Cooler Master Stacker 830 – Interior
Heading off topic for a moment, the Acura MDX ranks pretty high on my shopping list despite the absurd gas prices. Like the first impressions we got when pulling the Stacker 830 out of the box, the exterior of the MDX is big and mean looking. Problem I find with the MDX though is that the interior is much smaller than one may think given that the vehicle is so big. Not so with the Stacker 830.
The interior of the Stacker 830 is very roomy and easy to work with. A huge cavity is present and pretty much any air or water cooler under the sun should be able to fit inside this case. We installed a Scythe Ninja cooler and unlike a couple other cases we've looked at, the side panels were able to close with the cooler in place. The asetek VapoChill, which is another tall cooler, also fit without issue.
Water cooler options should be rather diverse. Given the multiple 120mm fan options, we would think that those of you with internal 120mm single fan radiators will have no problem moving that into this case. Dual or even triple radiators will also work though you will need to fit the radiator in the front of the case.
All the edges are rolled, therefore quite safe to work with. There was a silver residue inside which puzzled us, but it easily cleaned off with a quick wipe with a microfiber cloth.
One shortcoming we pointed out in our Stacker STC-T01 review was the lack of a removable motherboard tray. Sure, the case is large and such, but a motherboard tray always makes life quite a bit easier when if comes to positioning for upgrade tasks and swapping parts in general. On the exterior rear of the case you can snap a couple of locks and unlock the motherboard tray that is now included with this Stacker.
The Stacker 830 can handle almost every motherboard currently on the market. The case supports E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX, and PICO-BTX. The instruction manual (which is excellent by the way) covers the motherboard standoff layout clearly and plenty of screws are included for this task. As evident in the top right image, you can install the tray on either side. Fans of quasi-BTX, aka turning an ATX motherboard upside down, can continue to do so due to this installation feature.
The expansion slots are not exactly tool-less in design on the motherboard tray, but we never really had much of an issue with thumbscrews. A screwdriver may come into play if you overtighten them, but otherwise they can be considered tool-less.
The 5.25" drive bays do feature the internal rails we've come to love in Cooler Master's Centurion series of cases.
On the bottom of the interior 5.25" area is a 4-in-3 module, which for all intent and purposes is a hard drive capable rack. A couple of rails need to be released to slide this rack out, but you will need a screwdriver to install a hard drive into this cage. The module is made of steel, but we don't think an aluminum module would have done much to lower the overall weight.
It's not completely clear in the above images, but there is a 120mm fan attached that is configured by default to draw in air from the front, blow it over the drive(s) and into the case. The fan is of the LED variety and will show through the front of the case due to the mesh. Since noise can be an issue due to the mesh perforations throughout the chassis, Cooler Master installed some rubber grommets to dampen any drive vibrations.
Cooling Configuration
Cooler Master includes one LED fan in the front as mentioned earlier and one standard 120mm fan in the rear, but additional fans need to be picked up on your dime. A fan can be installed in the top of the case, and personally we would configure it as an exhaust since heat rises. The side fan module can hold up to four additional 120mm fans.
Based on the Stacker 830's stock configuration, the case allows for a whopping seven 120mm fans. With either a bit of elbow grease and/or a couple more 4-in-3 modules, you can arm the Stacker 830 with nine 120mm fans by installing two more in the front of the case above the stock 4-in-3 module.
To access the case interior, you could remove the motherboard tray, but you can simply unlock it for quick access. Since the Stacker features a reversible motherboard tray, the side panel mesh, which allows air to either come in or out depending on the fan layout, is present on either side of the case. Of course, this would be pointless if you couldn't change the side fan module's configuration.
We also recommend removing this module if you're doing any major upgrades since the fan module has a tendency to close on it's own once it's opened.
The Stacker 830 also came with a BTX cooling module which we didn't use since all our boards are ATX here. Cooler Master also sells an optional motherboard cooling module, but given the stock layout of the Stacker, we thing the default configuration can easily handle any heat source.
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