Customer Reviews

Cooler Master 690 nVidia Special Edition ATX Mid Tower Case - (NV-690C-KWN1-GP)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lets start with the overall look. I am a fan of Nvidia, and always have been since I switched to them after using ATI for a few years. The Nvidia green with the black makes it a cool looking case. I also like the windowed side panel, it isn't too much window and it isn't too little. I also like the placement of the front panel instruments. They are flush with the top surface, and allow for extra cord length if the case were to be at a lower height than the user.

Now we move onto the inside. The cable management is ok, but not that great. I used a Thermaltake Toughpower 600W modular PSU, and that PSU covers at least a 1/4 of the cable management hole near the PSU. It wasn't much of a problem since I do not use that many cables. If you expect to power more than 1 media drive and hard drive, then you might want to look for another case, or be prepared to make some room. Along the outside of the motherboard area are a series of plastic cord holders which I found useful to divert cords away from the PSU.

For ventilation, we have a front 120mm fan, a read 120mm fan, and a side 120mm(?) fan. All of these fans are quiet. I powered up the system, and didn't hear anything. I had to check for airflow to make sure they were running, and boy do they haul air. One bad thing about these fans though is they come with a 4-pin molex adapter connected to their 3-pin plugs. These molex adapters aren't they great because if you move a wire, the pins also move. This makes it really hard to get a power connection on without screwing up the pins and blowing a fan. For extra ventilation, the whole front panel has holes with a foam behind each bay bracket. There is also a dust filter for the front intake fan. There is also two vents on the bottom for the PSU, and one of those vents has a dust filter as well. On the top there is a spot for two 140mm fans, which I also believe you can rig to house a water cooling system radiator. Along the side of the PCI slots, there is a few holes to provide some cooling as well. A nice little feature below those holes are two round rubber holes for water cooling tubes to enter and exit the system.

The case comes with standoff screws, and plenty of screws for hard drives and media drives, but no screws for the motherboard. I tried each of the previously mentioned screws, but they did not fit the threads in the motherboard standoff screws. This was no problem to me since I had plenty of M3 screws hanging around. I have heard this case shorted some systems out, but I think those people did not use the standoffs. PLEASE USE THE STANDOFFS, they keep the soldering of the motherboard off the metal.

The tool less feature is much more reliable than the Thermaltake version. The Thermaltake version I found to be a little too loose, but when I put a DVD rom in, the drive barely moved. I still put screws to help hold the drive stable. The PCI tool less feature can only ensure that the card is secured horizontally, not vertically. The lock went onto my EVGA 260 GTX 216 55nm just fine, but with the cards weight and dual slot size, I had to screw it in on one bracket to keep it from falling to the bottom of the system. For the PSU mounting area, there is a nice rubber gasket to help reduce system noise. Even my Thermaltake PSU game with its own rubber gasket, but I didn't need it.

The cable setup is easy, all you have to do is look at the motherboard's manual and the case's manual to ensure you have your front panel and switch cables in the right spot.

If you plan on fitting a 260/280 in this system, then setup is a breeze. I only had a problem getting it in because I had cords in the way, but I still maneuvered around those cords with no problem.

Both sides of the case come off easily. All you have to do is take of the thumbscrews, and slide the sides off. They even go on easy, and you don't have to worry about sliding the sides on 20 times until it is on there perfectly. It slides is the right way every time.

If you aren't an Nvidia fan, I would get the normal 690 and get the window side panel separately if you want one. I bought this case because I love Nvidia, and they have never disappointed me.

Wow, what a great case!! It's very nice to look at. Great for gaming with all the fan mounts available. Heat build up is minimal at worst assuming you max out the case with fans. It comes delivered with 3 fans already mounted. ALL 3 are 120mm. It comes with a green led fan mounted in the front. One fan on the left side panel as well as an exhaust in the rear. I added 2 140mm fans on the top and a 140mm on the bottom. For the bottom fan if you use a 140mm fan it has a snap in bracket, no need to use mounting screws. I found it to mount quite securely and have not noticed any noise from vibration. You may also mount 120mm fans in all the positions I mentioned, there's also a mount for a 80mm fan on the right side panel but I elected not to use it. I just chose to go with 140mm because I could. Placing a 120mm on the bottom would as in all other positions requires mounting screws. The top I/O panel provides jacks for 2 USB, 1 IEEE1394, 1 Mic, 1 Audio (for Speakers) and 1 eSATA. Being located on top is nice and convenient for those of us who place the tower on the floor or bottom shelf of a computer desk etc. For those who place their tower on a desktop or what have you it may not be so convenient, you may actually have to stand up to locate and see the jack you want to plug into..The power supply is bottom mounted, a plus in my opinion. I installed a Corsair TX750v2 there and it fits nicely. Cable management is the best I've seen and I have more than a dozen custom builds under my belt working with that many different cases. The tool less mounting for both the exposed drive bays and hidden HDD bays is also the best I have dealt with. Although the mounting brackets appear quite flimsy, once they are populated with a drive, the drives are secure and free of any potential vibration. The add on cards (IE: Graphics card) also mount quite securely with the tool less feature. The case is wide enough to accommodate a CPU heat-sink/cooling fan that rises up to 6" above your CPU. Personally I have a Corsair H60 Hydro cpu cooler mounted on a AMD Phenom 1099t CPU leaving plenty of room to spare. The cpu cooler radiator is installed in a push/pull fan configuration to where the 120mm exhaust fan is normally mounted, once again no fit issues. I am using all Cooler Master 120-140mm case fans and the noise level is quite low, how quiet your system will be of course is dependent upon your individual set up, number of fans, their individual noise levels and rotational speed etc. Because this case predominately by design tool free, the top and front panels can be a bit of a bear to get off. The top not so much, but I wish the front panel was a bit easier. To remove the front panel requires pulling it out from the bottom and needing a little more force than I feel comfortable with, I fear that I am going to break it, but break not, it does come off intact, fortunately it needn't be removed very often. The windowed left side panel looks classy, it's not too much, it shows what you would want to see through it. Did I mention this is a good looking case? It is really slick man, I love it. It is great looking, functional and tool less. Cooler Master knows what their doing when it comes to case design. I highly recommend it to all those looking for a great Mid tower case, gamers and non gamers alike. Get it you'll love it also. I also want to thank Amazon and Tiger Direct for the very fast delivery. Only wish I could have got it free shipping.

