question for those who have the coolermaster 690

[kevinf2090]

i may be buying this case soon and i just want to know if the front panel audio is grouped into one connector or are they separated into 1 pin individual connectors.

 

[aigomorla]

ROFL!

hold on lemme check and see if i can remember:

http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...erMaster/RC_690/4.html

From the looks of it, it does. My case is at the office so i couldnt check first hand.

However if i remember correctly tho, the cables had a grounding problem that needed to be fixed manually.

 

[kevinf2090]

yeah i've read a lot of reviews on the case but can't really find a clear picture of the connector

 

[RallyMaster]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
ROFL!

hold on lemme check and see if i can remember:

http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...erMaster/RC_690/4.html

From the looks of it, it does. My case is at the office so i couldnt check first hand.

However if i remember correctly tho, the cables had a grounding problem that needed to be fixed manually.

Yes, those cables are grouped together as one. The Antec 900 was the one with the grounding problem though.

 

[kevinf2090]

funny that you mentioned that. i am currently deciding between the coolermaster 690 and antec 900. have any opinions on this deciision?

 

[Zepper]

Actually both may have a potential grounding problem. The way I forestalled any grounding problem with my 690 front ports is documented in a thread here: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ord1=Cooler+Master+690

Actually any front ports PCB mounted to plastic could have a grounding problem.

.bh.

 

[toadeater]

Also be forewarned that the CM690 doesn't have a case speaker. So before you throw out your old case make sure you save the speaker. Cheap Cooler Master bastards.

Hmm... Cooler Bastards.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Most top quality cases like the 690 or the 900 don't come with a case speaker.

But is the choise is between the 690 and the 900 i would go with the 690. I have both cases and the 690 is much easier to work with and has much better cable managment features. Not to mention you don't have to fiddle with a crap load of screws just to get the HDDs in and out. Not to mention you kind of need to use a megnetic tipped screw driver in order to get the screws in the HDDs.

As you can see my sig has a link to my CM 690 mod. The only thing i really hated about the 690 was the placement of the power/reset bottons and LEDs.

Here is a link to some alterations i did to my 900 to help improve some of its many short comings.
http://www.themodnation-forums...wtopic.php?f=28&t=2702

Now my 900 is the second generation model that resolved the clearence issues with the top PCI slot. It wasn't till the third and most recent edition that they added a couple of holes for cable managment.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: toadeater
Also be forewarned that the CM690 doesn't have a case speaker. So before you throw out your old case make sure you save the speaker. Cheap Cooler Master bastards.

That's been a recent trend I haven't appreciated. I keep one "loose" speaker on my assembly "bench" and reuse it with each test run of components (I almost always connect everything outside the case first to make sure it all works together breadboarded -- starting from just CPU + (one DIMM) RAM + MB + Video and gradually adding more components).

My CM590 is not quite as tall as a 690, but it's very deep front to rear, and easy to work in.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

The ports on the top can have a grounding problem, whenever I try to plug a USB device in on one of the ports, my computer may restart.

 

[shingletingle]

Believe it or not, I'm trying to decide between the 690 and the Antec 1200. I know they are very different cases. I like the tooless features of the 690. The 1200 is more than I need, but I see pictures of it and it looks so nice.

 

[Zepper]

BlueAcolyte,

That sounds like it might be a shorting problem. Look for a loose piece of wire or any kind of metal or bent contacts within the connectors themselves. Also make sure the mobo connectors are wired correctly (correct contact in external connector going to correct pin on mobo.

Shingle,

If you have a thread on your quandary, I may have posted this there, but it's worth repeating: The 1200 looks like the barstid [sic] child of Mr.900 and Mrs. 690...
.bh.

 

[shingletingle]

Originally posted by: Zepper
BlueAcolyte,

That sounds like it might be a shorting problem. Look for a loose piece of wire or any kind of metal or bent contacts within the connectors themselves. Also make sure the mobo connectors are wired correctly (correct contact in external connector going to correct pin on mobo.

Shingle,

If you have a thread on your quandary, I may have posted this there, but it's worth repeating: The 1200 looks like the barstid [sic] child of Mr.900 and Mrs. 690...
.bh.

Nope, didn't have another thread. I just threw that thought out there in this thread. Being the barstid child of the 900 and 690 has to be a good thing.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Oh, I'm not too worried, after a bit of jiggling the audio ports work and I have plenty of USB ports on the back.

Quick, dumb question time! I connect the eSATA on the case to a normal SATA port on my motherboard, right?

 

[Zepper]

Blue Acolyte,

Do your mobo ports claim to support true eSATA? That requires higher current sourcing capacity in the line drivers and better shielding. Is your external SATA port really e SATA (straight tongue in the external connector) or just a normal connector (hook on one end of the tongue). True eSATA supports long cables, ordinary SATA has only a 1 Meter spec. So if not sure, abide by the one meter total from mobo to drive and maybe take a bit off for the extra inline connector.

.bh.