CM Storm Scout 2 review

Performance Analysis

The out of the box cooling on offer with the Scout 2 was frankly rubbish, which is unsurprising given that it only comes with a single exhaust fan. Its CPU delta T of 57°C left it only five places above the bottom spot, and was only 3°C cooler than the super insulated and super quiet Fractal Design Define R4 with its fans on minimum speed. When the Fractal case, which retails for around £80, had its fans set to maximum, its CPU delta T was a whole 6°C cooler than what the Scout 2 could manage.


The Scout 2's inability to cool GPUs effectively was also evident from our thermal testing. During our stress test, the GPU delta T in the Scout 2 peaked at a massive 55°C, the second highest temperature we've seen so far, as it just managed to beat the cheap and not-so-cheerful Aerocool X-Predator X1 (on minimum speed). The R4 was able to cool its GPU better by 5°C, even with its fans set to their whisper quiet minimum speed.

The Scout 2 is one of the many cases that falls somewhere in the middle when it comes to noise. Its single case fan was pleasingly quiet, but the case does let out noise thanks to the various holes in the meshing and fan mounts. In particular, the two side mounts provide a direct path for the noise from graphics cards to escape. Therefore, the Fractal case manages to outperform the Scout 2 even while remaining quieter.


Conclusion

Passing judgement on a case like the Scout 2 is always difficult, as despite its sub-par cooling, it has numerous points that work in its favour. The build quality is excellent with very few exceptions, which makes the Scout 2 a wonderful case to work with. It's well designed, with an excellent carrying handle and simple but effective cable management options.

However, we feel that Cooler Master could have gone much further in justifying the £87 price tag. Given that there's room for one, an extra dust filter would have made sense, and having only a single HDD to SSD adaptor and no 5.25in to 3.5in bay adaptors feels rather stingy too. However, the biggest shortfall is the inclusion of just a single fan – having one or two more would not only have improved the case's value for money, but undoubtedly its cooling performance too.

For those who the carrying handle and peripheral guard really appeal to, and who are willing to add their own fans to the Scout 2, it would make a solid purchase as this seems to be the main thing it's missing. For everyone else, however, the Fractal Design Define R4 or even the Corsair Carbide 500R both offer similarly great build quality, as well as superior cooling out of the box and fan control for a price that's on par with the Scout 2.