Cooler Master HAF X Review

Performance Analysis

With regards to cooling ability, the HAF X is certainly up there with the big boys, managing a respectable CPU delta T of 48°C. This was a little disappointing given the size and number of fans it's equipped with but they do spin relatively slowly and are quiet as a result. It did, however, record the lowest GPU delta T on test of just 36°C. Clearly, the huge side and front intake fans do a good job of cooling graphics cards and even the mighty Twelve Hundred and Dark Fleet DF-85 were a couple of degrees behind.

Conclusion

The HAF X is a better case than the HAF 922 and can easily cope with the demands of today's toasty hardware. Not only is it a great case for an air-cooled PC, but it's so well thought out that building a system in it should be a pleasant experience, whatever hardware you have. The fans are so much quieter than the Antec Dark Fleet DF-85's are at full speed so maybe Cooler Master could consider using some higher RPM fans with fan control next time.


There's potential for water cooling too, although there's little need to make the HAF X any quieter than it is out of the box thanks to its enormous fans keeping that din very low in the first place. While your subjective aesthetic preferences may differ, we all feel that it isn't a great-looking case by any standards, though. The Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 isn't exactly a looker either, but it did a noticeably better job of cooling the CPU, even at its lowest fan speed setting.

It's a tough call between the HAF X and the Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 - one has fan control and awesome CPU cooling, the other is quiet out of the box and cooled our graphics card extremely well. There are downsides to both though, and as we mentioned in the Dark Fleet DF-85 review, we've been playing with some other cases recently too, and would advise waiting to see more before making a decision.

• Cooling
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Design
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
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• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

Score Guide