Cooler Master HAF X Review

Better late than never. We take a look at the HAF 942 aka HAF X. Described as CM’s flagship chassis – does this case still ‘haf’ the X Factor?

Product on Review: HAF X
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Cooler Master
Street Price: £135 inc. VAT (At time of review)

Cooler Master’s HAF Series has had overwhelming success with the 912, 922 932 and 942 aka HAF-X. Despite its age the HAF-X still remains a top pick for enthusiasts around the globe perhaps due to the sheer amount of features on offer for such an attractive price-point. The HAF-X is the flagship chassis within the HAF series and is the ultimate offering for those that demand feature after feature inside a burly full-tower case.

Though the HAF-X has been on the market for some time now will it stand firm against the multitude of cases we have looked at over the preceding year? Will its feature-set and styling stand the test of time? Let’s find out.

Cooler Master’s take on HAF X

The much anticipated HAF X arrives as the flagship of the popular HAF (High Air Flow) series. Designed for performance systems, this chassis is able to house today’s latest and hottest CPUs, motherboards, graphics cards and is even compatible with USB 3.0 devices. With specialized support and cooling for graphic cards, massive airflow with the help of up to four gigantic fans and easy access to installed components, this as close as it gets to a system builder’s ‘dream case’.

About Cooler Master

Features & Specifications

• SATA dock for easy installation without the need of removing side panel
• USB 3.0 on front I/O panel
• Air Duct to cool the latest graphic cards
• Up to 1 x 230mm red LED and 3 x 200mm fans
• 9 slots support triple VGA cards
• Adjustable VGA card holder to support heavier GPU cards
• Power supply partition to conceal cables
• Advanced cable management with rubber grommets
• Spacious interior for larger components parts
• Rugged black coated interior
• 2 Year warranty

Technical Specifications

Material
– Steel + Plastic
Dimension
– (W / H / D) 230 * 599 * 550 mm
Weight
– 16.08 KG
Motherboards
– Micro-ATX / ATX / E-ATX / XL-ATX
5.25″ Drive Bay
– 6
3.5″ Drive Bay
– 5 hidden
I/O Panel
– USB 3.0*2 / USB 2.0*2 / Audio*1 / Mic*1 / eSATA 1,139a*a
Cooling System
Front: 230*30 mm red LED
Top: 200*30 mm fan *2 (One optional)
Side: 200*30 mm fan
Rear: 140*25 mm fan
VGA duct
– 120*25 or 120*38 mm fan
VGA holder
– 802*15 mm fan (Optional)
Power Supply
– Bottom – mounted / ATX PS2
Other
– PCI slots: 9
HDD Bay
– SATA HDD drive bay 2 2.5” drive bay (converted from 5.25” drive bay)

Packaging & First Look

The packaging for HAF X is very much in keeping with other HAF related products. Packaging is both eye-catching and colourful. The sides and back of the packaging have details regarding the features and specifications for those who are interested.

Within, the case is protected inside a clear plastic sheet and polystyrene pillars for adding security during transit.

The packaging for HAF X

There are plenty of items that come with the HAF X including wheels, E-ATX extension for allowing the cable to run behind the motherboard and a retention device for taking any unnecessary pressure off the graphics card. The included extra that I like is the Stand Off Socket – this allows you to tighten the motherboard stand offs with the screwdriver.

Lots of items included within the bundle

With the HAF X out of the box we can see that this case could be described as a monolith, it is huge! The prominent side has a large Perspex window to allow you to see inside the case and check on hardware or just show off your rig at a LAN party. On this side panel there is also a large 200mm fan attached for cooling the VGA region.

Whilst on the other side we have contours and shapes that continue the rugged/military look that is carried throughout the HAF X and indeed the HAF series.

