Coolermaster ATC-200
Published on 2001-01-03 22:33:18
"Hey man, what's new?" "Not much. Hey, have you ever heard
of Coolermaster?" "Yeah, I read a review of one of their
cases a while ago. It was all aluminum, very nice looking, good cooling
for a mid-tower, had a good design but cost a lot." "Well, I'm going to order a couple of
them in and have a look. Are you interested?" "Very much so!" As the present owner of the magnificent LiteOn
FS020, I can safely say that I've not had any cooling related problems
since installing three 120mm Panaflo fans in that case. Why then, should
I be interested in yet another case? It's smaller, thinner, has less total
volume and has measly 80mm fans. Surely it can't be all that great... Josh soon received the cases he'd ordered
and beckoned me to come have a look. What I saw was easily the best looking
case I'd ever seen. It's not that big, but it is all aluminum, with a
dark, thin layer of paint on the sides and presumably anodized front panel.
The 6 gold screws just made it all the nicer. Then I picked it up. Wow. It's 5lbs, minus the not-included power
supply. You may not think that a light case makes much difference, but
when the case weighs as much as a thin laptop, you get a big grin on your
face and say things like "Damn that's light!". Unfortunately I had to wait a few days for
my new processors and motherboard to arrive, but when they did, I grabbed
the case and went about assembling my new system. With a pair of older
cA2 P3 750s, ABIT SlotketIIIs and another trusty Tiger
100, it wasn't long till I had a duallie again. (For those of you
who are wondering why I have 750s instead of my 800s, those 600E@800 chips
were SECC2. Even though the new chips are cA2 stepping, I've had no problems
with stability at 112MHz FSB and 840MHz.) Installed in the case are the two chips along
with the slotkets, CL GeForce DDR, Promise
Fastrak66, Intel Pro/10/100 NIC, SBLive! Value, Pioneer 103 DVD-ROM,
ZipCD650 IDE and Zip100 IDE. I'd had a set of GlobalWin HSFs with the
chips, but instead decided to use the brand new Coolermaster
CB-5G12 copper HSFs that I'd also taken advantage of getting. In addition to the four fans and PS fan,I
decided to install the 2CoolPC
Plus I had used previously with my 2x800MHz system housed in the LiteOn
case. It uses a 92mm fan inside of the case and plastic ducting to route
air right over the back of the video card and right toward the processors.
It has lowered the temperatures just slightly, but then again, the temperature
sensors on the Tiger100 are on the motherboard itself and don't actually
read very close to chip itself. With 384MB of CAS2 PC133 Mushkin
rev 1.5 RAM, the second, third and fourth DIMM slots are full with the
first vacant to allow the air to ease into fan. Even though 128 can run
2K or NT fine, 256 and up is just nice, especially with games eating 200+
megs. Back to the subject... The case is made almost entirely of aluminum,
even down to the power and reset buttons. The front panel uses a combination
of paint and brushed to give a very nice contrast. The sides are painted
a dark gray color, the same as the top. The rest of the case, from the
bottom and all inside, is just bare, brushed aluminum. Nice touches abound, starting with the "screwless"
design. Everything that need be removed is held on by thumbscrews, including
the very handy removable motherboard tray. The side panels are held in
my two screws each while the tray is held by five. The tray is typical,
with the motherboard mounting area and card mounts, but it also houses
an 80mm fan right by where the processors reside. Instead of the typical
screw-in type mounts, this board uses a number of push-in clips that use
their own tension to keep them and the board solid. Very nice design,
and enough holes and clips for the large Tiger 100. The front panel can house up to three 5-1/4
devices, with the first bay panel already removed. The bay covers are
again aluminum and are easily detached by removing two screws from inside
the case. Two 3-1/2 external bays also come with covers and are removed
in similar fashion. Inside the case we find the heart of the
ATCS, or Active Thermal Convection System. Two 80mm fans are mounted at
the bottom front of the case, stacked upon each other. These draw air
in through a grilled front panel and the air is drawn to either the 80mm
by the CPUs, Power Supply fan, or the top-mounted fan. The three 5-1/4 drive bays carry into the
case, but 3-1/2 mounting is where this case really shines. From the top
of the highest 3-1/2 bay to the bottom of the case is one long drive bay,
