CM Storm Stryker Chassis Review

Today we are looking at the latest CM Storm Chassis which bears a striking resemblance to the CM Storm Trooper we reviewed back in November last year. The CM Storm Stryker has one key, noticeable difference ... it is white. Cooler Master are not the only company to be experimenting with different colour schemes, Thermaltake have been enjoying the success of their Level 10 GT Snow Edition and have recently released the GTS chassis in white. The CM Storm Stryker is a full tower chassis that can handle XL-ATX motherboards and should offer serious flexibility in terms of storage and cooling. It can fit an impressive 13 x 2.5" HDD's or 8 x 3.5" drives as well as up to 4 x 120mm fans, 1 x 140mm fan and a 200mm fan. Specifications: Material Case Body: Steel; Front bezel: Mesh / Plastic Dimensions (W) 250 x (H) 605.6 x (D) 578.5 mm (W) 9.8 x (H) 23.8 x (D) 22.8 inch Net Weight 13.7 KG / 30.2 lbs M/B Type Micro-ATX, ATX, XL-ATX 5.25" Drive Bay 9 3.5” Drive Bay 8 (converted from 5.25” bay by two 4-in 3 HDD modules) 2.5” Drive Bay 13 (converted from 5.25” bay by two 4-in 3 HDD modules); 4 from 2.5" HDD cage; 1 from x-dock Cooling System Front: 120 mm LED fan x2 (1200 RPM, 17dBA) Top: 200 mm fan x 1 (1000 RPM, 23 dBA) Rear: 140 mm fan x1 (1200 RPM, 19 dBA) (converted to 120 mm fan) Bottom: 120 mm fan x 2 (optional) Expansion Slots 9+1 I/O Panel USB 3.0 x 2 (internal), USB 2.0 x 2, Audio In and Out ( Supports HD audio) Power Supply Type Standard ATX PS2 / EPS 12V Maximum Compatibility CPU cooler height: 186 mm / 7.3 in GPU card length: 322 mm / 12.7 in The packaging of the CM Storm Stryker is very bold and the company feature a tank at the side of the box. The back shows 3 diagrams of the case with key features detailed. The user guide included is the same for the CM Storm Trooper but as the cases are effectively identical, this is fine. Our sample was unfortunately damaged slightly in transit (the front panels are dented and slightly broken), however we can see that it is a rather bright white. The right-hand side of the case feature two intake/exhaust grills depending on your configuration of fans. On the left-hand side of the case we have a large window, much like the Storm Trooper Window version, as well as two fan grills towards the front. The top of the case has been raised to incorporate a carrying handle and this also improves the airflow out of the top of the case. The CM Storm Stryker has a fan controller, with two buttons to adjust speed up/down, and two pairs of USB ports (USB 3 and USB 2). There is also the option to turn the fan lights on or off, as well as the standard Power and Reset buttons. The back of the case shows us the watercooling support that this case offers, as well as the large expansion possibilities with 9 expansion slots. The company include a large 140mm fan in the rear exhaust position. The top of the case is very attractively designed and has plenty of airflow potential due to the venting positions. The bottom of the case features several dust filters as well as four chunky feet to keep the case stable and to reduce vibrations. Looking inside the chassis we can see that there is a plenty of space to install the components. Additionally, there are two 120mm fans on the HDD module which are set-up as intake fans from the left-hand side. This HDD module can be rotated by 90 degrees so the fans are pulling in air from the front of the case. These fans also feature LED's and the speed can be controlled. The rear fan does not have an LED but offers speed control. There are also 9 expansion slots plus an extra vertical one. The case features a very large CPU cut-out on the motherboard tray and can cater for larger XL-ATX form factor motherboards. There is also a large grouping of cables feeding into the case ... these are made up with I/O connections and fan controller cables. At the bottom of the chassis is a 2.5" cage for up to 4 drives. From the right-hand, we can see the front of the HDD modules, which can cater for 8x 3.5" drives. Taking the top of the case off we can see the I/O PCB board, which also controls the fan speeds. The carrying handle is reinforced and will easily support the case, along with a full system build. At the bottom of the chassis is a little storage area which holds the screws and fittings. Strangely, this isn't listed in the user manual and may cause people to assume that the screws are missing. Undoing the two screws allows you to slide out this hidden compartment. It is full of accessories, which we will look at in more detail in the installation section. Also included inside the case are 8x 3.5"/2.5" HDD trays which are extremely strong, but flexible. These allow you to slide hard drives into place. There is a vast range of screws, including 48 small screws for installing 2.5" drives. There are also 2 FDD tracks included (to allow the installation of a floppy disc into a 3.5" bay), as well as an 8-pin power cable extension cable. First, we installed an Akasa Venom Power 750W PSU into the bottom of the chassis, and secured it with 4 screws. We then installed a 3.5" HDD, by clipping the drive into one of the trays. The drive automatically locks into place after being pushed in tight. 