A Perspex window to show off your hardware

Rugged exterior is ideal for gamers

Exterior

Let’s take a closer look at the exterior. First of all the front – being a full tower (and a rather large one at that!) the height of HAF X appears to go on and on. In total there are 6x 5.25” drive bays, the bottom 2 bays are actual cages and can host 2.5”/3.5” drives. All of the drive bay covers here can be removed from the outside of the case. Very handy indeed. At the bottom we have an area marked out for the large 230mm intake fan. This is LED ready and once powered up will emit a nice red glow. The Cooler Master badge is in the middle.

Turning our attention to the rear of HAF X we can see at the bottom there is an area for mounting the PSU at the very bottom whilst moving up we have a maximum of 9x PCI slot covers. Each having ventilation slots for better airflow within the case. Moving up there is a mesh area marked out for the pre-installed 140mm rear exhaust fan and above this 3x circular rubber grommets for accommodating water-cooling tubing or cables.

The front and back of HAF X

The front panel on HAF X is split into 2 sections. There are the actual ports for connectivity and then the power/reset/LED buttons above. In terms of ports and connectivity HAF X has:

• 2x USB3.0 ports (Via cable not header)
• E-SATA port
• Firewire
• 2x USB2.0 ports
• Headphone/Microphone jack

Above this we have the power/reset and LED buttons. To conceal these buttons here is a panel that slides across to prevent any accidental pressing of the power/reset – quite a nice touch, especially if you have annoying friends!

Front panel connectivity with USB3.0

Power/Reset and LED buttons have slider cover to prevent accidental pressing

Further back there are 2 rather large perforated mesh sections. Here we have placements for dual 200mm fans. One is already pre-installed.

Dual 200mm fan options

Finally on the underside there are 3 rubber pads and a honeycomb mesh section for the PSU fan. This section does have removable dust dilters.

The underside of HAF X

Now let’s take a look at the inside.

Interior

Casting a look at the interior it’s clear to see there is lots of space. The side panels are very sturdy by the way and not only provide good sound dampening but are very good quality. Inside, there are tool-less design mechanisms throughout to attach devices and even some unique inclusions such as a GPU duct and PSU cover. We will take a look at these elements in more detail on the next page.

Spinning the case round to behind the motherboard tray, again there is plenty of space here and cable management slots for routing cables away and out of sight to keep the internals tidy.

Roomy internals for high-end components

Lots of space behind the motherboard tray also

Moving in for a closer look there is a cover for the PSU – this is a great idea as it means you can keep the inside looking clean and tidy. This cover is easily removable and even features cut-outs for threading cables up and onto the motherboard. Underneath the cover there are anti-vibration pads for the PSU and dust filters.

The PSU mounting area with handy cover concealment

As already mentioned there are a total of 9 PCI expansion slot covers, each of these have ventilation holes for better airflow and thumbscrews to allow easy installation.

A total of 9 PCI expansion slot covers

Interior (Continued)

On the prominent side panel there is a 200mm fan mounted. This has been placed in this region for assisting with extracting heat from the GPU. This fan can be connected via 4-pin or Molex.

A 200mm fan is attached to the side panel door

Inside the case we have a 140mm rear exhaust fan that can be connected via 3-pin or Molex and a 200mm top mounted fan that again can be connected via 3-pin or Molex. Next to this fan there is a space for mounting another 200mm fan. In terms of cooling the HAF X certainly has plenty of ammo.

Plenty of cooling options within HAF X

For optical drive storage we have 4x 5.25” bays that each come with the tool-less design mechanism that Cooler Master have integrated into most of their cases. You simply slide the drive in and press the button and the pins will secure the drive in place. Beneath these optical drive bays there are an additional 2x 5.25” bays, these both have trays that can host 2.5” or 3.5” drives.

Tool-less, quick release for attaching optical drives

Beneath this there is a GPU duct that will allow for the graphics card to be suspended – taking off any stress that a heavy graphics card might cause for the PCI-Express slots. This is removable.

For HDD storage there is a cage that will accommodate 4x 3.5” drives. The top tray will accommodate a 2.5” drive such as an SSD. Each of the trays have 4 pins – the drive simply slots into the tray and the pins fit into the screw holes on the drive.

