square. It looks almost like a vintage CRT television if you stare at it long enough at this angle.


As we move to the rear of the Storm Sniper, we see that this case employs a bottom mounted PSU and a fairly standard layout with a single 120mm exhaust fan. This is about the only “fairly standard” thing about the Storm Sniper as you’ll see shortly.


The expansion slot brackets are vented to ensure toasty video card exhaust can find a way out of the case. This is a very beneficial feature that is becoming ever more common in enthusiast grade cases and won't result in too much excess dust from entering due to the natural airflow characteristics of the Sniper.

To the right of the expansion slots, we find what appears to be an oddly positioned slot. No, this is not some kind of strange new extension of the ATX specification, but a proprietary security feature that we’ll get into a bit later.


Two water cooling grommets can be found just above the exhaust fan. We were disappointed to see a stamped fan grille as wire grills provide better airflow, can be replaced and are a little more aesthetically pleasing. Then again, there are always some corners being cut here and there for the sake of cost.

On a positive note, the stamped grille includes mounting holes for 120, 92 and 80mm fans; although we’re not sure why anyone would bother with a smaller exhaust fan.


The PSU opening includes mounting holes in the appropriate locations to mount the PSU right side up, or upside down. To the right of the PSU are two punch-out holes that can be used for additional water cooling tube access and Cooler Master even includes two grommets are included in the accessory bundle if the buyer chooses to use this feature.