Cooler Master CM 690 III Case Review

1. Introduction2. CM 690 III (Exterior)3. CM 690 III (Interior)4. Testing Methodology5. Thermal Dynamics6. Acoustics Performance7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Today we are taking a look at the CM 690 III. Following in the footsteps of the CM 690 II the latest revision supports up to ten 2.5″ drives, graphics cards up to 423 mm in length and CPU coolers up to 171 mm in height. Retailing around £85, is the CM 690 III worth investing in?
Zardon reviewed the CM 690 II back in 2010 and concluded that “Cooler Master have certainly got the build quality down to a fine art. We like this case – it combines fantastic looks and styling with solid engineering and good cooling performance.”

Specifications:

• Available colour: Midnight Black.
• Materials: Polymer, mesh front bezel.
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 230 x 507 x 502 mm / 9.1 x 20 x 19.8 inch.
• Net weight: 8.7 kg / 19.2 lbs.
• M/B Type: microATX / ATX.
• 5.25″ Drive Bays: 3 (exposed).
• 3.5″Drive Bays: 7 (hidden).
• 2.5″ Drive Bays: 10 (hidden; 7 from the HDD/SSD combo cages, 1 under the ODD cage, 1 behind the M/B tray, 1 at the bottom).
• i/o Panel: USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, Audio In & Out (supports AC97 / HD Audio).
• Expansion Slots: 7 + 1.
• Power Supply support: standard ATX PS2.
• Maximum GPU length: 423 mm / 16.6 inch.
• Maximum CPU cooler height: 171 mm / 6.7 inch.

The CM 690 III ships in a large box with a clear image of the case on the front. The back of the box features a list of key features. Inside, the CM 690 III is protected by layers of Styrofoam.

At a glance it is easy to mistake the CM 690 III for the CM 690 II.

The biggest change to the exterior can be seen on the side panel. Whereas the CM 690 II uses two mesh cut-outs the CM 690 III features a single, larger mesh.

The front panel is identical to that of the CM 690 II with four 5.25″ drive bays and a large mesh covering the included front in-take fan. The CM 690 II's concave front panel design has been changed to reflect a more convex design. Although the change is minor, it does give the overall design of the case a more rounded look.

Other changes are not as easily spotted, so let's move in closer to see what else the CM 690 III has in store.

The I/O panel offers quick access to two USB 3.0 ports, Audio and Mic jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, the Power button and Reset button. The CM 690 III uses square Power and Reset buttons instead of the round buttons found on the CM 690 II.

The top panel compartment makes a return. However, Cooler Master have chosen to remove the external SATA and power connectors found on the CM 690 II. Instead, the compartment now serves to store personal belongings. The plastic cover hides the I/O panel from view.

White LEDs light up and are visible through the plastic cover whenever the system is turned on.

Around the back of the case we can see the top panel has changed subtly as well. The relief found on the CM 690 II has now been replaced with a smooth, even mesh. The top panel is held in place with a single thumbscrew and can be removed easily.

Flipping the CM 690 III on its side reveals a large dust filter underneath the power supply.
The front panel is held in place with 6 clips and can be removed easily. With the front panel out of the way we can see the large 200 mm front in-take fan. Alternatively, users can install either two 120 mm, two 140 mm fans or a single 180 mm fan.

Without fans or a radiator in the top users can quickly access the motherboard. That said, the large roof spaces allows for the installation of two 120 mm fans, two 140 mm fans or a single 200 mm fan. Alternatively, a 240 mm radiator, such as the Cooler Master Seidon 240M or Eisberg 240L Prestige can be installed with ease.

Turning to the inside of the case and starting at the bottom left, we can see there are four rubber feet to reduce vibrations from the power supply.

Interestingly, the expansion slot covers are held in place with normal screws, rather than thumb screws. Cooler Master also include a 120 mm rear exhaust fan with the CM 690 III.

A large CPU cut-out facilitates the installation of CPU coolers without removing the motherboard. Directly below the CPU cut-out are four mounting holes. These can be used to mount a Solid State Drive behind the motherboard tray.

Along the center of the case are four cut-outs to aid with cable management. Avoiding the use of rubber grommets, they have taken extra care to ensure there are no rough edges.

In the bottom right corner of the case are three 3.5″ drive bays. Directly above these are four 2.5″ drive bays. Both drive cages are fully modular and can be removed completely to allow for the installation of a 240 mm radiator in the front.

Finally, a total of three 5.25″ drives can be installed and secured with a plastic locking mechanism.

