Cooler Master ATCS 840

Cooler Master ATCS 840 Classic

Manufacturer: Cooler Master
UK Price (as reviewed): £185 RRP (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $250 RRP (ex. Tax)

Just like with buses, we wait six months for a new Cooler Master case, and then two show up in the space of a few weeks! Not that we’re complaining though, as the Cooler Master HAF 932 we looked at a few weeks ago delivered excellent performance and the new ATCS 840 we’re looking at today set to build on this already strong showing.

However, we weren’t exactly enamoured with the HAF 932’s styling; it had been designed with the American market in mind and ended up looking like something that fell off the back of a Humvee with a mish mash of styling that would put the Ikea catalogue to shame.

While a little saddening, especially as classic Cooler Master designs like the Cosmos or 830 Stacker have reached almost iconic status in the modding community for their flexibility and scope for customisation, we had a feeling Cooler Master had a sleeker and more stylish offering on the horizon, which is exactly what you’re looking at here.


The ATCS resurrects Cooler Master’s ATC (Active Thermal Convection before you ask) line of cases from years past, which spawned one of our all time favourite chassis in the ATCS-201, can the ACTS 840 measure up to its predecessors? Let’s find out

Exterior

There’s no hiding it, the first thing you’ll notice about the ATCS 840 is it’s bloody huge! It looks like it could probably eat a standard ATX case for breakfast and still have room for a small form factor chassis or two. Measuring in at 243mm (w) x 580mm (h) x 630mm (d) it dwarfs even extra large EATX cases like the Antec P190 or Lian Li V1100 in terms of sheer size. Needless to say the ATCS 840 will utterly dominate a desk or workstation and will likely struggle to even fit under smaller desks – you’ll need some serious work space real estate to accommodate this beast.

While it might be big, Cooler Master has done a simply brilliant job with the styling, giving the ATCS 840 a fantastic smooth, stylish and uncluttered look that we think is absolutely gorgeous! While those who prefer more aggressive styling will likely be unimpressed, we really feel that the ATCS 840 is one of the best looking cases we’ve seen for a long, long time, and we’re sure it’ll take its place alongside Cooler Master’s other iconic designs.


The case will be available in both black and silver brushed aluminium when it’s launched in a few days and the material is wonderfully machined to a smooth finish, not sticky or rough like other aluminium cases can be. The build quality throughout the exterior is also top notch and every panel fits together perfectly; even the 5.25” blanking plates have only the tiniest of gaps between them, a real sign of excellent build quality considering the tolerances required in the manufacturing process to achieve it.

The front fascia is milled from a single piece of precision cut aluminium and houses six 5.25” drive bays (one of which comes with a 3.5” drive bay adapter), with a removable plate at the bottom covering the front ventilation intake. The plate is easily removed with a bit of force, revealing the large easily removable dust filter in front of the 230mm intake fan, but there’s also a smaller dust filter built into the bottom of the fascia – a great example of attention to detail and demonstrating just how well thought out the ATCS 840 is.