Cooler Master has been putting out some of the highest quality, feature packed cases for years. While the designs are almost always cutting edge, the aesthetics are generally refined and somewhat sophisticated, which gives them a very broad appeal. With a new venture referred to as CSX (Customize Style eXperience), Cooler Master is taking some of their high end cases and finishing them with incredible paint jobs that might seem more at home on a custom car than a custom computer.
The Stacker 830 and the Cosmos cases are both available in a variety of CSX custom paint jobs, many of which have similar themes involving popular macho subjects like flames, skulls, and monsters. When approached to review one of these cases, I had my heart set on something a bit different though, and was quite pleased when Cooler Master agreed to send over the red "Shag Wagon" shown in the promotional image below.
While a computer painted up like an old Volkswagen hippy bus may have a rather limited appeal, it immediately grabbed my attention when I saw the Cooler Master display at CES 2008. Way back in the day, my very first car was a 1977 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus with the same white and red paint job as featured in this CSX creation. Some subtle details may be different, but I don't think there will ever be a case that could as closely mimic a car I have actually owned, and it definitely brough back good memories.
This particular CSX model is available on the Stacker 830 case, and before we take a look at the sample provided for review, let's look at some of the published data on the case itself.
Features and Specifications:
» Dimensions: (W) 250mm x (H) 536mm x (D) 638mm
» Motherboard Type: E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX
» Material: Aluminum, 1.0 mm
» Weight: Net - 31.9 lbs, Gross - 37.4 lbs
» 3.5" Drive Bay:
» Four (Hidden) from one 4-in-3 Device Module included
» Two 3.5 face plates included
» 5.25" Drive Bay:
» Nine (Exposed)
» Cooling System:
» One 120x120x25 mm front fan (Blue LED)
» One 120x120x25 mm rear fan (exhaust)
» Support up to 9 x 120 mm fans
» Front fan x 3,top fan x 1, rear fan x 1,side fan x 4
» Side fan tray can be installed with 140 mm fan
» Retailing liquid holes
» Expansion Slots: 7
» I/O Panel - Dual I/O Panel in the front and top:
» USB 2.0 x 4
» IEEE 1394 x 1
» MIC x 1
» SPK x 1(Support HD Audio)
» Power Supply: Standard ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional)
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