When I purchased this case, I had never built a PC before. I'd also recently ended my 5-year career as an electrician to go to law school. I needed a hobby & a way to satisfy my need to build stuff. Well, I have gone to town on this case and loved it. Most of the black screws it came with are half silver from me taking it apart so many times. The case is big enough to be a sort of "blank canvas" for just about any configuration you can imagine, albeit with some limitations: I think it's a bit small for a 16mm OD PETG custom loop; I wish it had been designed to support bottom intake fans; and the top clearance for a 360mm AIO/radiator is too small for a push/pull configuration. Keep in mind if you continue to read, I am running an overclocked i9-10900K & need as much cooling capability as possible (with all case parts still properly attached, of course)
The stock 200mm fans look good and move a decent amount of air, but I replaced them with higher CFM (& IMO better-looking) Thermaltake Riing Trio 20s. Be mindful: the screw hole configuration for front 200mm fans is different from that for the TT 20s I put in. The stock CM 200s support two different screw layouts. Limited by the layout, I mounted the TT 20s diagonally with two screws & used double-sided adhesive foam to dampen any noise vibration might cause from the 2/4 screw mount. I haven't heard noise once.
There is no bottom fan support, but I was able to push some air up to the top AIO by cutting in a 2" hole on the front HDD shroud & mounting a 120mm fan over the hole. I wish I didn't get an HDD since the rack is easily removable (& moveable btw), leaving ample space for more modification--might make some bottom fan support in the future, who knows?
Similarly, the case does not support mounting a radiator/AIO to the right of the motherboard, but the metal cover there is great for cable management and is also a good place to mount RGB/fan controllers &/or USB hubs out of sight. Further, a little drilling, a few washers, nuts, & 6-32s later, the metal cover is great for holding up my little Pikachu acrylic.
The vertical GPU mount is great, but know that--in my case, at least--the card will end up close to the glass, which may restrict air flow to the GPU fans. I have yet to have any issues with thermals, but I am also running a 3060 there, which is limited much more by its hardware than thermals. I also added a GPU support because the GPU sagged a bit and was slightly crooked when only connected to the vertical mount.
When using a top-mounted 360mm AIO/radiator equipped with standard 120x120x25mm fans, the fit is tight. The back fan pushes harder against the 4+4 CPU power connections on my Aorus Z590 Ultra motherboard than I would prefer, but I have yet to experience any problems. If pushing against the cables worries you, be sure to check the dimensions on your AIO before purchasing or opt for a smaller AIO/radiator. I had this issue with both the CM ML360 & Arctic Liquid Freezer II.
Furthermore, if you plan to top-mount an AIO/radiator, you cannot fit a push/pull configuration because of clearance issues with the CPU 4+4 connections. I tried mounting pull fans on top of the bracket to remedy this but even using 120x120x15mm slim fans, I could not close the top cover. Obviously, the front is mesh, but the top is acrylic with no mesh option available. Skeptical, I removed the top cover and averaged 5.5 degrees lower in stress tests. I assume this is because my AIO was able to expel exhaust heat much better. I don't recommend you do this, but I ended up taking a Sawzall to the top & removing most of the acrylic so I could fit some aRGB pull fans on top of the AIO. 120x120x15mm fans fit nearly flush with the top cover once the acrylic is out of the way. It snaps out if you do not want to cut it, but that leaves large holes where dust, etc. can get in & takes away from the look. If you go this route (for real, don't do it), you may want to buy grille guards since the fans will be much more exposed.
You can front mount an AIO/radiator. I tried it. The hoses probably will not be long enough to reach the CPU if you mount it connections down, and the HDD shroud will further complicate this. Hoses up will reach, but then you're left with the decision of whether to pick from either of two undesirable options. You can (a) flip your 200mms over to the ugly side & use the 200s as pull fans for exhaust and whatever fans the AIO/rad comes with as push fans. In this case, you'll be pulling hot air from inside the case to cool the liquid in the rad/AIO and taking away from the good looks of the case. Alternatively, you can (b) not flip the 200s & use them as push fans and use the AIO fans as pull fans. This blows hot exhaust air into the case. With no bottom fans, you're left with trying to use the top (restricted by acrylic plus hot air rises) or back (supports 1 140mm fan) as intake. I tried (b). I even mounted a 92mm fan on the PCI expansion area to try to push more air into the case. Thermals were bad. Mount your AIO/rad on top & save yourself the hassle.
Regarding aRGB, the case comes with this little joke of a controller you can install to convert the computer reset switch to RGB control. I never even took it out of the plastic. Buy an aRGB controller unless you plan to connect the included 200mm fans directly to the aRGB header(s) on the motherboard. Some general advice (since no one asked): try to find a brand you like for aRGB & stick to it. At one point I had four different RGB apps and it's annoying.
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
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