Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced: Exterior4. Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Cooler Master are one of the longest established brands in the computer case sector and as such they have a huge range of products to choose from.  For example, the Silencio cases are designed for those who want the quietest possible system.  The HAF or ‘High Air Flow' series of products, which we will be looking at today, are designed for enthusiasts who require excellent cooling when overclocking their system.

Today we are going to look at the latest product in the HAF series, the 932 Advanced which is essentially an updated version of the original HAF 932 case that was released back in 2008.  There are only a few minor tweaks here and there, though, which bring the old case into the modern era by adding features such as USB3.0 on the front panel.

Specification

• Dimension (WxHxD): 243 x 560 x 564mm
• Weight: 13.4 KG
• Motherboard Support: Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX
• Expansion Slots: 7
• 5.25″ bays: 5 (excluding external 3.5″ bay)
• 3.5″ bays: 5x internal, 1x external
• Front fan: 230 x 30 mm Red LED fan (700rpm, 19dBA)
• Side fan: 230 x 30 mm Standard fan (700rpm, 19dBA)
• Top fan: 230 x 30 Standard fan (700rpm, 19dBA)
• Rear fan: 140 x 25mm (1200rpm, 17dBA)
• I/O Panel: 2x USB3.0, 4x USB2.0, 1x IEEE1394a, 1x Mic, 1x Audio
• Power Supply: Standard ATX PS2/EPS 12V (optional)

Cooler Master supply the HAF 932 within a sizeable cardboard box that reflects the physical dimensions of the case packaged within.  The front of the box features a large image of the design.

Turning the box around reveals a further image, alongside details of the 932's features and specification.  Inside the box the case is sandwiched between two slabs of polystyrene for protection.

The included bundle comprises of all the items we could expect.  Aside from the screws and manual that are included there is a 3.5″ external drive adapter, case speaker and a massive amount of cable ties.

Despite being a three year old design, we still think that the 932 Advanced is more attractive than a lot of cases out there on the market. The main part of the chassis is constructed from SECC Steel while a combination of plastic and steel mesh is used for the front panel.

Most of the panel connections are located at the top of the front of the case.  From left to right we find two USB2.0 ports, a Firewire port, two further USB2.0 ports, an eSATA port and two 3.5mm audio connections.  Further down the front panel we also find two USB3.0 ports filling one of the drive bays.

Being part of the High Air Flow series, it's not surprising that there are plenty of fan vents spread around the HAF 932.  In the front and side panel there are massive 230mm red LED fans sucking air into the case with a further 230mm unit in the roof acting as an exhaust.  In the roof of the case there are also mountings for two 120mm fans which have the correct spacings for 240mm and 360mm radiators, making this case perfect for water cooling.

Moving round to the rear of the case there is space for a PSU should you wish, although this is covered with a blanking plate with two external water cooling holes.  Further down the case there is a 140mm exhaust fan and another set of PSU mountings at the bottom of the case.

Being a full tower case, there is acres of room inside which made it a real breeze to install our test system into it.  It took us less than 40 minutes in total and that included taking all the photos.

We installed our ASRock Fatal1ty Professional 990FX motherboard into the case, which was a reasonably simple task.  It would have been nice if Cooler Master had pre-installed some of the motherboard stand-offs, though, as this would speed up the installation process.

It's worth noting that there is plenty of headroom between the motherboard and the top of the case.  In fact there should be enough room for a 5 cm thick radiator with fans on either side in a push-pull configuration should you wish to water cool the system.  There is also enough room to install a 360mm radiator in the roof. All in all, very impressive.

Next we installed the power supply into the system in the bottom location which will be preferable for most users.  There is a plastic spacer in the bottom of the case for the power supply to sit on, allowing air to flow in from inside the case.  There is no tool-less mechanism for installing the power supply so we used the traditional method using four screws through the back of the case.

Installing a hard drive was a very simple process thanks to the well designed hard drive trays which simply clip round the hard drive.  Cooler Master also include two adapters which let you install 2.5″ SSDs into the trays.

Finally we installed our AMD Radeon HD 6950 graphics card into the system using the tool-less mechanism for securing expansion devices.  This seemed to work very well, holding the graphics card firmly in place.  We also installed the graphics card air shroud that Cooler Master include to divert cool air from the front of the case to the graphics card fan.

We managed to achieve a very tidy build in the HAF 932 with very little work as there is plenty of provision for cable routing.  There is an extensive selection of cable routing holes to choose from and a number of tie down points on the back of the motherboard tray for all those cable ties.

To test the Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced we will be using the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T CPU in conjunction with an ASRock Fatal1ty Professional 990FX motherboard.  To cool the CPU we will be using a Cooler Master Hyper 612S

Test System

Chassis: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Professional 990FX
Cooler: Noctua C12P SE14
Memory: 4GB Kingston HyperX Genesis DDR3
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Power Supply: NZXT Hale 90 750W
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 6950

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Everest Ultimate Edition
Prime 95
Furmark

For our temperature tests, we used Prime95 and Furmark to load the system for 15 minutes and then recorded our results.  We then restarted the system and left it idling at the desktop for 15 minutes before recording the  results.  The ambient temperature was maintained at 18c for the duration of the tests.

We are very impressed with the temperatures recorded, especially the GPU result which was excellent compared to other cases we've looked at in recent months. We put this down to the extra cool air supplied to the card by the GPU shroud.

For our noise level tests we replaced the AMD Radeon HD 6950 graphics card with a passively cooled HIS Radeon HD 5550 Silence.  We also turned off the CPU fan momentarily so we could be sure that the noise generated was only from the case fans.

One price you usually pay for ‘High Air Flow' is noise.  But thanks to the use of very large fans, Cooler Master has managed to keep the fan noise reasonably low.  Sure, it's still quite audible but it's considerably quieter than many cases on the market.

Overall we are left with very positive impressions of the Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced.  We love the styling of the case and are sure that it will appeal to a broad range of enthusiasts.

The huge red LED fans give the case a bit of extra wow factor when it's turned on so it's a great option for those who frequent LAN events.

The HAF 932 Advanced is also a great choice for those who want to build a high end water cooled system. There is masses of room inside to allow a user to install a thick 360mm radiator in the roof with a push-pull fan configuration.

All this internal space makes it very easy to build a system, especially considering the tool-less mechanism for securing expansion devices which works very well.

While it is difficult to compare temperature results between different cases because of all the different variables, we can't help but praise the cooling performance of the HAF 932 Advanced.  We have used a Radeon HD6950 for a number of case reviews in recent months and are used to watching it peak at 78 or 79 degrees under load.

In the HAF 932 Advanced, it maxed out at 73c, which is a significant reduction in temperature.  This gives us a lot of faith in the cooling performance of the HAF 932 Advanced.

Although enthusiasts aren't as price sensitive as the mainstream audience, the cost of a chassis is still a significant factor to consider.  At a price of £100 at Ebuyer, we think that the Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced offers exceptional value for money, especially when factoring in the cooling proficiency and build quality.  It is easily one of the best performing chassis designs at this price point.

Pros:

• Great cooling.
• Room for thick 360mm radiator.
• Amazing value for money.
• Good cable routing support.
• Loads of room to work with inside.

Cons:

• Aesthetics look slightly dated.
• The fans aren't dust filtered.

KitGuru says: Another impressive case from Cooler Master.

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