Cooler Master Cavalier 3 Mid-Tower Case - Articles / Reviews

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Cooler Master Cavalier 3 Mid-Tower Case

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Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
Cooler Master
Dec. 1, 2004

Specifications

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First Impressions

Overview

The package that the Cavalier 3 case comes in shows off the case and its features with Cooler Master's distinct styling. The case is protected by the usual plastic bag and Styrofoam. Once removed from the packaging, it became quite apparent that this case was a looker. Having previously seen only online photos, it was hard to get a feel for just how good this case would look, but once in my possession, I was able to fully appreciate the effort Cooler Master has put into the visual appeal of this case.

There are four Cavalier models. The Cavalier 1 and Cavalier 3 are mid-tower cases while the Cavalier 2 and 4 are desktop cases that lay horizontally. Both the Cavalier 1 and 2 have a VU meter (sound pressure gauge) built into the front of the case similar to the one found in the Cooler Master Musketeer which we reviewed back in October of 2003. We received the black Cavalier 3 sporting a side panel window and lacking the VU meter.

Plenty of screws, four case feet, a Cooler Master case badge and a detailed installation guide are included with the case.

Front Panel

The chassis and side panels of the Cavalier 3 are constructed out of steel and painted black while the front panel is made out of plastic and anodized black aluminum. The front of the case is curved, features a purple-blue stripe down the right side and a thin mirrored accent strip down the left. The transparent plastic purple strip has some kind of color shifting paint that fades to a lighter, less saturated purple at different angles. This is a relatively small effect that looks cool but doesn't distract from the rest of the case. The Cooler Master Name is 'printed' in black towards the top of the purple strip and is only slightly visible.

The power and reset buttons, as well as the power and activity LEDs, are found towards the bottom of the case on the purple-blue strip. Both buttons have either a chrome or metal plated finish with beveled edges that continue the mirror/chrome-accented theme. The blue LEDs are located right above the buttons and are spaced diagonally from each other.

You may notice the lack of USB ports or audio jacks on the front of the case. In order to present the clean, sophisticated theme, Cooler Master decided to place the ports and jacks on the sides of the case. There are two USB ports and a firewire port located on the left side, while the right side features speaker and microphone jacks. Just above the audio jacks is an open slot where a volume/intensity wheel would be located for use with the VU meter on the Cavalier 1.

Front Door

Upon opening the front door, we are presented with five 5.25" drive bays and one 3.5" drive bay centered at the bottom. There are four metal bolts on the surface behind the door that correspond with four magnets on the door which hold the door in place quite well. There are magnets and bolts on both sides of the face because the door can be set up to open to the right or to the left. There is a little wire tab near the top hinge that when pulled down releases the door from the case. The top and bottom hinges can then be moved to the other side of the door. Unlike some cases where the hinges are made out of weak plastic, these are made of metal. The ability to decide which way the door opens is an awesome feature which doesn't limit the location of the case in your workspace or your accessibility to the drives.

The bay covers, as well as the rest of the faceplate behind the aluminum front, are molded plastic. My initial fear with cases that have plastic exteriors along with aluminum is that it may not mesh well visually. With the Cavalier 3, it didn't even catch my attention until I really examined it. I must say that so far, considering the low price-point of this case, Cooler Master has done a good job working with the materials to provide an appealing finish.

Front Intake

One thing that seems missing from the front of the case is ventilation holes for the intake fan. In order for Cooler Master to maintain the style of the case, they couldn't mar the surface with unsightly vents. To circumvent the problem, they decided to have air enter the case through the underside of the face. While this solves one problem, it creates another. With the case feet installed and the case sitting on a hard, flat surface such as a desk, air is free to enter the case and there would be no problems. However, many people such as myself place their cases on a carpeted floor. With the case on the floor, the opening can be severely blocked or worst, cut off completely. If the computer housed in the case isn't all that powerful, this may not pose too big of a problem but for today's scorching hot processors and graphics cards, it can become a serious issue.

Side Panels

As I mentioned earlier, the sides and top of the case are steel and have been painted black. The left side panel features a good sized acrylic window mounted in place with eight chrome "bolts.' These aren't real bolts; they actually have screws on the opposite side to secure the window to the panel. The bottom half of the window has an appliqué of the Cavalier logo/name applied on the inside and there is a small Cooler Master logo in the top left corner. While the appliqué doesn't look half bad, I'm not really one for branded cases. The right side panel is nothing special. Both panels have indented handles towards the back for easy grip and removal. The left side panel is secured by two thumbscrews while the right panel is secured by two normal screws which will require a screwdriver. I know that this is a budget case, but skimping on two thumbscrews? Come on. After removing the screws, simply slide the panels back to remove them.

Case Rear

Moving on to the back side of the case we can see the PSU mount, 120mm exhaust fan, I/O shield and PCI slots. The I/O shield and PCI slot covers have simply been stamped out and are still physically part of the chassis. I will talk more about the cooling and quality of the case later, but first, let's take a look inside.

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions
Page 3: Inside the Case
Page 4: Quality Check
Page 5: Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by ballista on March 1, 2005 - 9:47 pm

How did you get the front panel off the cavalier 3? I have one and that sucker is impossible to get off, I need to take that cheap intake fan and put a higher flow fan in its place.

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