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Cooler Master WaveMaster Mid-Tower Case
 
Author:
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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Case-Mod
May. 18, 2005
Inside the Case

Overview

Inside the case you will see (4) 5.25" bays, (1) external 3.5" bay, (5) hidden 3.5" bays, (2) 80mm front intake fans, a speaker, a bundle of front panel wires, the motherboard tray, (1) 80mm rear exhaust fan, (1) rear-mounting power supply cage and (7) PCI slots with thumbscrews.


Drive bays

Cooler Master decided not to go with toolless installation mechanisms with this case. Instead, they went with the tried and true method - screws. As such, you will obviously need to remove both side panels any time you want to take a drive out or put one in.

Since there is nothing fancy in this area, I expected no complications, and I was right. Everything installed smoothly.

Motherboard tray

As I mentioned earlier, the WaveMaster comes equipped with a removable motherboard tray. The type of stand-offs this case uses are your standard screw-ins. I actually prefer the box-clip style standoffs, but that's subjective. Before I even received this case, I had my concerns (as I always do) about the quality of the motherboard tray. As it turns out, the motherboard tray is pretty decent. That is, it's built very well and is sturdier than others I have seen. Pulling it out or installing hardware will not result in a distorted tray thanks to all the angled supports. Where it falls short is in the actual motion of sliding it out. The tray sticks to the rails and you have to wiggle it out.


It seems like Cooler Master fell asleep at the wheel when it comes to ease of use - both with the removal of the side panels and the motherboard tray. In all fairness, it isn't such a big deal that it ruins the case for me, but certainly there are some areas where Cooler Master could take a couple notes about things to improve upon.

I doubt it was intentional, but the top I/O ports connect with 1-piece plugs (on one end) which make the motherboard tray all that much more convenient. Rather than having to unplug each little single-pin connector from the motherboard, you can just pull the connections from the I/O interface.


Speaking of which, I'm going to go on a random tangent really quick, thank you for your patience in advance (hehe). Why is it that there has, apparently, been no standard developed for the interface of these I/O ports and front panel connections? I can't be the only one who dreads having to plug in each of those tiny little connectors, squinting at the manual, reversing the image in my head, and so on! Is it asking too much to give us a standard plug? Come on, I'll even pay the extra thirty-two cents for it! *sigh* Okay, where was I?

PCI Slots

The PCI slots are nothing special in the WaveMaster, though Cooler Master was nice enough to include thumbscrews. I always like to mention that toolless installation really isn't all it's cracked up to be, so I'm not disappointed (or surprised) in the least that you don't see it in this case.

Cooling

The WaveMaster has a pretty decent cooling setup. The two front intakes are inhibited a little bit by the front panel, but they still get pretty adequate airflow, and the single rear exhaust fan plus a power supply fan balance out the equation. Additionally, there is the option for installing a top exhaust fan, if you're willing to give up the I/O interface for it. Installation is pretty straight-forward, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking for me there.


There is no included fan controller in this case, and as I mentioned earlier, the fans are not easily removable- not the front ones at least. There is also not a front intake filter, which is good and bad. It's good because it would further inhibit airflow, and it's bad because you get dust in the case. As for noise, it sounds like you would expect any system with ordinary 80mm fans to. If you're thinking of using a fan controller, you will probably want to get one that mounts inside the case somewhere, rather than your typical bay-mounting device. The reason I say this is that the front door is curved, and while I haven't fully tested this myself, I'm almost positive that it won't be able to close with knobs sticking out of the front of the case. As an unofficial test I taped a mini notepad to the front bays and tried to close the door - it wouldn't close.

 
<< Previous
Page 3 of 4
Next >>
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions & Opening the Case
Page 3: Inside the Case
Page 4: Quality Check, Conclusion & Additional Images

15 User Comments
1 - Posted by Nick on May 19, 2005 - 10:58 am

I think if Kurtis spent a little more time cleaning his room, that thing wouldnt have gotten so dirty. Can't you wipe your shoes off before coming in and rinse off after your mud bath's BEFORE you sit down at the computer? :)

2 - Posted by BCSchnei on May 19, 2005 - 12:23 pm

Great review Kurtis.

Cooler Master makes great cases. I purchased a Cooler Master case way back in 2000 and still use it today as my main home system. I don't remember the model number at the time, but it was their first all aluminium cases, and looks exacly like the Praetorian (PAC-T01) that they sell today.

5 years with one case is definetly a record for me. I have probably completly changed the hardware in it 3-4 times over the years.

