reviewsTESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED
72 MA XIMUMPC JANUARY 2006
T
he original CM Stacker was so auda-
cious that we wondered what Cooler
Master would do to one-up it: Now we
know. The follow-up—dubbed the CM Stacker
30—improves on the original design in every
way possible, and is one of the most badass
cases we’ve ever laid our grubby (yet ground-
ed for static) hands on.
So, what’s new in the second rev of the
Stacker? Damn near everything but the mate-
rials: It’s still made entirely of aluminum. Now,
before you go thinking all-aluminum cases are
too flimsy, know that this is old-school, Wave
Master-style aluminum. It’s thick, and feels
incredibly solid. This is not a case that flexes
when you sit on it, but yet it’s light enough that
you won’t inflame your hernia when you pick
the case up by the handles built-into its top.
USB, FireWire, and audio ports are now
on top of the case as well as in the front—a
marked improvement. The internal audio
cable that dangles from the connectorsports four various
plugs to ensure
compatibility with
every kind of audio
jack on the mar-
ket. The case still
boasts 10 .2-
inch bays, and you can fill them with what-
ever you want—including optical drives,
fan buses, and the included 3.-inch drive
cage, though the latter holds only three
drives. If you have more drives than that,
you’ll have to purchase a .2-to-3.2-inch
adapter. This is clearly a mark against the
Stacker, though not a big one. The only
PC we’ve seen in the past two years that
had more than three drives is our very own
Dream Machine—still, it’d be nice if
Cooler Master threw in an adapter or
two for storage mavens.
Perhaps the biggest improvement
to the Stacker is in the cooling depart-
ment. The case’s included hard drive
cage has its own dedicated 12cm
fan, but you can also mount two more
12cm fans in any remaining empty
.2-inch bays. Cooler Master only
includes an adapter for one additional
fan. Where the case gets insanely cool
is with the swing-out, removable side
door that hides behind the left-side
panel. It can hold up to four 6cm-12cm
fans, and if you’re not using it you can
simply remove it with the push of a
button. 9ou can also attach another
12cm fan on the top of the case. And
there’s yet another 12cm exhaust fan in
the traditional location—above the AT8
connector block. In total, the Stacker
30 accepts nine 12cm fans, provid-
ing almost ridiculous cooling power.
There’s even an optional cross-flow fan
that blows air across the motherboard,
but it’s not included with the case.
/ther trick features include a
front-panel door that can open to
either side—extremely convenient!
2emoving the front-bezel slot covers
is much easier with the new case,
as now narrow metal wings on either
side of the bezel swing out to give
you easy access to the bezel’s lock-ing mechanism (before you had to pop out
the slot covers using force from inside the
case). When you push the wings back in
place the bezel is secured.
*ust like before, the case is completely
tool-less, though you will have to attach
the hard drives to their cage via screws.
Aside from that, everything comes off or
locks into place with just the twist of a
lever. The removable motherboard trayCooler Master
CM S tacker 830
Making the case for bigger, better, and ballsier
The CM Stacker
830: stacked
with features
and conve-
nience.The front-bezel cover can open from the
left, right, or be removed completely.
While just one 12cm intake fan is includ-
ed, two more can be added (we added
the one in the middle with the blue
LED—it’s not included!). $250, http://www.coolermaster.comCOOLER MASTER CM STACKER 830BIG CASE
Huge and highly customiz-
able abundant cooling.BIG RASH^9
MA XIMUMPC
KICKASSHolds only three hard
drives out of the box.