Cooler Master Cavalier 2 > Reviews (1)

I had the absolute pleasure of assembling a PC using this unique case. The case incorporates so many great features,so I will try to break them down to give you the best idea of why I love this case so much!

Look :

The case has a fantastic look, in matt black, it is deep but not very high, and the compact look is eccentuated by the curve in the facade of the case, which also incorporates a press release door which drops down smoothly on gears. Their are some hidden USB2 and Firewire inputs, and great looking chrome finish power button. The piece de resistance though is the much acclaimed sound pressure meter, which is an analog decibel guage encircled in chrome and backlight with blue LED's. Finishing the look are two Blue LED's for Power and HDD activity.

Internal Layout :

The greatest thing about this case is the fact that althoug it is such a small form factor, it can easily accomodate full ATX motherboards meaning you can build the system you always wanted too, not just because it fits! The case is of solid build with well defined bays for CD-ROM size drives (up to 2) and up to 3 Hard Disks, two in conventional bays and an extra bay horizontally on the opposite side. Also a bay for a floppy drive, if you so desire! The layout is ideal, plenty of room for airflow, and cable routing, definitely reccomended for high spec machines.

Cooling :

This is where the namesake "Cooler Master" truly comes into it's own, with fans galore. A large fan (80mm) pulls air into the case from the side blowing directly over the hard drives/ram. assiting this fan in exhausting the hot air are 2x40mm fans attached above the rear output panel. Finishing the cooling features is the CPU cooling shroud, an extrusion from the case lid which creates a tunnel directly above the CPU Cooler, guaranteeing cool air delivery to the CPU. Finally the Power supply unit has an internal fan which draws hot air out of the case near the CPU through the power supply.

Noise Levels :

With all those fans you are probably thinking 'it must sound like a hovercraft', not the case at all, all the fans are coolermaster branded models, which use quiet bearings and even with them all spinning the system is quieter than a standard ATX case with one case fan. An excellent achievement in itself.

Overall :

The Case is fantastic, the black (also available in silver) Looks wild, especially with the lights off and the sound gauge glowing blue. I stacked it in a stereo component stack linking my MP3 collection to my amp and the result is seamless, it looks right at home as a stereo PC. A definite reccomendation.