Cooler Master Cavalier 1 – Interior

Removing the windowed side panel exposes the interior of the Cavalier 1. Right off the bat, we can see that Cooler Master chose not to include a removable motherboard tray n the case. Normally, we prefer having a removable tray as it makes upgrading a lot easier, but the drive bays being fairly uniform in size does leave ample room to work inside the case.

A couple fans are included with the Cavalier 1. An 80mm intake fan is located in the lower drive bays which not only draws cool exterior air into the case, but it also serves to cool the hard drive if it is installed in this area. At the rear of the case, near the area the CPU will likely be located, we have a 120mm fan for exhausting the warm air from the case. Both fans run fairly quiet, and the 120mm fan is a good idea as it can move more air than an 80mm fan, while being near silent in operation.

We've already mentioned the thumb screws for the windowed panel, and in keeping with the tool free design philosophy, the Cavalier uses snap rails for installing the hard drive and optical drives, negating the need to use Phillips screws and a screwdriver for installation.

Installing the CDROM, or any other 5.25" device is done by pushing the device through the front of the case until it slides into place. Once the drive is installed, you snap the lock on the rail into place, thus securing the device. On the opposite side, you can use standard screws to further secure the device, but the rail locks do a good job of keeping the device secure.

Hard drive installation is similar, except you work from the interior of the case. Simply line up the hard drive with the appropriate rail, and push it into the internal bay. Once the drive slides into place, pull the rail lock back and the drive will be secured.

For the AGP and PCI cards, we have plastic locks here as well. Once the motherboard is installed (you'll need to break out the screwdriver for that), slide the desired card into place with the plastic lock in the up position. Once the card is in, simply push the lock down until it snaps into place. These locks do a good job of keeping the card secure, though Cooler Master does leave you with the option of using screws as well, which is something I suggest if the PC gets moved often.

The Cavalier 1 includes a RS-350W PSU that offers near silent operation. Unlike the Real Power 450W PSU we've looked at recently, this PSU does not offer dual rails. It works well enough, staying within specifications for basic setups, but I would consider another power supply if you intend to hook up a water cooler, high-end CPU and video card.

Finally, we have the usual assortment of audio and front panel cables. Thankfully, the USB and FireWire are "brick" connections, meaning you don't need to decipher where each individual cable has to go. You'll notice a 1/8" jack present, which is used to hook up the VU-Meter to your sound card.

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