The included 120 mm rear exhaust fan sits directly above three rubber grommets.

Changing our angle gives us a better view of the drive cages in the front. Dubbed EZ trays, the drive caddies can extend and retract to support both 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives.

Around the back we can see Cooler Master have included a healthy number of cable tie points. Users who do not have access to angled SATA connectors will be happy to see there is plenty of space behind the drive cages.

As we mentioned above, the drive caddies support both 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives. Users can opt to secure 2.5″ drives with drives or by retracting the sides of the caddie.

As always, we aim to find out how forgiving a case is by stacking cables cable deliberately and only applying minimal cable management. The convex design of the CM 690 III's side panel means even the thickest cables will not pose a problem.

Overall, building into the CM 690 III was a breeze and we did not run into any issues. We are using the Gamer Storm Lucifer cooler to keep our Intel Core i7 3770k cool and perform our tests with the CPU at its default clock speed before then overclocking it to 4.6GHz with the voltage set to 1.3v.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 3770k
• Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX2
• Memory: 16GB G.Skill Ares Blue
• Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 7790 2GB GDDR5 OC
• Power Supply: Seasonic G-Series 650W
• Chassis: CM 690 III
• Monitor: Acer X243HQ
• Boot Drive: Intel SSD 510
• Storage Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

System validation can be found here. Software:

• CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
• CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
• Prime95 v27.1
• Furmark 1.11.0

We are testing the CM 690 III’s performance as follows:

• Room temperature is kept at 22° throughout our tests.
• The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
• Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
• CPU load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
• GPU load temperatures are obtained after running Furmark’s Burn-In Test for 15 minutes.
• To measure noise levels we disable the CPU fans and GPU fan.

We cleaned up our cable management to ensure nothing obstructs the path of airflow to the components we test.

It is safe to say the CM 690 III provides plenty of airflow for demanding users. With a maximum recorded temperature of 45 degrees on our overclocked i7 3770k, these are excellent results. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation. Ambient noise in the room measures close to the limits of our sound meter at 30dBa.

The minimum readings for our acoustics tests are obtained with the fans running at 5V. For our maximum readings the fans were left running at 12V. The CPU and GPU fans are manually disconnected to eliminate unwanted noise.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Running at 5V the fans are nearly inaudible and fell below the lower limits of our meter.

Increasing the voltage to 12V produced a total of 34.3 dBa. The use of a 200 mm front in-take fan certainly is a benefit as it was mainly the rear exhaust fan producing these noise levels. Overall, we feel the Cooler Master CM 690 III is a good chassis design, though we do have some mixed feelings.

The build quality is excellent and the whole case feels sturdy. We are confident it can withstand multiple builds without having to worry about the possibility of bits and pieces snapping off.

We quite like the more rounded design of the CM 690 III … in particular with regards to the front and top panels. Cooler Master have done a great job retaining the rather rugged, some might even say ‘industrial' appearance of the original, while doing away with any features that may distract observers.

In terms of cooling performance the CM 690 III is on par with the CM 690 II. It is safe to say the CM 690 III can easily accommodate powerful hardware without restricting airflow to critical components.

The results from our acoustics tests show that Cooler Master have certainly made the right choice by including a 200 mm front in-take fan. Not only does it reduce noise levels dramatically, it also delivers plenty of front to back airflow.

In a world without the CM 690 II we would have gladly awarded the CM 690 III our Must Have award. However as it stands we cannot help but feel that removing the external SATA and power connectors is a step back. Although some might feel that additional external SATA connectors is a gimmick, we believe they add flexibility for tasks ranging from back ups to large file transfers and even troubleshooting hard drives.

In the past year we have seen many graphics cards with large coolers that tend to sag. Although manufacturers take extra care to ensure their cards do not snap, there is something to be said for offering users peace of mind. We feel that including the graphics card support bracket found in the CM 690 II would have made the CM 690 III stand out more.

Retailing for around £80 inc vat the Cooler Master CM 690 III definitely offers great value for money. Overclockers are selling the CM 690 III with a windowed side panel for £79.99 inc vat.

Discuss on our FACEBOOK page, over here.

Pros:

• Excellent build quality.
• Refined design.
• Excellent cooling performance.
• Easy access to all areas during installation.

Cons:

• Removing the SATA and power connectors in the top compartment is disappointing.
• Graphics card support bracket found in the CM 690 II would have been a great addition.
• Mostly an aesthetic update.

KitGuru says:  The CM 690 III definitely is worth the money, though we would have liked to see some of the CM 690 II's key features make a return.

Become a Patron!