HAF X has a GPU duct and plenty of HDD storage options

Installation

Getting your kit into HAF X is going to take slightly longer than usual due to the added features inside that need to be removed prior to installing things like the PSU and GPU. Thankfully though these features – GPU duct and PSU cover are easily removed. Once they are removed there is so much space available inside HAF X it really is a delight to work with. Cable management is one of its strong points, especially since the PSU cover will assist with this. As you can see from the photos – you can create a clean, tidy and impressive looking build with relatively little effort.

A clean and tidy install

Arranging cables is no struggle

As previously mentioned HDDs are attached to trays within HAF X – the top tray within the HDD storage cage can host a 2.5” drive such as an SSD (pictured).

SSD can be installed at the top of the HDD storage cage

In terms of clearance, the CPU cooler has plenty of space between the top and side panel. Here is the Noctua NH-U12P with a height of 158mm. We can easily fit the biggest of CPU coolers the Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow which both have a maximum height of 160mm.

Over on the GPU clearance – Cooler Master have given up to 12” before the graphics card will touch the HDD cage. Installed in the picture is the NVIDIA GTX 480 measuring 10.5”.

Inch upon inch of clearance for CPU coolers

Up to 12” for graphics cards

Behind the motherboard tray there is just short of 2cm of clearance to the side panel – this is more than adequate for getting cables behind and out of sight.

Behind the motherboard tray up to 2cm of clearance

Powered UP (Lighting)

As with any case that offers LED lighting we always like to show this off and give our readers a taste for how the product looks once powered up. The HAF X has a front mounted intake fan that is LED ready – emitting a warm red glow when powered up.

Thermal Performance Testing

The HAF X is no stranger to cooling fans. With a total of 3x 200mm and 1x140mm fan this case promises to deliver great thermal performance – especially since it follows a traditional airflow layout.

To discover the thermal performance of the HAF X I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.

System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W

The HAF X does very well in the thermal performance tests as you would probably expect a case of its calibre to. Having so many fans spinning though does present quite a bit of noise. If you have the case beside your desk on the floor then this probably won’t be such a bad thing but there is always the option of disconnecting one of the fans should they be too noisy.

Conclusion

The HAF X may well have been available for a considerable amount of time now but its feature-set is still relevant today.

Those who require every feature under the sun will be pleased to know that the HAF X caters for just about every need possible. The elements that stand out to me are the cooling fans included with this monolith, the sheer amount of space and cable management options offered by the PSU cover and the clearance behind the motherboard tray and just the expandability within – almost every aspect you consider is presented in a generous helping.

The HAF X’s visual appearance may not be to everyone’s liking. The HAF Series targets those who are wanting something aggressive looking with its rugged outer shell and window for those wanting to keep an eye on their hardware or show it off at public LAN parties.

As outlined in the thermal performance results the cooling potential from HAF X is very pleasing. As you would expect, having 3 oversized fans and a 140mm rear exhaust all integrated into traditional airflow placements is going to result in great results but having so many fans spinning will generate some disturbance. You can’t expect much else from so many fans operating at one time.

Priced at £135 inc. VAT (GBP) the HAF X is reasonably priced for a full-tower case. When you consider what you are getting for this price as compared with other cases in the same price-range: BitFenix Colossus, Antec DF-85, Antec 1200, you are actually getting a great return on your money.

Being amongst the first in a series of cases that endorsed USB3.0 the HAF X still has the USB cables that will need to connect with the motherboard I/O. I would hope that Cooler Master bundle an adapter for this to connect to the USB3.0 header on the motherboard or even swap out these cables in order for this to now connect to the motherboard header.

The bottom line is: The HAF X is a full tower case that excels at delivering feature after feature. It’s spacious structure will cater for every enthusiasts needs. It’s pricing positions it as a hot pick amongst the full tower contenders out there.

Pros
+ Gigantic space – XL-ATX and E-ATX compatible
+ Great thermal performance
+ Expandability
+ Plenty of options for cable management
+ Good value for money choice

Cons
– Styling may not suit everyone’s preference