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Cooler Master Stacker STC-T01 Cooler Master Stacker: Cooler Master puts together a massive case to fit all your needs. Is it the right case for you?
Date: July 23, 2004
Manufacturer:
Written By:
Price:

Last but certainly not least, I decided to install the casters that come with the case, onto the bottom. With it being so heavy, putting the case on wheels is definitely a smart move. The screws are thick and hardy. The regular feet are shown there on the left.

Installed onto the case, the casters look pretty good. Cooler Master made sure to have nice mounting locations for all of their casters.

As you can see, the look of the casters on the bottom of the case is certainly nice. And it will raise the case up off the floor so the bottom perforated grill can more properly let air inside the case.

User Experience

I must say that using this case was certainly easy. Even though the motherboard tray isn't readily removable and is not designed to be taken off unless changing it into BTX spec, there is so much space inside this case for my hands to work with, installing everything was easy. This case offers a lot of options with what you can put in it, and how you can put it in.

The drive bay brackets took a little time to make them perfect but that worked out well. I think I found the biggest issue with the case was cable routing; unless I intentionally put all my devices as close to the PSU as possible, routing them through such a tall case may be difficult or impossible to do.

I then later installed a Danger Den watercooling system into the case which I must state was very easy. With all this room I was able to route the tubing with no worries, and I was able to install both the radiator AND the 120mm fan internally. This case is definitely the throw everything inside do everything case.

Cooling

With the aircooling setup that I was using which I was using, I got 53C under load while the processor was overclocked from 1.47Ghz to 1.833Ghz. With the watercooling setup I was able to maintain a comfortable 42C under full load while the processor was overclocked to 2.2Ghz!! Although the cooling devices had more to do with it than the case, the case with it's full ventilated case kept temperatures inside the enclosure as close to ambient temperatures outside the case as possible. It is a novel idea to be sure.

Conclusion

Jeremiah's $0.02

This case is definitely for those looking for that specific application, or just want a home machine that isn't going anywhere. This is definitely for the home server, or the ultimate home PC that any crazy enthusiast wants. It comes with virtually everything one could want in a case other than mods like CCFLs. However it comes with plenty of fans, casters, and mounting brackets. It doesn't come with the Cross Flow Fan, that costs extra, but if you're going to buy this case, it is definitely something that you may want to consider purchasing.

This is certainly the case to have if you are interested in a no fuss case. It also is for you if you are interested in being able to install everything you want into a single enclosure. If you are the type that has multiple harddrives that are all individually cooled, with multiple optical drives as well, raid, water cooling, or extreme air, this case is for you.

However if you are looking for a LAN case, something that is small and doesn't stand out for your office, something light weight, or a cute case for your HTPC, than you need not apply.

Hubert's $0.02

One part of the market I think this case is going to appeal to are the hardcore enthusiasts who are not so much interested in LAN gamiming as they are in building totally obscene power houses. I was talking with VL's very own Craig about a digital photographer that purchased a fully loaded system with dual CPUs, a boat load of ram, and six hard drives I believe. We didn't really discuss the case that was being used, but certainly the CM Stacker is something that I would personally pick in housing these components (Ed. Note: It was indeed the case the photographer chose).

Though it's not that important yet, the ability to go from ATX (and the various flavours) to BTX is something that separates the CM Stacker from the rest of the field. At , this case isn't cheap, but if you're keeping an eye out for the future, this is a case that will "switch teams" for you if the need arises. Add the impressive storage options, and the ability to accomadate almost anything piece of hardware you can throw at it, the CM Stacker should be on your short list if you're looking for the perfect case.

Pros:
Big big big.
Everything is perforated for maximum ventilation.
Dual power supplies
Eleven 5 ¼" drive bays.
Three stock fans in good locations, 1x 120mm fan intake, 1x 120mm fan exhaust, 1x 80mm fan Top blowhole exhaust.
Casters
Very sturdy
Useable for ATX, E-ATX, and the upcoming BTX spec.

Cons:
Heavy.
Large size which means it doesn't fit under a lot of desks.
Left and Right mounting brackets.
Cross Flow Fan costs extra
Only comes with one HD cage which supports only four drives. One must buy more from Cooler Master to have more expansion.

Bottom Line: BTX ready, lots of expansion options, it is certainly something to consider if you need a robust chassis for an uber-gaming rig, home or small business server or high-end workstation. It isn't something you can pack in your LAN bag, but that isn't the intention.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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