Cooler Master's HAF XB: Give Your LAN Party Box Breathing Room

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ChromeTusk

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Jun 10, 2010
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Great design, but I wish there were more room for 3.5 HDDs. I guess I'll need to buy laptop HDDs instead. I would like to see a smaller mATX version, too.

Was there a similar case that had the power supply in a different location? I remember a case that had the PSU blocking a good portion of the 200mm in-take fan.
 

pdxgoofy

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Jun 16, 2008
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I got this case & loved it.... Until I hooked up the molex power connector on the SATA hot swap backplane upside down & fried 2 hard drives. To be sure, I plugged it in wrong. There was no noticeable resistance even though it was upside down. My fault for not looking closer. Although I think that the connector on the backplane must be looser than spec. I ended up replacing the molex connector on the backplane so I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. I added a CORSAIR Hydro Series H110 Water Cooler to it & there was plenty of room.
 

e-z e

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Jul 19, 2012
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Thanks for the insightful review. I work in an automotive dealership shop as a diagnostic tech. All of my wiring diagrams, troubleshooting trees, etc. are located online. Vast amounts of my time are spent in front of a pc these days; yet I've not been able to secure even a hand me down Dell from management to place on my toolbox. No stranger to building my own, but finding a case was the last piece of the puzzle. I'm too much of an enthusiast to settle for a blah case, even at work. I need the mb, cpu cooler, and pci cards in just this orientation for stability purposes. Noise is not an issue, and the ambient temps hit 37-38C. Portability is a plus, but not a main factor. I also approve of its brutish good looks, wouldn't look too out of place among the existing scenery. An extra $50 against my $500 budget on a case does hurt, but this HAF looks worthy.
 

InvalidError

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If I was picking a case for an industrial environment, I would be seriously worried about the number of holes through which lost screws, random metal bits and miscellaneous particles can enter the case from.

Since all you would use that PC for is reading diagrams, flowcharts and other simple tasks like that, you might want to consider looking into tablets: this way, you can bring your diagrams, flowcharts, etc. wherever you need to use them instead of having to walk back and forth between your workpiece and wherever you put the PC.
 

e-z e

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Fortunately in my corner of the shop, and to a large extent my area of specialization, grinding metal is quite rare. If I placed it right next to a lathe then I could see a problem. Most of my work involves a DVOM or oscilloscope rather than saws and drills. While I could imagine in some industrial settings this would be a bad idea, in my particular situation it's just rather hot. Fasteners don't sit on top of my box, but in divider trays stowed in the lower cabinets. Organization is key. I've had toughbooks, ipads, paper printouts you name it. But they all have batteries that run dry, or chords to run. Screens too small, or run hot as hell. The biggest downfall is that its one more tool to lug into an already cramped space. The paper printouts are most effective, but toner costs get silly. I really feel like an old school pc will fit my particular needs best. This case shouldn't struggle in the environment I have planned for it. Could be wrong, but I appreciate the input greatly!

 

InvalidError

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Another option to consider would be to use one of those PC-on-a-stick: get an LCD with USB power supply or built-in USB hub, plug the $50-125 HDMI PC-dongle and mouse/keyboard in and you're done unless you need a full-blown Windows-based PC to access those schematics.
 

ceh4702

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Maybe they need a mini-haf or one in MATX. Maybe in Intel made some designs for double sided motherboards or a Mini-ITX motherboard with a riser or bottom Riser that might be a better design.
 
Picked up the HAF XB a coupl;e of months ago to replace by aged and no longer manufactured Antec Overture as my HTPC case. I was first attracted to the mid-size profile and the dual chanbers for temp control. The majority of the case if mesh and allows for plenty of airflow. The addition of a 200mm fan on the top made it a no-brainer to have a cool and quiet HTPC solution. This case fits perfectly and looks great in my entertainment center. This is my third CoolerMaster case joining a HAF 932 and a Storm Sniper as well as CoolerMaster Hyper 212 and Gemini II cpu coolers. I highly recommend the HAF XB and CoolerMaster product in general. Great stuff!
 

Gordon Jones

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I've had this case for about a year. It is a little on the noisy side and it is big (wide and tall). I like the hotswap hard drive feature. The quick release for DVD-ROM is flimsy and kind of crappy. It can be a bit of a chore to move cables and such from the top to the bottom and to get them properly hooked in. If you swap drives and experiment with different OSes and such, then this is a pretty good case. If you do the LAN party thing, then this works as well. But for a regular case, you can get lesser expensive and smaller cases.
 
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