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Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Case Review
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Case Review - PCSTATS
At nearly two feet tall and weighing in at just under 30 pounds, the Cooler Master HAF 932 High Air Flow Chassis is an imposing full tower ATX case, marketed towards gamers and overclockers with an array of fans.
 85% Rating:   
Filed under: Cases Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: CoolerMaster Nov 25 2009   J. Apong  
Home > Reviews > Cases > CoolerMaster HAF 932

Head on - Big Boxy Fan Friendly

Head on, the case is a bit of an eyesore in my opinion. You may like the rugged appearance, but Cooler Master's Cosmos and Stacker series look a lot cleaner. In any event, the matt plastic bezel is a much better choice than a shiny black plastic grill.

Around back the Cooler Master HAF 932 has the usually allotment of expansion slots (seven), a 140mm exhaust fan, space for a replaceable motherboard I/0 shield and room for potentially two power supplies. The HAF 932 is tool less to open up thanks to thumbscrews on both side panels. There is of course more honeycomb grating wherever possible.

Both the rear exhaust fan and space above the expansion slots have honeycombed vents. This allows heat from video cards that exhaust upwards to escape out of the back of the case.

Since 140mm fans are still fairly rare on the market, Cooler Master has also provided mounting holes for the more common 120mm variant. Those wanting to put in their favorite 92 and 80mm fans are out of luck, as the holes in the honeycomb grating are simply too large to serve as mounts for smaller fans.

Unlike a lot of cases on the market, the HAF 932 requires both the left and right panels to be removed for hard drive installation - hence the thumbscrews.

Watercooling Accoutrements

In the space above the motherboard where you'd normally expect to find an opening for a power supply, there's instead a pair of rubber inlets which allow you to quickly run tubing for a watercooling system out to the radiator.

The entire blanking plate in this alternate PSU bay is removable, and can either be swapped into the bottom PSU bay if you want, or removed entirely to allow a secondary power supply inside the HAF 932 system. In general Cooler Master has made its HAF 932 chassis very water cooling friendly right out of the box. Although the system doesn't ship with a water cooling rig, enthusiasts can easily add a large radiator to the rear of the case (hence rubber pass-throughs for tubing up to 3/4" diameter), on to the upper roof which is entirely mesh. The top fan swaps out to make room for a large 120mm X 3 sized radiator in that instance.

On top of that, the HAF 932 has plenty of space throughout for reservoirs, pumps, tubes, what have you. We weren't kidding when we said the case gives you options!

Aesthetically, the Cooler Master HAF 932 isn't the most elegant case - at least when compared with the super models of full tower cases, Antec's P190 and Lian-Li's exotic PC-X2000. Okay, so the HAF 932 isn't nearly as clean or refined with its chunky matte plastic and exposed aluminum grating, but it is designed with maximum functionality and ease of access in mind. It's a trade off that compromises looks and style for the sake of performance.

The few style concessions Cooler Master makes are questionable, such as the large red LED fan set within the bowels of the case behind the front grill. This red LED light can't be switched off, forcing users who want a dark case or a case illuminated in another colour to cut wires or replace the 230mm front panel fan altogether.

I'm not exactly in love with the style

The side panel can only be described as "rugged", though words like ugly, grate-y, grid-y, window-y and military were also tossed around. Again, I like a more refined chassis for my killer gaming hardware, so while the tons of fans are a plus, the pseudo MASH fonts and superfluous grills are overkill.

This panel has an chunky X it and resembles a gas can, ammo can... Beautiful.

As a full tower ATX case, the HAF 932 is about seven inches taller than a standard 14-inch mid-tower chassis, and about two inches wider. It's 9" wide and 21" tall if you recall. The increased height and width will likely make it too large for many of those cheap student desks with built-in computer bays... you know the kind I mean. As well, most users will probably want to keep this case on the floor, but with all the vents it's going to make the HAF 932 put a Hoover to shame.

Out of the box the HAF 932 sits on four simple plastic feet. These can be replaced with four included wheels that have a built-in locking mechanism. Certainly important for moving around such a heavy system once all your gear is installed.

PCSTATS strips the HAF 932 down to its bare metal next, so we can test its mettle.

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Contents of Article: CoolerMaster HAF 932
 Pg 1.  Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Case Review
 Pg 2.  — Head on - Big Boxy Fan Friendly
 Pg 3.  Internal Case Features: Opening 'er up
 Pg 4.  Internal Case Features: Fans Fans Fans!
 Pg 5.  Motherboard and Peripheral Installation
 Pg 6.  Installing the HAF 932 Chassis
 Pg 7.  Conclusions: High Airflow Really Worth the Dust?

 
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