WTH is up with CoolerMaster????

RADARADA Apple Valley, CA Member
edited December 2003 in Hardware
CoolerMaster used to have some of the best cases in the business. It also had enough variety to suit almost any budget or paticular taste in cases.

Now you go out to their site, they have 5 cases, and a bunch of BS gimmicy CPU coolers that look like JET engines. :banghead: :rolleyes2 :wtf: :sad2:


You guys hear anything about them going out of business, or did they have a change in management, that doesn't have a clue?

Comments

  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    They have only ever had two cases that I've been impressed with; that one based on the Chieftec/Chenming/Antec mid-tower chassis (Same as Antec SX1080/1040II, etc.), and that one that was convertable from a tower to a 4u rackmountable case.

    Their heatsinks (with a few exceptions) are all aimed at the OEM/budget market, and most of their "high performance" models are crap.

    The HAC-V81 is decent as a budget heatsink; the HHC-01 is good, but the silent version (HHC-L61) is awful because it doesn't flow enough air.

    ALL of their centrifugal blower (squirrel cage) fan based heatsinks are CRAP, because they don't flow enough air. The reason the blower setup I'm experimenting with works is because it pushes 80 freakin' CFM! 20 just isn't enough, even with the higher pressures of a centrifugal fan.

    Coolermaster has basically never been anything special, IMO. They make a lot of OK stuff, and I use some of it myself, but they make basically nothing that I consider terribly outstanding.
  • RADARADA Apple Valley, CA Member
    edited December 2003
    I have a ATC-110 SX1 Aluminum case ($265 @ Sundial Micro, Got mine on ebay for $115 :D )

    I LOVE this case! Not only is it built like a brick Sh*thouse, it's ALL aluminum construction acts like 1 big heatsink. I can reduce all my temps (CPU, MoBo, North, South, PWS) by a degree just by having a cheap 13" Walmart fan blowing on the outside of the case. My wife (chronically cold - we live in Tucson, AZ, go figure!:wtf: ) props her feet up on the top of the case while she's using it, cause it's warm! LOL!

    I've just noticed a downturn in quality and workmanship. A buddy purchased a Wave Master case, on my recomendation, and it's quality isn't near that of my 110.

    I guess the almight $$$ wins over quality again!:shakehead
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    RADA, if you can cool your computer by blowing on the outside of your case, it probably actually means that you don't have sufficient airflow...

    Aluminum cases acting as heatsinks is more marketing hype than anything else.
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    ATC are a seperate company of their own. Their cases were just used in the Coolermaster range with co-design :)

    How much ATC is in the range would depend on how their agreement/alliance is. Of that, Im not sure these days.

    There was an ATC website, but Il be damned if I can find the link now :(
  • RADARADA Apple Valley, CA Member
    edited December 2003
    I have 5 80mm CoolerMaster 32.11cfm @ 2500rpm @ 25 DcA - 2 front, 1 side, pulling air in, 2 back + PWS pulling air out. CPU has a 92mm Panaflo M1 47.5 cfm @ 2450 @ 30 DcA.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2003
    Must be a fluke or something, then. If you've got the case under a desk or close to a wall, it's explainable because the wall/desk may be trapping warm air around the case, which the fan is then dissipating.

    Regardless, aluminum cases just don't function any better as heatsinks than steel ones do. The reason is that the thermal connection between the case and the components in it is awful at best- you're talking about transferring energy from the heatsinks, to the air, and then from the air to the case, and then from the case to the outside air again. Because of that, the impact of an aluminum case is small enough to be within the margin of error of most tests at best, and nothing at worst.
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