Review
- Introduction
- Packaging and Specifications
- External Impressions
- Internal Impressions Part 1
- Internal Impressions Part 2
- Comparison: Corsair 400R and Coolermaster 690II Plus
- Installation Experience and Conclusion
Goes without saying that both of these cases go head to head so I thought it would be best to visually compare them to get a better idea of these cases. They’re 2 mid size cases that are meant to cater the same crowd and they’re almost similar on paper. Question comes in- which one is better??
Both cases lets you mount 120/140mm fans on the side and on the top panel. Difference is that Coolermaster provides an air filter that is attached on the top panel whereas its not provided with the 400R- but the 400R comes with a rubber grommet- and truth be told, not having a top panel is more of a boon to install fans directly.
However Corsair 400R comes with 2x 120mm fan on the front panel whereas the 690 II Plus comes with only 1- and there’s no space to let you install a second one. Coolermaster could have provided it if they just can scrape out the plastic portion at the bottom of the front panel. Both case has a front panel LED On/Off button, and 2x USB 2.0 ports and the usual audio ports. While CM provides 2x USB 2.0 ports, Corsair provides a firewire port. Majority of the users who will buy these cases will have a mid-end gaming rig, so having a USB 2.0 ports makes a lot more sense than having a firewire port. Yeah, Corsair does provide a USB 2.0 to 3.0 converter, but it makes more sense to have couple of USB 2.0 port than a firewire port. To add a nice touch, the thumbscrews on the 400R is always with the side panel.
The rear I/O has some differences. While both provide 8 PCI slots (7+1 PCI slot on CM 690 II Plus), Corsair has a vented slots. Coolermaster provides a 120mm fan (no 140mm fan mount? Alas!!) and Corsair has 140/120mm fan mount with a 140mm fan pre-installed (with rubber grommet on the 140mm fan mount). 400R comes with an air filter tray. 690? You need to put the filter between the power supply and the bottom mount. Again- why did Coolermaster do that???
However the rear I/O section in CM 690 II Plus is much stronger compared to Corsair 400R, even after removing the fan and the slots.
The case design internally is nothing new- however the half inch recessed L shaped area on the 400R is a brilliant thought that any end user who has put together many systems will really appreciate as it helps to keep all the cables in places properly. Top it with the protruding side panel design- and you get a good space on the back of the motherboard plate. CM 690? the side panels are flat and the motherboard tray is flat- so you will end up having few trial-and-error making sure the cables don’t come in the way.
The hole to route the EPS connector has a generous size on the 400R, whereas I had to split up the 4+4 pin on my Corsair TX 750 and push them in one at a time. Minor inconvenience- unless your power supply’s 8 pin EPS connector does not split.
Both cases have 4x 5.25″ bay and 6x 3.5″ HDD bay, but each tray from 400R lets you install a 2.5″ inch drive, whereas CM 690 II Advance comes with a tray with a dual SSD mount. 690 II Plus has that little bit of an inconvenience with the the pins while securing the Hard drive on the tray itself. You don’t need to do that on the 400R.
