Cooler Master ATC-201A: High performance Aluminum

Construction

From the front, the first impression we got from the ATC-201A was that the case looked like a regular aluminum with the addition of a meshed fan grill.  From the side, however, the ATC-201A really demonstrates a lush paneling job that really looks like it belongs on a car.  Just for a little piece of mind, the panels are also scratch and dent resistant.  The front bezel of the case is made out of thicker brushed aluminum, with matching drive bay covers.  Interesting to see on a value case were similar home audio feet which we also noted on the Lian Li PC-9300 we reviewed last month.  Unfortunately, since this is a much bigger case than the PC-9300, these feet can be damaged fairly easily, so some care should be taken while handling the unit.

Click to Enlarge

The striking feature of this case is the side mounted heat duct. It also has a 100mm air guide, which supposedly allows the heatsink fan to take in air much more quietly and efficiently. Our benchmark should prove or disprove if Cooler Master can in fact hold true to this claim. 

The entire case is almost tool-free; the only need for screwdrivers include drive mounting and the power supply. The peripheral cards are also installed with the assistance of thumbscrews.  The tray is attached to the case by 4 thumbscrews. The tray comes out with the motherboard portion, and the peripheral slots, similar to the Kingwin KT-463. Another feature that helps out greatly is the motherboard tray, which makes motherboard installation quite easy.

All of the edges on the inside of the case are smoothed out to get rid of the chance of cuts.  There are a couple of small spots in which cuts can happen around the 5.25” drive bays, but they are small and should not pose a problem during typical construction.

Click to Enlarge

The case came with only one rear exhaust fan, and one top mounted exhaust. The hard drive bays are positioned in front of the 3.5" drive bays, which should help keep the hard drives cool. The placement of the rear exhaust is right next to the CPU duct, which blocks air for exhaust, and this should affect its performance negatively.

Click to Enlarge

The ATC-201 takes up a mid-tower ATX footprint at 196 mm x 452 mm x 497mm (WHD), and should be able to fit any ATX motherboards.

Breakdown

Click to Enlarge

1 No power supply 2 Drive bays x 4 4 x 5.25” External Drive Bay 2 x 3.5” External Drive Bays 4 x 3.5” Internal Drive Bays   3 80x80x25mm, 1 x Rear Exhaust fan 4 80x80x25mm, 1 x Top Exhaust fan 5 80x80x25mm, 2 x Front Intake fan 6 Side Duct with 100mm Air Guide 7 Forward USB inputs 8 Removable motherboard tray