Installation components
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe
RAM: Mushkin EM3 DDR3 1600
GPU: ASUS GTX275 / Sapphire HD 5870
PSU: Antec Signature Series 850W
Optical drive: Samsung Writemaster DVD-RW
Hard disk drives: Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II / WD 160GB SATA-II
When the CM Storm Sniper side panel is taken off you will find an instructions manual as well as some extra parts to such as screws, grip ties and hdd brackets. The manual is very helpful with guidance on installing hardware into the CM Storm Sniper Black. It’s very doubtful that you will come across any problems. I did however find a small discrepancy within the manual. It had obviously not been proof read or, someone had not been paying enough attention when they were proofing the manual. Quite comically the below word should of course read “disk drive”!!
What I love the most about the CM Storm Sniper is that each item is so easy to install. Take for example the DVD-RW optical drive. Pop the front bay cover off the front, slide the drive in from the front. Position it up so that it sits in line with the front of the case, and press the circular button that the drive is positioned in to lock the drive in place. It’s literally as easy as that. No screw driver is needed, no messing about. Similarly the HDD installation is a pushover too. Unclip the cover of the tray, remove the tray, place the hard disk inside the tray – making sure that each screw fits into the slot, slide the tray back into the rack, clip the cover in and job done. Again, no hassle. In exactly the same fashion any of your expansion cards, be they sound card or graphics card – they will all fit using the tool-less system. This makes life so much easier, there are no problems dropping screws onto the motherboard or down the sides of compartments and then having to tip the case to get the screws out, because lets face it when you drop a screw, they always go into the most awkward of places!
Moving round the other side of the CM Storm Sniper there is an opening on the motherboard tray for replacing the back plate on the CPU cooler, which many a case manufacturer seems to shy away from time and time again. I’ve no idea why they do this. It replaces time spent having to remove the motherboard every time you want to replace the CPU cooler. It’s a ‘no brainer’ having this as a feature on a computer case directed towards gaming/hardware enthusiasts. However innovative this feature might be, for some strange reason the backplate on my Noctua NH-C12P did not line up corrected and was slightly concealed behind the motherboard tray. It’s unlikely that other coolers will be affected by this.
With all the components installed inside the CM Storm Sniper Black, there is plenty of space in there for the tallest of CPU coolers and the longest of graphics such as the current HD 5870. The Sapphire HD 5870 that I installed inside the CM Storm Sniper had many inches more before it came into contact with anything. One thing that comes with having such room is that cabling isn’t as easy to manage. You will need more cable ties to sort out those cluttered wires. Overall, one of the fastest and easiest installs I have ever performed.
