Cooler Master HAF XB - LAN Box and Test Bench Mid Tower Computer Case with ATX Motherboard Support (RC-902XB-KKN1)

For me computers go a little beyond just a gamer/hobby. I am a programmer by profession and therefore don't need the latest and greatest just the most stable with the best performance possible. As such I am always making upgrades as needed to my computer. That being said I have to say that out of all the years I've bought from amazon(warehouse is like 40 min away) this is the first time I've been inspired to get on and write a review. So Ill try to make it good.Details Details Details!This by far is the best case I have ever...and I mean EVER used(did i say ever?). The manufacture thought of everything and I found very very little wrong with the case. Even the covers for the openings for the pci slots where clearly coated and included thumb screws INSIDE FOR THOSE! The plastic handles you see on the side are reinforced with a steel reinforcement that's connected to the frame. The space optimization inside is very well thought out. The 3.5 inch front removable bays are genius and the covers for the front drives are well designed and alot more sturdy feeling than rigs ive seen twice its price. As far as quality is concerned they spent alot of time thinking of EVERYTHING. Small things youd NEVER think of yourself. Like how they include a WASHABLE/Removeable air filter under your powersupply to filter dust from clogging up your fan. Then they lifted the power supply just a little off the case...which is perfect in case you sit the case on the floor, the power supply wont burn up from lack of airflow from the carpet blocking the airway on the bottom.Just...wow! I mean as I sit here and look through this case I find more and more stuff I notice. Like because they put everything but the motherboard on top you can fit pretty much any graphics card(those of you who have the gtx 660s).Last few things I enjoy.1) 200mm fan on top is awesome. Cool Masters provide colored ones on here for less than $15.2) the fans in front looks the right size I believe they can be replaced with a internal cooling system. I wont use it but its nice they thought of that. Also I think in the same wholes you can upgrade the 120s to 140s as they have a few spacing holes they didn't use there.3) motherboard tray can be removed. I didnt need to. I have big hands and felt I still had plenty of room.4)lots of extra fan slots. I wont use them but its nice to know they are there. Looks like (2) 120mm and (1) 140mm if my eyeballing skills are working.5)they protrude out the power supply about an inch beyond the back of the case to give you more room. It really doesnt add anything at all and the space is still small. It was a nice gesture though. haha. Just make sure you install all your module cords into your power supply before you insert.(youll see why)6)cable management is done very well. I really dont mess with it alot but they provide lots of holes for it and lots of zip ties just as an added bonus to show you they thought of everything you want.CONS:Ok heres a list of cons and I really had to dig deep to find any.1) fans are a little noisy.The company name is Cool Master and they really do provide a lot of airflow. However, for stock fans airflow=more noise. The two fans on the front are a little noisy but I'm sure can easily be replaced with something quite for $10 a piece. It really isn't that bad though. Plus its pushing so much air through the case without any back exhaust fans my back my feet are getting cold from the breeze haha.2)(this is more of a temporary inconvenience) if you are working with a modular power supply. Make sure you count and plug in the modules you need prior to installing the power supply in the back. Even though they protruded the power supply about a inch beyond the case in the back to give more room. When its installed it is a TIGHT fit to get your hand in there and install another module cord. Like I said this is a temporary inconvenience as I only have to do this part once. Eventually I got so tired of trying to find the hole I jut pulled the power supply back out and installed the cables I wanted.FINAL SUMMATIONSTOP READING AND BUY! Before Cool Master figures out they can charge more for this and people will still buy.I am not joking when I say I literally would have paid TWICE as much for a case like this knowing the quality of it. Cool Master did an amazing job and offer features you would find in cases twice or even 3x the price. That and it just looks so unique. I actually am considering buying another one just in case they discontinue this model some day and I end up wanting to build a dedicated mackintosh system rather than dual booting.Anyway, hope this was helpful. this was my first review. So be gentle and Happy shopping! Also, for those of you who are interested in what I installed.Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H(amazon)Processor: i5-2500k(amazon)Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 650 Supercloced 2048MB GDDR5(amazon)Hard Drives: (1) Kingston 128 V300 SSDNow(great deal ths weekend at staples for $70) (2)Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s(amazon)Now I wont go into any details here but this setup basically allows me to dual boot mac and windows 8 for app programming. I have windows 8 on my ssd and using one of the 1 Tb drives as folder extensions for all user/desktop and program files. Then on the other 1tb drive I have Mac Mountain Lion. Anyway, just thought Id tell you guys what I put into my case in case your looking for some other products too.

As soon as I saw this case, I absolutely had to have it. I waited for two weeks before I actually ordered it and it was all I could do to not tear apart my old case the instant it hit my desk. The form factor of the case is great and it looks amazing on my desk. Cable management is great, the removable motherboard tray is a great feature. Things are a little tight on the bottom, but if carefully planned, things work out great.Two complaints. First one is the 2.5" hdd tray on the bottom. Trust me, I would love to have 5 ssd's to fill the tray, but currently it is not financially feasible for me to have them. The strange thing is there are additional factory screw holes above and below the 2.5" disk caddy that looks like they thought about having an 3.5" disk caddy there, so I hacked it in half and stuck my 3.5" disks in it. Problem solved. The other complaint is a pretty big one. The front two HDD removable trays are a great feature, but the cheap a$$ed sata backplane now has turned my $100 case into a $1000+ case due to me having to send both of my 3tb HDD's off to a data recovery center. The 4 pin molex connector on the back of the sata backplane has ZERO polarity designations. So when you plug power into it, you have a 50/50 chance of getting your 5vdc and 12vdc backwards. Unfortunately for me I lost on the first try. I smoked both of my three week old 3tb drives. While I can replace the drives, I cannot replace the invaluable data on the disks. Seriously Cooler Master, I'm sure anyone who has purchased this case so far would have absolutely no issues paying $10 or $20 dollars more for the case if you would pony up the cash to put a quality sata backplane in it instead of using a cheap backplane manufactured in a bamboo hut somewhere in China by a little kid.I wanted to buy 4 more of these cases, but after what this one cost me, I cannot morally spend another dime with this manufacturer. This one case has blown my pc parts budget for the next few months. Take your chances with this one major flaw. I would have happily bought more of these if not for this one incident. I really wish there had been a different outcome because this was a major letdown for me after being so excited to get my hands on the product. Now I am at a standstill with work since I lost so much important data and programs.

People seem to give this case all kinds of great reviews, it is a nice case for cooling and prettiness, "I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am." An I'll take functionality over prettiness any day. If you want more than 2 mechanical HDD's pass this one over. If you tinker inside your case at all, pass this one over. The fact that you need to disconnect all your cables and lift the motherboard tray out every time you need to tinker with the power supply or drive configuration is ludicrous. Pretty? Sure! Functional? NOPE!