Coolermaster Ammo 533

[QueBert]

getting tired of the door on my TT Tsunami, was at Pcclub and saw the Coolermaster Ammo, looks kind of ummm ugly, but different enough to where it might grow on me. the few reviews I found on google were split. Anyone here have one?

 

[cr0ssfire]

Yeah, I've got one. I saw it at a local PC Club here as well (although I ended up ordering it from ClubIT) and, like you, thought it was a little weird looking. But if you give it a chance and put a system in it, it really looks great and performs well. It has a lot of functionality for the price, even with its drawbacks. In short, here's my opinions of its strong (+) and weak (-) points:

+Excellent ventilation. Two huge vented grills on the side and several slits on the top for additional circulation. There is no fan on the side, but you could rig one up easily to make use of the side grills with a Sunbeam PCI Anywhere kit.
+Sturdy integrated carrying handle. It's comfortable to carry and makes moving the system around very easy.
+Two 120mm fan mounts. It's the standard, of course.
+Styling. Like it or hate it, you've got to admit it's one of the most unique cases around. I'm personally a HUGE fan of military-styled things. Mine definitely turned heads at the last LAN I went to. I've got an ABIT Guru Panel in the top 5.25" bay and it looks absolutely incredible with the rest of the system.
+It's SECC. I personally view this as a plus since it's sturdier than aluminum.
+Positioning of the integrated front inputs is good for LANing in my opinion. If you put the case to your left, you can plug in a USB keyboard and a mouse in quickly and easily.
-Only comes with one low RPM blue LED 120mm fan in the front. I took it out and put two 120mm red Tricools in.
-Somewhat heavy for a LAN case. If you work out at all then this won't really bother you. If you have a neck that resembles a stack of dimes, however, then it might be too much to handle.
-Can get dusty, no fan filters included. All those ventilation holes are terrific for circulation but they can also let a lot of dust in. Canned air it away once in a while and you should be okay.
-Only 1 external 3.5" drive bay. I personally can't see anyone needing more than one, but if you've got several then you may want to take this into consideration.
-HDD Cage is somewhat small, 3 drive capacity. This isn't a problem if you're an average guy (like me), but if you're a RAIDing fiend with multiple terabytes of storage, look elsewhere.

Make from that what you will. If you're still curious about what an Ammo system looks like, let me know and I'll put up a few pictures of mine.

 

[QueBert]

Nice lil review, I kinda wanted another windowed case (dunno why...) but this one has a weird look to it, if you had even one pic of it I'd love to see what it looks like with components in it. The three HD cage is plenty, I have 2 drives, if I added another I'd make it ESATA (external sata) or use a 5 1/4 bay with a cage. Trying to decide between this and this other Coolermaster case they have. The 59.99 price AR is pretty sweet though.

 

[cr0ssfire]

Here are a few quick pictures from my VX9800...I'd take off the side and show off the internals but I'm in a bit of a hurry at the moment. I'll open it up and get some pictures of that after I get back from the gym (and clean off my VX9800's lens...).

Picture 1 - Front/Left
Picture 2 - Front/Right
Picture 3 - Front
Picture 4 - Left Side - check the mesh!
Picture 5 - Front/Left, a bit clearer

 

[cr0ssfire]

Some pictures of the insides:

Inside Picture 1
Inside Picture 2
Inside Picture 3 - HDD Cage

 

[erikistired]

tempting. hmmmm.

 

[QueBert]

sorry I didn't reply to this, sweet pics blurry or not they're making me lean towards the case. That, and the $20 MIB they have going on. 60 bucks for the case seems like a steal. thanks again for the pics

 

[cr0ssfire]

Actually, you may want to reconsider. That case might look awfully rugged, but it's nowhere near as hardy as it looks.

I recently ordered a pair of BenQ DVD burners for my system since my old optical drives were really starting to show their age. I got my DW1655 in the mail yesterday and took off the side panels, then slid the drive on in and plugged it in. I put the left side panel (the one with the dual mesh screens) back on, then went to put on the right panel - but it wouldn't go on. I have no idea how, but somehow the panel got bent just enough that I can't get it back on no matter how much I try to force it, wiggle it, or jiggle it. If I push it out, the panel bulges out, and if I try to push it in, it bulges inward. It's...kind of sad.

I knew going in that it wasn't going to be the strongest case in the world but this is completely unacceptable. If my case is any indication then Cooler Master's QC has some very poor standards. Stay away from this case until their quality improves.

 

[QueBert]

awh hell! I'm about an hour from going to buy it and now you got me re-thinking. hummm... Thanks for the heads up, I really have a decision on my hand now.

argh ahaha

 

[cr0ssfire]

Well, if you're looking for an inexpensive LAN case you could always go with the Super LANBoy - it's a classic.

Or, if you've got more money to spare and you're looking for something really unique-looking, NZXT's Lexa might fit the bill.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: cr0ssfire
Well, if you're looking for an inexpensive LAN case you could always go with the Super LANBoy - it's a classic.

Or, if you've got more money to spare and you're looking for something really unique-looking, NZXT's Lexa might fit the bill.

Not a huge fan of the lanboy, I ended up getting the Ammo, against my better judgement. Was 60 bucks AR. I put it together and won't take it apart just incase my side panel is as sh!tty as yours Overall the case feels solid and was pretty easy to work in. might chop up the left panel and install a window, not too big on the mesh, even though it'll cool well. it will = tons of dust where the case is at.

 

[renaldoriggs]

I have this case so I can tell you it's the best case ever made. And it is sturdy and very easy to work with inside.

I don't have any trouble with dust. The mesh acts as a good filter.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: renaldoriggs
I have this case so I can tell you it's the best case ever made. And it is sturdy and very easy to work with inside.

I don't have any trouble with dust. The mesh acts as a good filter.

haha, I've had this case about a week. "best ever made" I dunno about that, but so far I like it, think I'm going to chop up the side panel and put a window in with a 120mm fan in the middle. for the price it's a great case

 

[emilyek]

Some casemaker should make a lan box out of that plastic like the kind power tools come in.

 

[natethegreat]

Just put this together last weekend. I am pretty happy with the case.

Pic1
Pic2

Still gotta sleeve all the wires/cables and I'm still waiting for a few things so I'm not exactly finished with it yet. It is a pretty good case at a good price (got mine for 50$ after rebate).

 

[WDEagle]

Originally posted by: renaldoriggs
I have this case so I can tell you it's the best case ever made. And it is sturdy and very easy to work with inside.

I don't have any trouble with dust. The mesh acts as a good filter.

Hmm, You seem to be confused. In this thread you said :

The Antec P180 is the best case.

You seem as confused as Cooliodealio and thenotebook used to be before they got banned. I'm guessing that you are VERY closely related to them (i.e. same DNA)

WDEagle

 

[buzzsaw13]

I've got this case with a AeroCool Gatewatch and it matches quite well. Not the best case I've ever got my hands on, but it does offer very good airflow and a handle for not much money.

I'll try and get some pics of my computer's innards and outside.

 

[Zepper]

The Ammo is just a variant on the Centurion design. It's a very good basic design only lacking some HDD isolation to be in there with my top budget case recommendations. Any case could get pranged in shipping so the side panels don't fit well. - I know my Berserker did... Wouldn't take much to figure out how it is pranged and true it up a bit.

.bh.