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Clash of the Titans - TT Tai Chi vs. CM Stacker 830

 by Joshua Buss on February 23, 2006 12:05 AM EST
55 Comments | Add A Comment
55 Comments
Cooler Master Stacker 830 (cont’d)

Speaking of the hard drive cage, here is the 830's with a side plate removed to expose the rubber shock-mounts.


Click to enlarge.

All in the all, this hard drive cage is superior to the Tai Chi's in almost every way. It can hold four drives as opposed to the Thermaltake's three, it has rubber mounts to minimize transferred vibrations, and it is not as difficult to get screws into the drives with this cage.

The fan on the drive cage is quite different cosmetically from the other two fans included with the case, but it can be used interchangeably with them.


Click to enlarge.

Once the drive(s) are in the cage, the assembly can be secured in the case, which is easy if a single black plastic clip is on each side already in the bottom position.


Click to enlarge.

Here are the black clips in more detail. The outside has a plastic stub to grip, which when moved towards the lock position, it forces the metal prongs outward.


Click to enlarge.

The larger plastic tabs at the bottom of the clip serve to align drives properly in a vertical fashion, which helps in some ways, but is not completely needed either.


Click to enlarge.

To accommodate a floppy drive or fifth hard drive, a 5¼” to 3½” adapter set is included, as well as a front bezel piece with a 3½” sized opening.

Cooler Master Stacker 830 (cont’d) Cooler Master Stacker 830 (cont’d)
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  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    What about direct links to images? Does that work?
    http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/roundups...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/roundups...

  • Jojo7 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    No.

  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Try a refresh. Sometimes the image server gets a bit bogged down.

  • latino666 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Still can't get crap. I notice this problem also with the newegg article too. Man oh man did I want to see those pics.

  • ATWindsor - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    The tai-chi has gigantic heat-sinks on the side, but to me they seem like little more then a gimmick. Almost nothing is in physical contact with them, and when they are only taking heat fom air, they seem to be virtually useless. I bet the diffrences if one had a "standard" side would be hardly measurable.

    The CM 830 surly is more ugly than the old model IMHO, It doesn't quit have that "large clean beast"-feeling anymore.

  • Cygni - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    It seems they were going for the look of the Zalman completly fanless case, but didnt bother to install the flush mount PSU or heatpipes that ran into the doors, haha. :p Oh well.

  • Tamale - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    I'd call it a 'large techno beast' now ;)

  • Howard - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    The 3/8" holes in the Tai Chi can easily be bored out with a twist drill bit (the regular ones) in a cordless drill. At least, they would be if the material is aluminum, and I think it is.

  • JoshuaBuss - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Yah, but it's still much easier when it can be taken apart and pieces can be worked on individually.

  • Googer - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - link

    Could you invert the motherboard on the CM Stacker by installing the tray on the left side in place of the usual right side? If you could possibly allow for better CPU cooling sine the processor would be sitting on the bottome getting plenty of cool air and allowing hot exhaust to escape upwards.
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