The new Coolermaster HAF X is available for sale!

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Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Update: Everything I'm reading today suggests that I should have probably gone with another radiator other than the Black Ice GT Stealth 360 Xflow. Apparently it's very restrictive, but my current fan setup with 3 x 120mm fans underneath and the 200 mm up top in a push / pull config I think should be enough. Top fan is running at 1200 rpm, bottom fans will be set to 1400 rpm. I think it should be fine though since I'm only doing a CPU loop (and later on chipset). I will probably get one of those monster 240 mm radiators when I upgrade to a dual loop later on down the line to cool the GPU.
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Further update: I just got done filling up the loop and getting the air bubbles out. Now to stress test and let it run 24 hours non stop before I start putting in the components.

Full system specs:
CPU: i7 930 (socket 1366)
Mobo: MSI Big bang X-power
RAM: Corsair dominator 3 x 2GB matched sticks, CMT6GX3M3A2000C8, 2000 Mhz @ 8-9-8-24 (1.65v)
Boot drive: OCZ vertex, flashed to 1.6
DVD/CD/BD: LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray Burner
Video: XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Anyone have pics to show yet?

Not yet, I couldn't find the camera yesterday but found it this morning while rummaging through the closet. So far the whole work area thing is a disaster since I live in an apartment, so the pics won't be pretty LOL.

Also my RAM and Blu-ray burner haven't come in yet, so it will probably end up being another 2-3 days before the finished build. I did test the loop for leakage this morning as so far it is absolutely leak free.

My only concern at this point is that the pump barbs aren't clamped down; they show no sign of leakage, but I don't want to risk it. I'm wondering if a zip-tie would be sufficient to hold it down or should I run to the auto store and buy a worm drive clamp?
 

crazylocha

Member
Jun 21, 2010
45
0
66
Many of the experienced WC's say to just use zippies unless you care about looks. Cheaper always works for me, and you can always get colored zip's to match case/mobo colors if want.
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Many of the experienced WC's say to just use zippies unless you care about looks. Cheaper always works for me, and you can always get colored zip's to match case/mobo colors if want.

Cool; I zipped up the connectors then noticed the plastic tightener that came with one of the parts wasn't that tight so zipped that as well.

So big update: So far so good on the case build. I ran it for 24 hours to check for leaks, it was fine, so I began to assemble the components last night. So far I have spent close to 10 hours on this project, mostly because I don't want to make a mistake at any point so have tried to be very meticulous (plus my working conditions aren't that great - basically a foldout card table in my apartment LOL). Probably the longest time I have spent on a computer build so far, but it's fun getting into the whole water cooling scene.

I have only made a few mistakes so far that are due to inexperience; one of them was cutting the tubes about 2 inches too long that go from the radiator to the CPU, so the tube kind of loops around to get to the CPU. Another was not tightening the reservoir enough before I tipped the case sideways. Another big mistake would be that I should have picked another radiator. I will incorporate these changes in my next build, which probably won't be for a few years. It's really been fun messing around with the water cooling equipment though.

Also my pump tubing is a bit too long as well and I can't seem to get it to stick to where I want it, and I don't really want to drill a hole in the case, so I'll probably just zip tie it to the drive cage and hope it holds there. Maybe it's the inside surface of the HAF-X or maybe it's just the pump's sticky pad not sticking enough, it's hard to say. I was really happy that the pre-drilled holes for the radiator seemed to work great, but only connected in 4 spots.

I took some pictures but didn't have time to upload them this morning but should be able to tomorrow / tonight. I'm thinking about buying 2 x 200 mm fans from newegg; one to replace the existing non-LED top fan, another to fill in the spot where there is room for another 200mm fan. I'm not sure why Cooler Master didn't just include the second 200mm fan. For those buying the case I recommend ordering the second 200mm fan with it when you buy it to make things simple.

Noise-wise with the fans turned up to 1900 rpm it's audible (quiet compared with my old case but still audible), so looking over at the extreme systems forums I noticed that my radiator seems to perform best between 1400 and above, so I turned the fans to 1400 rpm and left them there. With the addition of the top 200 mm fan it should be enough push / pull action to compensate for the tight fins on the radiator.

The case is really wonderful in terms of routing wires. With a huge pack of zip ties I went to work and kept finding new ways to route the wires around. The case was huge but still a bit smaller than the corsair case. I don't know that I would be able to fit another radiator inside of the case, although I could probably hang a second radiator off of the back 140mm fan.
 

Serradifalco

Senior member
May 27, 2007
363
0
0
I received the case Monday afternoon. I finally got a chance to open the box this morning. As you may or may not know, I currently own the HAF 932.

