Introduction
Today we are going to review yet another Compute Case from Cooler Master. Previously we have seen Cooler Master has delivering Enthusiastic Computer Cases like COSMOS 1000, COSMOS S; However with HAF 932 they have really gone a step ahead in providing State Of The Art Computer Case at low budget. HAF 932 or should we say High Air Flow 932 comes with all features one needs for basic air cooling needs for a personal computer or a Gaming PC. At the same time it can incorporate almost all of the Liquid Cooling Systems currently available in the market, thanks to the designers at Cooler Master. This case can really turn the tables upside down for most of the competitors, as it comes with a price tag as low as $170 (Rs.9-10K). So let us share what we found when we geared up to get this beautifully designed case, benched & reviewed.
Lets move to Features.....
[BREAK=Features]
Features
Cooling System Features
Apart from all these features one of the most important feature that Cooler Master has provided in the case is the Engraved Right Side Panel.
At first look the panel simply looks like a work of art and embraces the overall look of the case as an enthusiast’s mean machine, however this Engraved channel provides necessary space for cable management and hence is as important as 230mm cooling fans in the case.
Next : Out Of The Box Experience
[BREAK=Packaging & Content]
Packaging & Content
Front of the box pictured the HAF 932 with all its guts & glory. The picture clearly shows the airflow with white on the front, side and bottom of the HAF 932 Picture.
The back side of the cover highlights the feature of the case which are.
When straight out of the box the case is wrapped in a thick plastic bag and is in two Styrofoam pieces. Good enough to avoid any damage while transportation.
All the additional accessories come in a cardboard box inside the case.
Now lets see what all is there inside the accessories box.
[BREAK=Packaging & Content Cont….]
Following are the items that come packaged with the HAF 932.
Here we would like to appreciate Cooler Master’s efforts, going a step ahead they have included an extension cable for CPU Power. This will certainly help to put that power cable behind the motherboard tray and reach the top of the tray without any problem. Adding to it, we find that the Case Speaker/Buzzer is not attached to the case, good for those configurations where the PC Speaker is provided on the motherboard itself.
Then we have the 5.25†to 3.5†drive bay convertor adapter, here Cooler Master has preserved the look and feel of the case and have provided the same in Mashed Metal.
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932]
Exteriors of the HAF 932
The front is made of molded plastic, however is rigid enough to support the look & feel of the case. Talking straight, the word ‘SOLID’ describes the front look of the case. It has 6 5.25’ Drive Bays and the construction of these bays is again mesh grill, providing maximum air flow when needed.
The front panel of the case contains all the necessary expansion slots.
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932 : Top & Back]
Top of the case contains space for keeping user’s belongings. At the same time it works as a lid for liquid cooling systems.
However there certainly a drawback when it comes to using the Fillport, the hole is not big enough to open the fillport cap of most of the top Water Cooling Solutions available in market today.
Apart from this, there seems to be no possible glitch in the case design at all.
It is a perfect work of art.
The back side of the case
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932 : The Left]
The left side panel of the case.
The left side panel of the case has embossed design, not to mistake that other then embrasing the looks and rigid structure of the case, it also supports the cable management of the case.
If you look at backside of the motherboard tray, the channel for the cable management is right below the embossed part of the case’s side panel, supporting those extra, thick cables all under once hood.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor]
The HAF Factor
Certainly if we talk about the High Air Flow factor then this case has it all. Cooler Master has made the case in such a fashion that you can have higher over-clocking potential without even thinking about the liquid cooling solutions; However as previously discussed, Cooler Master has taken care of the Liquid Cooling as well.
Coming to the point, the case has 2 giant 230mm air intake fans, one on the side panel and on in the front. The front is an LED fan with RED being the color of the LED, which gives a DIABLO look to this gaming/enthusiast computer case.
Front Panel Fan Specification - 230x30mm red LED fan x1 700 RPM 19 dBa
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : Side Panel]
The side panel has 4 features we would like to discuss.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : HDD Fins & Top]
Here we see that the side panel’s Acrylic Windows is attached with plastic screws. Pretty decent overall look of the side panel.
Please note the grooved vents at the bottom left of the panel, supporting airflow for HDD cooling. So walking that extra mile, Cooler master has yet again used years of research while creating this case.
Last but not the lease, the 230mm case comes with a fan grill, to avoid any accidents or getting the cables damaged by the fan blades.
Continuing the HAF Factor, we found that the top of the case incorporated an additional exhaust fan same as that of the intake fan on the side panel. It is the same fan, a 230mm Cooler Master with 19dBa of noise at 700 RPM.