with space for up to 6 devices. In addition, those two 80mm intake fans
can be utilized to blow cool air over two or three drives. Perfect for
warm 7200, hot 10k or blazing 15k hard drives. One problem I encountered
was clearance with my 2CoolPC
Plus. I had to raise my drives over the fans in order to install it
correctly. Installation was a snap.. After installing
the board mounts, the motherboard, cards and CPUs went in easily. The
backplane is tall enough to clear even my slotkets when reinstalling,
a problem my old Q500 had even with tall socketed HSFs. Installing the
drives was a no-brainer as well, though the varying width of floppy, Zip
and hard drives could cause possible problems if not done carefully. Just
don't tighten the screws down till everything is in. Upon power-up, I was pleasantly surprised
that the system didn't sound like a jet engine. The 80mm fans are some
of the midrange models in terms of noise and cfm. It was quieter than
my LiteOn with its relatively tame 120mm units, though they still move
more air. As I expected, the case was always a few degrees cooler to the
touch than normal steel. It's a weird feeling, but it's not hard to understand
what a great thermal conductor aluminum is. Hours of testing passed and Motherboard Monitor
was pressed into duty to watch the reported CPU temperatures. I wasn't
expecting anything incredible, and I wasn't amazed or disappointed. As
a general comparison, I found the case was cooling almost as well as my
LiteOn, with its CFM advantage. The case was doing its job as well as
expected while not sacrificing tranquility. Installing high-CFM fans could
easily make the case a true cooling champ without compromising the sides
with holes. Thoughtful placement in the front, by the CPU, and a blowhole
ensure plentiful airflow while still looking handsome. Nearly a week passed. In that time I attended
a LAN party and thought the case would be cool to show around. I was still
amazed at how light it was when I had to move it around, even fully loaded.
Most people were likewise amazed at it's feathery weight when they picked
it up. Due to some odd problems with my processors, slotkets or motherboard,
I was forced to remove them and install an ancient BH6 until I could figure
out what the problem was. Soon I'd returned to SMP with a purchase of
the EPoX D3VA, and
my appreciation for the case lightness, removable motherboard tray and
mounting system was great. Sadly though, I had to eventually remove
the D3VA in lieu of
a fresh ABIT VP6. I also had to return the case to Josh. You see, it was
a case he'd been meaning to use himself, and he was itching to use it!
Uninstalling and removing the components was just as straightforward as
installation. I was sad to see it go, even more so when it came time to
install the VP6 in my FS020. It's a tank! All in all, I'd have to say the case is one
of the best I've ever used. Great cooling, good looks and light weight
make it a centerpiece, functional, and great for moving around. If you're
looking for just such a case, you can hardly find a better combination
of attributes than the Coolermaster
ATC-200. Coolermaster also manufactures the ATC
100, a slightly less flashy version of the case with less fans but
an added cooling duct, and the new 201.
The 201
adds a fourth front bay and front USB port with trick retractable cover,
but loses an internal 3-1/2 bay. The 310
series is a full server case on wheels and the 400
is a rack mountable case. Finally there's the single most important
issue, price. This is not a cheap case, in monetary, aesthetic and design
considerations. At a price of $275 for the case, including four 80mm fans
but no power supply, it's not anything for the budget buyer.
Josh deals direct with Coolermaster for these cases, and if you're
interested, please drop him an email. He'll soon have an online store
where you can purchase one. If you have any questions about this, don't
hesitate to mail me. This is a case for someone who wants a very
cool case, plenty of internal space for drives, removable motherboard
tray, and the possibility of incredible cooling. Coupled with a good power
supply and upgraded fans, this could be a great solution for the user
that wants a nice looking case and good performance. As another reference, Ars
Technica has reviewed this case as well. Good: Looks great Bad: Price 2CPU.com gives this
case a 4/5 CPU's
Very Lightweight
Quiet
Thumbscrews
Removable Motherboard Tray
Thoughtful Fan Placement
Plenty of internal bays
No Power Supply
Slow Fans
Hard To Find