I love this case great air flow sexy design best case to buy for the price,everything runs cool my BFG 260gtx idle at 45 degrees, under load 68 degrees, my overclocked Phenom ii 36 Ghz idle at 38 degrees when full stress my processor runs at 57 degrees max, this is cooled by my coolit A.L.C liquid cooler and its very silent, great cable routing don't believe me check out the pictures i uploaded and trust me Jamaica is very hot! which is the main reason for buying this case.

Overall, this is a very nice case. Construction quality isn't quite military-grade, but everything fits together neatly and squarely. The drive mounts are solid, and the drives don't vibrate the case as they run. I agree with other reviewers on the plastic locks for the expansion slot covers; they are a little cheesy. They were also hard to lock into place with a real card in the slot (but once they're in, they seem to hold fine.)

I was disappointed to find that a full-blown tower case wouldn't fit into my desk, but this mid-tower case has room for everything I need... and then some. I have an XFX GTX 280 video card installed (that's a pretty big video card - about 10 inches long) and there's room to spare - many other mid-towers save space by squeezing the disk bays up against the front edge of the motherboard, restricting your choice of video card. The built-in fans are very quiet as well, and even with nothing but the three included case fans, it stays about room temp inside the case. (There are mounts for about four additional case fans as well.) Use an oversized cooler like a Zalman on your CPU (yeah, that'll fit too) and your rig will be scary-quiet.

One gripe about the layout: because the PSU mounts at the bottom of the case, the PSU fan has to draw air in through the bottom of the case. There are perforations in the bottom of the case for the PSU fan to draw air through, but they don't line up with my extra-long Corsair 1000W power supply. (I'll likely drill a few holes in the bottom to ensure my PSU gets proper airflow.) That PSU also partially blocks the cooling fan in the case floor. I suspect that everything would line up perfectly with a smaller power supply. Just check the dimensions on the PSU you want to put in this case.

By the way, note that there's a non-NVidia version of this case that is $30-$40 less. You give up the side window, but you get an extra fan mount and blue LEDs instead of green. Otherwise, they're the same case.

Overall, I'm very happy. I feel like I got nearly all of the benefits of a quality, full-size case for about half the price.

This kind of computer case is new for me. I build a new desktop every four years or so, and up to now the case has always been an afterthought. Granted, a chassis has little effect on the unit's performance, but I must say it feels good to have something more solid, more substantial, and the Cooler Master 690 nVidia Special Edition ATX Mid Tower Case - (NV-690C-KWN1-GP) is just that. Built by Cooler Master, and branded with the nVidia logo, it weighs in at a hefty 11.5 kg/25.9 pounds, one-third to one-half more than most mid-tower cases. The interior is a more spacious, too. There's plenty of space to maneuver cards and cords and coolers. Unlike most mid-towers, the cm690 has room for larger new generation CPU fan-heatsinks like Cooler Master's 161 mm/6-inch tall V8. It comes standard with three120mm fans, and can accommodate three more. It's mostly tool-free, with removable HDD racks, and room for as many as nine 5.25 inch bays depending on your configuration. And ... Surprise surprise! It's certified for nVidia's nascent SLI 3D graphics protocol!

There is one downside, the external audio controls. Mounted on the top surface, they are easier to see. But I'm having to be careful not to place anything on top the forward edge of the case, which is easier said than done. USB and headphone plugs can extend an inch or more from the surface, so you do have to be careful.

Maybe I'm a bit shallow, but I must admit the looks of this unit was the deciding factor for me. nVidia's stylish bright green logo and green piping against the shiny black mesh panels, it's truly gorgeous to look at.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth...and echo what the other top reviewers have said about this case.