As discussed earlier, the top of the case has a provision of either a 230mm fan of can have 2x120mm fan. So we can incorporate decent Liquid Cooling Solution here, being a huge radiator like one in Thermaltake Bigwater 745, which has 3x120mm radiator system. We should not have any issues even if there is a LCS with 4x120mm radiator system.
So even at the top side of the case lives by its name; HIGH AIR FLOW.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : Bottom]
The bottom of the case is as vented as the side panel. Is again of the Honey Comb design.
One thing we noticed here is that Cooler Master has not supplied the case with any of the dust filters for the PSU at the bottom of the case. However it will not matter much if you keep your computer in a dust free environment.
Looking closely gave us a hint that you can fit in 2x120mm fans at the bottom of the case as well.
With this the count of 120mm fans that can be there in this case reaches 8 excluding the back panel fan.
[BREAK=The Inside of HAF 932]
The Inside of HAF 932
First thing first, the HDD area of the case. It is a tool less design with damping materials used.
We can install 5 HDD in the case and can easily use a 4-in-3 device for additional HDD installation.
[BREAK=Inside HAF 932 : Room For Everything]
The motherboard Tray of the case is huge enough to incorporate any ATX form factor motherboard and has holes on the three sides to allow better cable management when installing different devices. Cause once you have made all the cable fit at the back of the motherboard tray, you have maximum airflow for best cooling results.
The top of the case, as discussed earlier, has 230mm of fan. Back panel fan is of 140mm, and the expansion slot holes are all Meshed metal which is good when it comes to that extra air for the video card.
Visible are the metal loops which are used to do the cable management, if you remember, there are quite a few cable ties which Cooler Master have bundled with other case accessories.
As all other full tower cases from Cooler Master, this case is has a tool free design and can have 6 device compatible with 5.25†drive bay.
Now look at the MOBO instalation area
[BREAK=The Inside Of HAF 932 : Motherboard Tray]
And certainly the window on the Motherboard Tray which allows easy swapping of CPU cooling solutions is a good idea, as computer enthusiast and games tend to experiment a lot with different thermal compounds and heat sinks before settling with the best one.
Now lets make this thing live.
[BREAK=System Build]
System Build
So for the system build we thought of giving the case a hard time however it never happened. To our delight the case was pretty much tool free (apart from putting the base screws for motherboard installation.
Our Configuration
.
PSU - Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W
MOBO - ASUS P5Q deluxe.
CPU - Intel Q6600
HDD - 6x Seagate 500GB
Video Card - XFX 8800 GTX
Optical - Sony DVD RW
As you can see in the pictures, the system gave us enough space to work around with and we never ever had issues with installation of any component.
[BREAK=System Build : Hiding Those Cables]
One thing to see here is that there are 6 HDD installed however we do not see any cable clutter cause of these HDD. And if you look at the back of the Motherboard Tray, you’ll be amazed to see how much cables it can actually hide from you and allow maximum airflow.
And Next comes the Final Thoughts
[BREAK=Final Thoughts]
Conclusion
When we talk about HAF 932, we talk about a full tower computer case which can incorporate any type of Liquid Cooling System. At the same time it beats the odds and provide top of that class air cooling for any kind of configuration, being it a workstation or a gaming RIG.
Now at $150 it certainly is the best computer case available in the market today.
Pros :
Cons :
We would like to thank Cooler Master for choosing us being the first people to review the Case in Indian Subcontinent.
Today we are going to review yet another Compute Case from Cooler Master. Previously we have seen Cooler Master has delivering Enthusiastic Computer Cases like COSMOS 1000, COSMOS S; However with HAF 932 they have really gone a step ahead in providing State Of The Art Computer Case at low budget. HAF 932 or should we say High Air Flow 932 comes with all features one needs for basic air cooling needs for a personal computer or a Gaming PC. At the same time it can incorporate almost all of the Liquid Cooling Systems currently available in the market, thanks to the designers at Cooler Master. This case can really turn the tables upside down for most of the competitors, as it comes with a price tag as low as $170 (Rs.9-10K). So let us share what we found when we geared up to get this beautifully designed case, benched & reviewed.
Lets move to Features.....
[BREAK=Features]
Features
Cooling System Features
- Liquid Coolant Fill Port
- Retaining holes in the rear for external liquid cooling kits.
- Space for Liquid Cooling Kit as it can incorporate 3 X 120mm Radiators.
- Space for cooling fans (3 x 120mm at top + 4 x 120mm on the side panel + 1 x 120mm at bottom).
- PCI Bay Back Slots are meshed to allow additional airflow.
- Transparent Side Window for taking a look into the case.
- Fill Port comes with a rubber lit that can be used to place personal belongings.
