Cooler Master CM 690 III Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅11-09-13
Conclusion

It’s never an easy feat bringing to market the successor to a popular product and there are usually two avenues that manufacturers take; a complete overhaul and redesign or a subtle facelift. Today’s review of CM 690 III drops into the latter.

Choosing to modify specific elements of its predecessor, CM have made a wise decision with 690 III. The main differences with this case are found within the chassis and we can report that these changes, such as the ones made to the storage area, are welcomed.

From a visual standpoint 690 III is pleasing to the eye, being neither gaudy nor minimalist in its styling. Inside, our case uses a trusted layout with various tool-free mechanisms for installing kit.

Flexibility is where 690 III excels, it can accommodate a plethora of hardware including big CPU coolers, long graphics cards and cable management is easy to maintain. CM have ensured that water cooling support remains a top priority with allocation at the front, rear and top of the chassis. Popular all-in-one liquid CPU coolers such as Corsair’s H100 can therefore be housed in different locations.



We really like the idea of the EZ tray which has been introduced with 690 III. The ability to adjust a storage tray between 2.5” and 3.5” provides a convenient method for installing different sized drives.

Aspects which come as a disappointment are the lack of rubber grommets on cable management cut-outs, standard screws for PCI slot covers and the sliding cover for the front panel ports which would be better with a hinge type design. These elements are only minor drawbacks and do not deflect from a great product.

Priced at £80 has been given a slight nudge up from the 690 II at launch. At this cost our case is good value for money though we would have liked to see an optional fan controller to allow it to compete with other candidates in the same price-range.

Cooler Master have refined a classic with CM 690 III. It retains similar attributes but brings an improved feature-set which is very much welcomed. As a result of our experience we are pleased to give it our gold award.

Pros
+ Pleasing to the eye
+ Classic design with improvements
+ Great clearance options
+ Easy to maintain cable management
+ Can accommodate 240mm radiators
+ EZ trays are an excellent idea for storage
+ Good build quality

Cons
- No robber grommets for cut-outs
- Standard screws for PCI covers
- Sliding cover for front panel controls could be better



Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.


10 pages « < 7 8 9 10

Comments