Cooler Master CM 690 III Review

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

The front of 690 III features a front fascia consisting of a plastic outer edge and steel perforated mesh running down the centre. Along the outer edge CM have given 690 III a mirror finish strip that spans the bottom right to the top. Behind the logo resides a 200mm intake cooling fan which has a removable dust filter, there mounting holes at the front for attaching a 240mm radiator (more on this later). The top section includes a trio of 5.25” drive bay covers which are removable from the inside of the case.

Around the back of 690 III we have a traditional layout. At the bottom there is an opening for mounting the PSU, immediately above this there are seven PCI expansion slot covers which have ventilation, there is also an additional vertically aligned PCI expansion slot cover. In the upper region there are three circular rubber grommets and a 120mm rear exhaust cooling fan.


The front and back of 690 III


Up at the top of the case is the front panel connectivity. There are a number of ports towards the front and a sliding cover moves back to reveal a storage compartment. The options at the front consist of the following:

• 2x USB 3.0 ports
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• Headphone and Microphone jacks
• Power and Reset buttons

The sliding cover which CM have used is highly reflective and therefore smudges easily. This cover also uses an unconventional method to attach itself to the case. It doesn’t appear to be as robust or substantial as it could be, we would rather see something using a hinge rather than having to carefully slide a piece of plastic over a gap every time we need access.


The front panel allocation


Further back, the top section of 690 III features a perforated mesh panel which is removable. This panel does contain a dust filter but it is integrated into the panel.

At the top there are no included fans but this case can accommodate 2x 120/140mm or 1x 200mm cooling fan. This also means we can mount a 240mm radiator – more on this later.


The top section of 690 III


Flipping the case over, we see that the underside has four rubber strips to help ensure 690 III does not slip on smooth surfaces. Also on the underside is a large, removable dust filter for the PSU and optional fan position.


Rubber feet and removable dust filter at bottom


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