- Removable HDD Rack with vibration damping technology.
- Tool free kit for PCI/Add-on Card Installation.
- Motherboard Tray Retaining Hole for easy installation/replacement of CPU Cooler.
Apart from all these features one of the most important feature that Cooler Master has provided in the case is the Engraved Right Side Panel.
At first look the panel simply looks like a work of art and embraces the overall look of the case as an enthusiast’s mean machine, however this Engraved channel provides necessary space for cable management and hence is as important as 230mm cooling fans in the case.
Next : Out Of The Box Experience
[BREAK=Packaging & Content]
Packaging & Content
Front of the box pictured the HAF 932 with all its guts & glory. The picture clearly shows the airflow with white on the front, side and bottom of the HAF 932 Picture.
The back side of the cover highlights the feature of the case which are.
- Fill Port for liquid cooling systems.
- Retaining Holes for better cable management.
- Removable HDD Racks with vibration damping technology.
- Radiator mounting options at the top & back face of the case.
When straight out of the box the case is wrapped in a thick plastic bag and is in two Styrofoam pieces. Good enough to avoid any damage while transportation.
All the additional accessories come in a cardboard box inside the case.
Now lets see what all is there inside the accessories box.
[BREAK=Packaging & Content Cont….]
Following are the items that come packaged with the HAF 932.
- A packet of Motherboard mounting screws.
- Peripheral screws.
- Cable ties.
- 5.25†to 3.5†drive bay convertor assemble (has a convertor & a front panel adapter).
- CPU Power extension cable.
- Case Speaker/Buzzer.
- Trolley Wheels.
Here we would like to appreciate Cooler Master’s efforts, going a step ahead they have included an extension cable for CPU Power. This will certainly help to put that power cable behind the motherboard tray and reach the top of the tray without any problem. Adding to it, we find that the Case Speaker/Buzzer is not attached to the case, good for those configurations where the PC Speaker is provided on the motherboard itself.
Then we have the 5.25†to 3.5†drive bay convertor adapter, here Cooler Master has preserved the look and feel of the case and have provided the same in Mashed Metal.
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932]
Exteriors of the HAF 932
The front is made of molded plastic, however is rigid enough to support the look & feel of the case. Talking straight, the word ‘SOLID’ describes the front look of the case. It has 6 5.25’ Drive Bays and the construction of these bays is again mesh grill, providing maximum air flow when needed.
The front panel of the case contains all the necessary expansion slots.
- 4x USB Ports.
- 1x 1394 (Firewire) Port.
- 1x eSata Port.
- 1x Headphone Out & 1x Mic In.
- Power & HDD LED.
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932 : Top & Back]
Top of the case contains space for keeping user’s belongings. At the same time it works as a lid for liquid cooling systems.
However there certainly a drawback when it comes to using the Fillport, the hole is not big enough to open the fillport cap of most of the top Water Cooling Solutions available in market today.
Apart from this, there seems to be no possible glitch in the case design at all.
It is a perfect work of art.
The back side of the case
[BREAK=Exteriors of the HAF 932 : The Left]
The left side panel of the case.
The left side panel of the case has embossed design, not to mistake that other then embrasing the looks and rigid structure of the case, it also supports the cable management of the case.
If you look at backside of the motherboard tray, the channel for the cable management is right below the embossed part of the case’s side panel, supporting those extra, thick cables all under once hood.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor]
The HAF Factor
Certainly if we talk about the High Air Flow factor then this case has it all. Cooler Master has made the case in such a fashion that you can have higher over-clocking potential without even thinking about the liquid cooling solutions; However as previously discussed, Cooler Master has taken care of the Liquid Cooling as well.
Coming to the point, the case has 2 giant 230mm air intake fans, one on the side panel and on in the front. The front is an LED fan with RED being the color of the LED, which gives a DIABLO look to this gaming/enthusiast computer case.
Front Panel Fan Specification - 230x30mm red LED fan x1 700 RPM 19 dBa
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : Side Panel]
The side panel has 4 features we would like to discuss.
- It has a 230mm fan which runs super silent at 700 RPM generating just 17-19 dBa of noise, or shall I say Sound.
- The side panel is all Honey comb design which allows maximum airflow.
- You can incorporate 4x120mm fans by replacing the 230mm fan on the side panel. This feature also allows users to use standard radiators on the side panel. So overall we have plenty of room for Liquid cooling solutions at the same time we have enough of airflow to experiment while the system has been aircooled.
- And the beautifully designed Acrylic window, which shows the installed component. A must have mod for all enthusiast.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : HDD Fins & Top]
Here we see that the side panel’s Acrylic Windows is attached with plastic screws. Pretty decent overall look of the side panel.