First impressions:

-The build quality is far superior to the HAF 932. Everything about the case has a solid feel to it. The side panels come off and go on easy. Everything lines up perfectly. I believe you can sit on this case and not damage anything.
-My HAF 932 is 22.5 inches tall and 21.5 inches deep without the casters on. The HAF X comes in at 23.5 inches tall and 21.5 inches deep without the casters on. They are both 9 inches wide.
-The hot swap trays (2 of them) slide in and out perfectly, and have a nice solid feel to them.
-The thumb screws are black.
-There is all kinds of room behind the motherboard to hide cables of the thickest variety, especially with the bump out on the side panel cover.
-The power supply cover and gpu duct are nice features, but I will not use them. They both can be taken off very easily via 2 thumb screws. I now own a modular power supply so I won't have many cables to hide. My video cards are likely too long to work with the duct.

So far I am more than pleased with this purchase. If you need any additional info or need me to measure anything, please ask. I will give you more impressions as I install the components. Thanks.
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
I received the case Monday afternoon. I finally got a chance to open the box this morning. As you may or may not know, I currently own the HAF 932.

First impressions:

-The build quality is far superior to the HAF 932. Everything about the case has a solid feel to it. The side panels come off and go on easy. Everything lines up perfectly. I believe you can sit on this case and not damage anything.
-My HAF 932 is 22.5 inches tall and 21.5 inches deep without the casters on. The HAF X comes in at 23.5 inches tall and 21.5 inches deep without the casters on. They are both 9 inches wide.
-The hot swap trays (2 of them) slide in and out perfectly, and have a nice solid feel to them.
-The thumb screws are black.
-There is all kinds of room behind the motherboard to hide cables of the thickest variety, especially with the bump out on the side panel cover.
-The power supply cover and gpu duct are nice features, but I will not use them. They both can be taken off very easily via 2 thumb screws. I now own a modular power supply so I won't have many cables to hide. My video cards are likely too long to work with the duct.

So far I am more than pleased with this purchase. If you need any additional info or need me to measure anything, please ask. I will give you more impressions as I install the components. Thanks.

Are you setting up a watercooling system on it?
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,873
59
91
Mine is due in tomorrow. If no one has any pictures up, I will get some posted after I get it all together tomorrow night, if all goes well.
 

ModestGamer

Banned
Jun 30, 2010
1,140
0
0
for $200 I could build a much nicer case by gutting a few old ones for drive caddy etc. I work with metal all day. It is a nice case though.If someone is selling a reasonably priced HAF 932 I might be interested in taking it off your hands.
 

Serradifalco

Senior member
May 27, 2007
363
0
0
for $200 I could build a much nicer case by gutting a few old ones for drive caddy etc. I work with metal all day. It is a nice case though.If someone is selling a reasonably priced HAF 932 I might be interested in taking it off your hands.

I will be selling mine. I still have the original box because I am anal like that.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
for $200 I could build a much nicer case by gutting a few old ones for drive caddy etc. I work with metal all day. It is a nice case though.If someone is selling a reasonably priced HAF 932 I might be interested in taking it off your hands.

If I had a CNC, for less than the cost of a high end case, I could make one too I'm sure. But, I don't have a $30,000 machine. =)
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Well last night I spent all night running OCCT burn in, maxed out all 4 cores for 6 hours with no errors, top temperature hit 61C while overclocked to a modest 3.4 Ghz (41% OC).

I'm going to tweak it today when I get home and get some pics in, I haven't signed up for any picture hosts yet though. I've been meaning to upload pics but just haven't had the time, between work and the build process I haven't even had time to log into my warcraft account.
 

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,629
10
91
Juddog,

I read somewhere that the video card retaining mechanism can't be used in conjunction with the side panel fan shroud. Is this true? Also, it seems like the air duct is pretty much a useless feature since it can't be used with "long" cards. Anyone shelling out $200 for this case will probably be running one if not two high performance video cards. Can you chime in on this?
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,852
6
81
Juddog,

I read somewhere that the video card retaining mechanism can't be used in conjunction with the side panel fan shroud. Is this true? Also, it seems like the air duct is pretty much a useless feature since it can't be used with "long" cards. Anyone shelling out $200 for this case will probably be running one if not two high performance video cards. Can you chime in on this?

I'm only running a single video card at the moment. The side fan blows right on it, so I basically just unscrewed the extra shroud and left it off. I don't think there's enough room for both the side panel shroud and the video card retaining mechanism; basically as it is (using an ATI 5870) the side panel shroud is about 1/4" away from the video card, with the shroud on.

I can try and take off the shroud tonight to see if it allows the retaining mechanism room or not.
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,873
59
91
There was one review that they turned the fan shroud around and was able to use both.
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,873
59
91


















Wow, the doors are thick and heavy. The grate under the power supply feels a little thin, but will be ok.
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,873
59
91


I am not sure about the back plate opening placement.









On my RE3 the left side is covered. I am going to try and slip in it in there.
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,873
59
91
Nope, I am playing with an H50, and the back plate will not slide in. You need to mount it before hand.
 
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