Introduction

We all seek the very best in computer equipment. When time comes to pick the pc case, I get very picky. Some of the important factors that play a big role in the perfect PC are ease of use, accessibility and quality of the actual case. For some people other factors may come in to play but never the less we all want perfection. Of course finding the right case could be a challenge. There is a number of manufacturers that engineer PC enclosures from scratch and there are some that claim to engineer them selves but somehow they look very much alike to some of the cases you may meet out there. Today we are going to take a look at one of a kind PC case by Cooler Master, CM 690 II Basic. CM 690 II is an ATX case which also supports Micro ATX and Mini ITX motherboards. A totally new redesign of this case promises great cooling and water cooling support. Lets take a closer look at CM 690 II Basic and see what it has to offer.

About the Product

Following information is taken from the Cooler Master website.

CM 690 II Basic raises the bar again with practical improvements over the top-selling CM 690. The spacious mid-tower will keep enthusiasts happy with room for up to 3 vga cards, high-end CPU coolers, and top or bottom mount water cooling radiator. It also features much improved airflow with oversized mesh and enough space for up to 10 fans. Maintenance will be a breeze with the tool-free drive bays, new cable management and CPU cooler retention hole.

Features

Oversized front and top mesh design for superb ventilation. Accommodates 120 x 240 mm radiator inside the top or bottom. Dust-control filters for all meshed areas. Air cooling support for up to 10 fans (with support for up to 5 x 140mm fans). Front blue LED fan on/off switch. Rear retaining holes for water cooling kit. Cable management and CPU retaining hole for easy maintenance.

Specifications

Now that we got basic information out of the way, lets take a closer look at CM 690 II Basic.

Closer look

Front shot		Side shot

Cooler Master tends to save on the quality of the shipping packaging with using just plain cardboard box with vivid black and white images. The black and gray theme of the package feels just right but a bit more color might be more impressive. On one side of the packaging we found a front and center shot of the CM 690 II and on the other side of the packaging we found a descriptive images of the CM 690 II components and some of its signature features.

Out of the box		CM 690 II Basic

Getting the CM 690 II out of the shipping box was not too hard. The box felts rather light which only means that the case is made out of the light aluminum. However the case is actually made out of steel and weighted roughly 21 pounds. CM 690 II came imbedded in the plastic foam which prevents the case from moving around and any accidental blemishes from shipping. In addition CM 690 II is neatly packed in the plastic bag for extra protection. Our first impression of CM 690 II was rather surprising as the first thing that jumped at us was the quality of the paint job of the case. Very impressive as the color of the case is 100% black and leaves no finger prints.

Side shot		Profile shot

On the left door we found two fan windows. This case can have up to 10 fans if you ever going to need this many. The left fans would be highly beneficial for the exhaust of the hot air out of the case. The front of the case reminded me of a few cases I have seen with the honeycomb mesh in the front. The front mesh could be easily removed for the fast and easy installation of 3.5" components. Later on in the review we will go over the installation methods of this case.

Side shot		Rear profile shot

On the right side of the CM 690 II we found one 80 mm rear fan exhaust mount. Note how its placed right in the front of the CPU mount of the motherboard. On the back of the case we found that the PSU placement would go directly on the bottom of the computer and the motherboard would go right above that. The rear exhaust fan is installed and it looks like its a 120 mm fan. I do feel that it is important to mention that CM 690 II only comes with two fans. Any additional fans could be purchased separately. These fans are Rear: 120 mm fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 17 dBA and Front: 120 x 25 mm Blue LED fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 19 dBA. Notice these fans are very quiet and both rotate at 1200 RPM so you will not get any buzzing or humming noise from these guys. However as you change and add on fans, the sonar levels could change very quickly.

Overhead shot		Front access ports

Overhead of the CM 690 II is mixed as it consists of plastic panel and the honey comb mesh. The front panel has power and reset switches, two USB 2.0 connectors, audio connectors, eSATA connector and the switch for the front LED fan. If you don't want to see the light from the fan, this switch comes very handy. There looks to be a handle on the top of the case but it doesn't look right. I still haven't figured out how to use it.

Rear exhaust area		Water cooling options

The rear part of the CM 690 II is covered with honeycomb mesh and very much stylish. It has access for two 120mm fans for additional cooling or water cooling block. The water cooling could be easily installed in to this case as there are rear access holes for the pipes and radiator. If you not going to use water cooling then you better off leaving the stock rear 120 mm fan in for pulling hot air out of the case.

Power supply slot		Thumb screws

The power supply mounts on the bottom of the CM 690 II which is a smart idea. Keeping the heat a way from the CPU is very important as you can reach higher speeds and prolong the use of your system. Over time components may become cracked under the heat and by keeping heat a way you get more live out of them. Every major knob in this case is a thumb screw which makes it very easy and fast to get something done.

