The XM midi tower version of Cooler Master's HAF X is by all means a brilliant case. Very well crafted and mega versatile regarding all the different hardware, no matter the size, it can house. Large E-ATX motherboards are supported, even fitting big size tower coolers should be a breeze. Multi GPU enthousiasts can install easily up to three graphics cards. The maximum length of the cards can reach up to 354mm, this with the top HDD bay installed. More then adequate for most graphic monsters out there. In case this should not be sufficient, removing the top HDD bay increases the maximum GPU length up to a massive 463mm, but you loose of course 3 HDD bays.

Storage wise Cool Master has got you covered. Up to six Hard Drives via easily removable trays and best off all an extra two hot swappable ones, via the X-docking station. A feature that most will appreciate, as it so easy to slide in a HDD and start to transfer your data at high speeds. No more slow downs via USB.

Cooling wise this case is brilliant. Two big 200mm fans, allow for massive air circulation and the rear 140mm fan also contributes it fair share. We already mentioned on the previous page that the airflow in the HAF XM is more than generous. But not if it's at the cost of extra humming noise. No worries with the HAF XM as the included case fans are really quiet, close to near silent in operation.

A short coming with this case is the lack of a real PSU dustfilter. No idea why Cooler Master didn't opt for a slideable version, that can be easily removed and cleaned. The HAF XM solution obliges the end user to remove the PSU, to properly clean the meshed dustfilter version. The absence of an internal USB3.0 to 2.0 adaptor is a miss too.

With the HAF XM you can't go wrong. Strong cooling performance at low noise is what most gamers are looking for. Secondly you get excellent craftmanship, great storage capacity, plus two hot swappable bays and maximum hardware compatibility for a fair price of around 110 euros. Maybe at first glance a bit over the budget of most gamers, but this case is really worth every penny.

PROS:

• Solid crafted case, easy to work in
• Excellent, yet silent cooling solution
• Two hot swappable bays
• Maximum GPU compatibility

CONS:

• Meshed dustfilter, why oh why ?
• no USB3.0 to 2.0 adaptor

A big thank you to Marco from Cooler Master for the HAF XM sample

Mia and Kaysta from G.Skill for the RipjawsZ kit

And finally Rogier from ASUS for the Sabretooth X79