Basically, if you're looking to do a 2-way or 3-way SLI setup, you'd be lacking in the intelligence department to overlook this case! For a mid-tower, there's PLENTY of room for all your components; it has excellent airflow, is relatively light-weight, is sexy to look at (aesthetic preference...but this IS my review :P ), and features an all tool-less design. What more could you ask for?

I've seen the prices on this case fluctuate from ~$100 to as low as $50 on sale. I've been using mine over a year, with a Tri-SLI GTX260 setup, 850watt Tt PSU. I've had no heat issues whatsoever...but, if you want to go the water-cooling route...no problem. It has grommets in the rear of the case to allow for a water cooling setup.

Price, flexibility, design...and it's a CoolerMaster! If you're searching for a solid Mid-Tower case...you can stop looking. You just found probably the best Mid-Tower design out there!

One final note...I highly recommend the use of a modular power supply to keep cable-clutter to a minimum.

This is a great tower for any use. Keeps your parts cool, has 5 slots for fans 120mm or 140mm and has one on the side also. comes with the filters for keeping dust out. Looks great especially when you have all green lighted fans or blue. All the tool-less slots are sturdy and don't feel cheap. It also comes with everything you need to build you computer. it does only come with out of the box two fans- one in front which lights green and one in the back. All the cable sorting is easy due to the cable mounts it comes with in the case. Has plenty of room and is perfect for 3-way SLI or Crossfire. The power supply is mounted on the bottom and has a vent so the PS can take cold air from the out side. I had no problems with my cables not being able to reach either. So this tower is great and would recommend to anyone.

I was not really looking for a new case, but since I had a Thermaltake Armor and I just upgraded to a new Core i7, I just started to look at cases. I also had to build my son a PC and I used the parts to my second one for his. I had to rebuild my secondary PC again, so I bought a cheaper Thermaltake case. I noticed that although it was made from thinner metal, it was black inside and out and it had the power supply on the bottom. It also had a lot of cooling options. So with that, I kind did not like my second PC having more modern features than my main one.

So, I start looking and I came across this model. I use mainly Nvdia cards and I like the color scheme, so I decided to investigate this. When I had the Armor, at the time I was planning on putting in 5 burners and fill up many slots. It get's hot that way, so that is why I got the Armor. The down side to the Armor was the size and weight! The up side was that it was cool (in all ways) and quiet. So looking at this model, I was impressed by the look, the fact that it was smaller than the Armor but still larger than normal. It has a lot of cooling options for all directions. It has the Nvidia logo and is designed to be cooled.

When I first got it, I was a little shocked for the size. I was wondering is I was doing the right thing on this purchase. The metal is a little thinner than the Armor - just a little, but is comparable in quality. Just from the looks, I was no thinking everything would fit in this, but it did with room to spare.

What I do like:

The look, which is nice and a good change.

The side CPU fan for exhaust is good. It helps when the CPU is running at full speed. It helps keep the CPU cool from all directions.

The power supply on the bottom gave me concerns. I thought that it would attract dust (I put some hard plastic underneath just in case), but so far it has not BUT, it keeps it cooler. Since this is the same PSU, I cannot tell by the feel that it is cooler. It feels lukewarm at best. In the Armor, it was very warm to almost hot. So the bottom mount PSU IS a good thing. I guess this is the ATX/BTX compromise?

Power Supply pads and installation are great! I do not hear any vibration anymore. It is also an easier install. So this was a good idea.

Cable management is OK, but nothing great. It works, but i never had that problem before.

The whole thing is cool temperature wise. When I am rendering videos, the CPU is at 86% at best and the thing is warm, but never hot. Most of the time it is still lukewarm while rendering. I feel a whole lot better.

I like the size. When you no longer need a hulking case, this gives you what you had, but in a little bit smaller form.

What I don't like:

Installing disc drives were a pain. The instructions were more like diagrams than instructions. I tried all ways to detach the grill from this thing. I admit I did not want to take off the front plate as I felt it was not necessary. I finally had to bend and break the grills off since these will always be used. It is not like the old days( even a couple of years ago) on this.

This is a good buy. For some reason, Amazon shipped this out on the same day I ordered it. It made me ask myself some questions, but it's all good. Also, some have said that the top ports would melt, but upon looking at them, it can only be because these people did not know what they were doing or which audio version to plug into their motherboard. Melting happens when you make mistakes.

UPDATE: Due to the constant dust entering the system from the side fan. I took that fan out and reversed it. Now the hot air travels out and so does any dust. Dust also comes out of the CPU exhaust fan. I assume that this is from the CPU fans shooting downwards. I bought a new CPU fan that shoots the hot air out of the back of the system to help minimize dust.

It's been over a year, and I'm still happy with this case. Excellent price. Not much to add to what other's have commented on.

Pros:
-The metal vented top is great since it's easy to feel the temperature of the air coming from inside the case.
-Ease of adding new drives to the case.

Cons:
-(Minor) Removing and then replacing the front fascia requires more force than expected. While putting the case back together, I didn't have all of the pins on the front completely seated at first. Once I tried pushing hard in various places, with one hand on the front of the case and one on the back, it seated into place.

Not too big but not too small...it's perfect. great cable managment and airflow. has a beast look with maximum green led fans.