Left door		Left door off

As I have mentioned before, the left door has some the same style of honey comb design as the rest of the case. If you would like, you can install 120 mm or 140 mm fans right on the door for extra cooling. CM 690 II comes with an accessories box which is nicely tucked a way inside of the case.

Hard drive bays		Screw less design

CM 690 II is designed to hold up to 6 3.5" hard drives. These hard drive trays are designed to be used with 3.5" hard drives and require no screws. This screw less design be very handy and you can install a hard drive in a matter of seconds.

Easy secure		Power supply mount

The 3.5" devices which need to be installed in the upper space also do not require any screws as the Cooler Master has included a screw less design here too. Everything in this case is designed to be installed or remove as fast as possible. The bottom place where a PSU would be sitting has small rubber vibration compensators which help to minimize the vibration of the case while operating.

Rear fan / Motherboard tray		Spacious interior

There is no removable motherboard tray in this case but CM 690 II is very spacious inside that the installation of the components is relatively easy and fast. The top 3.5" space could be used by up to 4 devices so if you require more space than 4 slots, be cautious about this case.

Cooler Master Logo		Right door off

There aren't many logos on this case, in fact there is only one. The Cooler Master logo sits nicely in the front of the case. I do strongly think that by utilizing lettering and signs, the marketing team could reach higher attention to a product. Never the less lets get back to our review. CM 690 II has a rather strong design which offers ease of access and cable management. If you are a neat freak then you might find some of the features of this case very handy as you can hide a lot of wires behind of the motherboard tray.

CPU easy access		Cable management

Besides having easy access holes everywhere CM 690 II has a handy CPU block quick access hole. Some of the CPU coolers out there require the back bracket to be installed on the back of the CPU block. By having this space opened, CM 690 II makes the installation of such CPU coolers a breeze.

Front color fan		Bottom of CM 690 II Basic

The front color fan sits tightly in the front of the case and provides cooling to some of the hard drives you may have in front of it. This is an intake fan so expect temperatures in the case to be a little on the warm side. The bottom of the case couldn't be better.

Rugged feet		Water cooling option

On the far end of the CM 690 II there are two sturdy rubber legs which looks like designed to withstand pretty much anything. Even if you bump in to the CM 690 II you are not going to be able to move it out of place. The whole bottom of the case seems to be hollow and covered with honeycomb mesh. If you are planning to use water cooling with this machine you could also place your radiator block on the bottom of the case.

Front feet		Installed hard drive

The front feet of CM 690 II have some grip too as they aid in the stability of the case. Very clever design if you ask me. It is time to put the system together. We naturally have started with the easiest part, hard drive. Like I have mentioned earlier, installing the hard drive in to the sled and sled in to the enclosure takes roughly 30 seconds. Lightning fast!

Accessories bag		Front panel off

The accessory bag comes with few handy zip ties and some screws for the motherboard installation. If you ever would like to change the front fan for a higher performance fan, you would need to remove the front panel cover and unscrew the fan.

Installed cd rom		Build system

Next we have installed the CD Rom. Again this took us less that 30 seconds as this part of the installation requires no screws. Installing motherboard was not hard but it did took some time to screw all of the necessary screws in to the right place. As you can see from the pictures, we are using ATX motherboard and there is still plenty of space in the case.

Plenty of room		Front Panel on

Power supply installation took roughly 2 minutes as we needed to screw it from the out side to the actual case for stability. Our ATI 3870 didn't had any problems either. You should expect even some of the longest video cards not to have problem with this case. The front panel basel pops out so you should expect something similar to what we have here for the CD Rom slot. Not too bad at all. Nice and neat.

Ready to rock

When powered on CM 690 II Basic glows from the front with a blue color, creating that soft mood for any room.

Conclusion

CM 690 II Basic is a very well designed case and it is definitely leaves a great first and after impression. Providing its users with ease of use and fast installation, CM 690 II Basic becomes and no brainier pick in the store. I would like to briefly reflect on the quality of the paint job of this case. CM 690 II has a great black paint job on the outside and inside of the case. I have tried to scratch a little bit of the paint from inside with my finger and a screwdriver and was unsuccessful. Another great feature about this case is that you could install 10 fans in the opened slots very easily. CM 690 II also offers spacious interior for water cooling systems to be installed. The ease of hard drives and cd rom installations still amuses me and I am highly impressed. Out over all experience with CM 690 II Basic was great and I would like to give it the highest UMLan Inc rank of 10/10! Great case! No Cons!

Some pros we found:

Easy installation and management in the case.

Great paint job inside and outside.

Plenty of room for expansion.

Water cool ready

Some cons we found:

None.