2.5" drives use the same trays but need four screws to hold the drive in place. Additionally we can also use the 4x 2.5" HDD cage at the bottom of the chassis next to the PSU, but this also requires screws. We then proceeded to install the Motherboard Stand-offs and then the motherboard itself. There is plenty of room to work making the installation process easier. Installing the Akasa Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler was very easy as we had so much space to play with. After connecting up all the cables it still looked a bit messy but this could be easily improved as the case offers very good cable management. Unfortunately, due to all of the fans there are a lot of cables to route. The system installation was very straightforward and we didn't experience any problems. Today’s test system will give us a good idea of how well this case works in terms of thermal and acoustic performance. Processor: AMD Phenom X4 965 Black Edition @ 3.9 GHz. Motherboard: ASUS M4A785TD- M Evo Cooler: Akasa Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler Memory: 4GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz Graphics Cards: AMD Radeon 6450 HD (GPU @ 850 MHZ, Memory Clock @ 1000 MHz) Power Supply: Akasa Venom Power 750W Boot Drive: OCZ Vertex II 60GB SSD (OS only) OS: Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 The airflow through this case is a traditional front intake methodology to exhaust at the top and rear. That said, you can rotate the HDD cage to alter the position of the intake flow a little. For this test we are using the stock fan configuration, which includes 1 x 200mm, 1 x 140mm and 2 x 120mm fans as well as the power supply intake and exhaust. Unfortunately, we have seen better results under the exact same conditions recently. The BitFenix Shinobi XL recorded several degrees less on core temp (same OC and voltage). That said, this case can be fitted with additional fans for enhanced air flow. 230mm fans are certainly the way forward for maximum thermal performance and low sound level output. Today to test this chassis we have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the case. We then removed the discrete graphics card, and temporarily turned the two Akasa Venom Voodoo fans off. This leaves us with only the included case fans and very little noise from the power supply fan. As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA – High Quality Computer fan 40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA - Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA - MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA - Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA - Threshold of Pain 140dBA - Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA - Instant Perforation of eardrum As this chassis features a fan controller we initially set it to full speed for the previous tests and then measured the sound level output for both full and the lowest fan speeds. Even at the lowest speed setting, the fan noise is noticeable and when at full speed the fan noise would be slightly annoying. We could spend a little extra money to swap out for higher grade quality fans. The CM Storm Stryker is based around the successful Trooper model, supplied in a different colour and with an extra 2.5" HDD cage supporting an additional 4x 2.5" drives. The build quality of the case is without reproach, Cooler Master engineering standards have been consistently impressive throughout the last year. The out of the box thermal performance is reasonably good and the default airflow configuration can cope with high end components, ensuring no issues with high end SLI and Crossfire systems. There is also plenty of physical space for the biggest video cards currently available. It is also fully compatible with watercooling kits and several radiators could be fitted without a problem. In terms of acoustics performance, we were a little disappointed. That said, Cooler Master have included a fan controller to allow for fine adjustments. Sadly, even on the quietest setting fan noise was still noticeable. The BitFenix Shinobi XL is superior in this regard, producing a higher airflow with similar noise level emissions. Spending a little extra on higher grade fans would sort out this concern. This case retails for £149.99 inc vat. It faces stiff competition from the recently released BitFenix Shinobi XL, however many people will prefer the appearance of the CM Storm Stryker. Pros Innovative design. Excellent build quality. Decent performances. Space for 13x 2.5" drives. Fan controller built in. Cons Not the best performance on the market for the price. Not a case you will want to move around often. White won't be for everyone. Kitguru says: A great looking case which faces a lot of competition this year.

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CM Storm Stryker Chassis Review

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