Cooler Master CM Media 281 Mid-Tower/Desktop/HTPC Case

Reviews: Cases

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Max Slowik
Kurtis
Cooler Master
Apr. 22, 2007

<< Previous

Next >>

Quality Check

Our quality check basically consists of three things: Structural Integrity, Installation, and Safety. Structural integrity testing is where we apply pressure to the case from different directions and check to see if the frame can be easily bent or twisted out of shape. Installation is the process of installing the various system components and making sure that installation goes smoothly. Lastly, the safety testing is a result of the installation process. After installing everything, I should be left without any open wounds.

Overview

The CM Media isn't weak or poorly laid out in any way, but it's not perfect, either. There's some vibration around the door fan and the optical drives, and some the bezel plastic is thin and flexible. The feet could be nicer, and well, that's true for most of the case.

Structural Integrity

This is a solid chassis, as it should be weighing in at 20lbs. It's steel, so making it solid isn't a real issue. But there are spots where things don't fit together well, and they're all on the bezel.

The bezel is plastic. That needs to be repeated: plastic. It bends. The panels are plastic. The hinges are plastic. It's not reinforced with aluminum. The aluminum, also thin, is just glued to the plastic. The drop-down panels don't always latch on the first try, because the hook doesn't always go straight into the catch, which is a shame. The simplicity of the construction is really marred by the case's face. When you touch it, that is, because it looks pretty good otherwise.

Installation

Putting the parts into the case is straight-forward. Just be sure to install your components in the external 3.5" bay before anything else. (Ed: One thing I'd like to note is that when I installed hardware in this case for photos, an ABIT IC7-Max 3 motherboard with OTES cooling is what I used. The reason I took a photo of the OTES cooling outside of the case is that the motherboard would not mount with it in place. Not really a big deal, it is a proprietary cooling system anyways, but it was worth mentioning.)

Converting the case from its vertical/mid-tower configuration to its horizontal/desktop configuration is very easy and only takes a couple of minutes, but the case door does need to be opened in order to make the changes.

The bezel is held on to the case by six plastic clips, and when the first three are released the bezel swings free easily. The bezel has two panels, one for the 5.25" bays and one with the power buttons, I/O panel, and vacuum-florescent display mounts. Both of these hold on to the the bezel each with four more plastic clips; unclip and reclip them to rotate them.

While the bezel is detached from the case, the interior 5.25" bay bezel needs to be rotated as well. It is held on with four screws.

The Media Kit is easy to install and better than many. It has a lot of configurable options including email notification, (that works via POP3 and not through, say, Outlook) news and weather feeds, system and multimedia information, and an equalizer. The software installed and operated in Windows flawlessly. The multimedia buttons are aluminum and very sturdy, with a loud positive feedback. They pop. The remote is a slightly-modified MCE remote and shares the same curves and functions.

Safety

Not a single sharp edge in sight.

<< Previous

Page 4 of 5

Next >>

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

Subscribe to Desktop [more info]

Add Comment

0 User Comments

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.