Please note the grooved vents at the bottom left of the panel, supporting airflow for HDD cooling. So walking that extra mile, Cooler master has yet again used years of research while creating this case.
Last but not the lease, the 230mm case comes with a fan grill, to avoid any accidents or getting the cables damaged by the fan blades.
Continuing the HAF Factor, we found that the top of the case incorporated an additional exhaust fan same as that of the intake fan on the side panel. It is the same fan, a 230mm Cooler Master with 19dBa of noise at 700 RPM.
As discussed earlier, the top of the case has a provision of either a 230mm fan of can have 2x120mm fan. So we can incorporate decent Liquid Cooling Solution here, being a huge radiator like one in Thermaltake Bigwater 745, which has 3x120mm radiator system. We should not have any issues even if there is a LCS with 4x120mm radiator system.
So even at the top side of the case lives by its name; HIGH AIR FLOW.
[BREAK=The HAF Factor : Bottom]
The bottom of the case is as vented as the side panel. Is again of the Honey Comb design.
One thing we noticed here is that Cooler Master has not supplied the case with any of the dust filters for the PSU at the bottom of the case. However it will not matter much if you keep your computer in a dust free environment.
Looking closely gave us a hint that you can fit in 2x120mm fans at the bottom of the case as well.
With this the count of 120mm fans that can be there in this case reaches 8 excluding the back panel fan.
[BREAK=The Inside of HAF 932]
The Inside of HAF 932
First thing first, the HDD area of the case. It is a tool less design with damping materials used.
We can install 5 HDD in the case and can easily use a 4-in-3 device for additional HDD installation.
[BREAK=Inside HAF 932 : Room For Everything]
The motherboard Tray of the case is huge enough to incorporate any ATX form factor motherboard and has holes on the three sides to allow better cable management when installing different devices. Cause once you have made all the cable fit at the back of the motherboard tray, you have maximum airflow for best cooling results.
The top of the case, as discussed earlier, has 230mm of fan. Back panel fan is of 140mm, and the expansion slot holes are all Meshed metal which is good when it comes to that extra air for the video card.
Visible are the metal loops which are used to do the cable management, if you remember, there are quite a few cable ties which Cooler Master have bundled with other case accessories.
As all other full tower cases from Cooler Master, this case is has a tool free design and can have 6 device compatible with 5.25†drive bay.
Now look at the MOBO instalation area
[BREAK=The Inside Of HAF 932 : Motherboard Tray]
And certainly the window on the Motherboard Tray which allows easy swapping of CPU cooling solutions is a good idea, as computer enthusiast and games tend to experiment a lot with different thermal compounds and heat sinks before settling with the best one.
Now lets make this thing live.
[BREAK=System Build]
System Build
So for the system build we thought of giving the case a hard time however it never happened. To our delight the case was pretty much tool free (apart from putting the base screws for motherboard installation.
Our Configuration
.
PSU - Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W
MOBO - ASUS P5Q deluxe.
CPU - Intel Q6600
HDD - 6x Seagate 500GB
Video Card - XFX 8800 GTX
Optical - Sony DVD RW
As you can see in the pictures, the system gave us enough space to work around with and we never ever had issues with installation of any component.
[BREAK=System Build : Hiding Those Cables]
One thing to see here is that there are 6 HDD installed however we do not see any cable clutter cause of these HDD. And if you look at the back of the Motherboard Tray, you’ll be amazed to see how much cables it can actually hide from you and allow maximum airflow.
And Next comes the Final Thoughts
[BREAK=Final Thoughts]
Conclusion
When we talk about HAF 932, we talk about a full tower computer case which can incorporate any type of Liquid Cooling System. At the same time it beats the odds and provide top of that class air cooling for any kind of configuration, being it a workstation or a gaming RIG.
Now at $150 it certainly is the best computer case available in the market today.
Pros :
- Super Silent, cannot hear it running at all.
- Does not need speed controlled fans, as the 230mm fans are silent running just at 700 RPM.
- All Meshed Metal design allows maximum airflow.
- 140mm rear fan allows airflow at low noise levels.
- Can incorporate any liquid cooling solution available today.
- Set of wheels included in accessories , provide maneuverability for such a heavy case.
- Overall build quality of the case is superb, paint job is splendid.
- Right side panel with embossed groves allows space for cable management.
- Can incorporate dual power supplies if need be used for servers.
Cons :
- Fillport could have been a bit bigger, so that we may unscrew the fillpoint of the Liquid Cooling Systems.
- Could have used dust covers for the PSU air intake mesh.
We would like to thank Cooler Master for choosing us being the first people to review the Case in Indian Subcontinent.