I find it very interesing that except the skins and front bezel the internals of the case are exacly the same as the one I have. Actually most of their tower cases utlize the same internal design.

Cooler Master has taken a winning design for their case and are making the most out of it by making cosmetic changes to appeal to a broader audience.

I will defently be looking to Cooler Master for a BTX case when the time comes.
-BCS

3 - Posted by Kurtis on May 19, 2005 - 12:56 pm

Nick: You're asking way too much of me. my chair is lucky if i put on deodorant before sitting in it, let alone "rinsing off"? I'm allergic to soap. yes.

BCSchnei: Thanks for the feedback. :)

4 - Posted by J2T on May 19, 2005 - 2:08 pm

Yes, that is a pretty case. Its funny the innards look identical (aside from the PSU tray) to my Kingwin KT424. Its a design I like.

5 - Posted by Kurtis on May 19, 2005 - 3:13 pm

it's better quality than the Kingwin KT-424, I reviewed that previously.

6 - Posted by Guest on June 28, 2005 - 10:13 am

Dude. How can you make a conclusion about a case without taking any temperature measurements? Did you even put a system in it and turn it on? This is a useless review.

7 - Posted by Firewire on June 28, 2005 - 5:35 pm

I'll come to your rescue, even though you basted my writer on his review of the Antec Sonata II, which I think was done fine, and Antec was happy with it. But Guest Dude, there are more important things to a case review than just temperature. Ease of installation, fit and finish, and innovative features are also part of it. Kurtis did a great job of showing the readers exactly what they are getting when they open up the box, but I do concur that we should see more installation pics to highlight where problem areas could occur. Having said that, I would never buy a case that was ugly, but cooled well. I would buy a case though that cooled OK, but was very functional built well, and looked good. Madshrimpy guy got all aggro on me when I didn't take temp readings on my Antec Overture II review, but I did find some interesting results after doing so, and found it even more important when I went on to my ARIA review.

So in closing, temperatures are important, but they aren't the end all be all, but it would help to find out if the coolermaster really did produce good airflow like you said.

8 - Posted by Buffy635 on November 1, 2005 - 11:41 pm

bump

edit: ok soooooooo bumping dosnt work, if anyones in here, the mobo looks dangerously close to the mobo tray rail........?yes no?

edit: o sweet, bumping does work

9 - Posted by Kurtis on November 2, 2005 - 12:21 am

nope, no issues with the mobo tray. i've been using this case as my own personal rig since when I reviewed it (yes, i like it that much... heh)

i've swapped hardware many times in this case and no problemos

10 - Posted by Buffy635 on November 2, 2005 - 12:24 am

fantastic, thank you

11 - Posted by bothersome on December 6, 2005 - 9:25 am

I can’t be the only one who dreads having to plug in each of those tiny little connectors, squinting at the manual, reversing the image in my head, and so on… Is it asking too much to give us a standard plug? Come on, I’ll even pay the extra thirty-two cents for it… *sigh* Okay, where was I?


No you're definitely not the only one!!! Wish there was a petition to sign or something... But then again if everyone could do it then everyone would be building their own computers and we wouldn't have to build them for all of our friends... oh wait a minute... they don't pay us anyways!

12 - Posted by Dyrewolph on December 6, 2005 - 2:39 pm

they can't give you a standard plug because the pins change on each motherboard... and they can't make that standard because different motherboards give you different things you can plug into for your front panel... sorry but... you'll just have to stick with it... though perhaps, if your cable's long enough... you could do that before you put your motherboard into your case :-)

13 - Posted by bothersome on December 6, 2005 - 2:48 pm

hmmm.. the one's on the case our one thing... at least they could standardize the basic doohickies on the mb where you have to connect reset button, power button, hd light, floppy light, etc. 1 pin or 2 pin connectors. Still a pain in the arse! And then let you connect the rest ... maybe the mb manufactures should include that cable and you can use the outputs you wish and tuck the others somewhere where the sun doesn't shine...

14 - Posted by Rich on December 6, 2005 - 3:04 pm

Some boards are actually color coded which makes it a bit easier, still they are usually on the edge where lighting is ALWAYS poor.

15 - Posted by Kurtis on December 6, 2005 - 5:12 pm

dyrewolph, you are incorrect in saying they can not be standardized.

i'm not saying there should be one big fat connector for the entire front panel, just for each separate connection.

the USB plugs should always be one solid connector each. The sound part should be one standard connector. Firewire... and then of course the reset/power/speaker/hdd stuff could all be another plug... it's definitely doable, it just has to be made a standard.

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