Cooler Master Storm Scout II Advanced Case Review: Falling Behind the Curve
by Dustin Sklavos on March 19, 2013 12:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler Master
- ATX
Testing Methodology
For testing full ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD4H |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 in SLI (full fat testing only) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive 3x HGST DeskStar 3TB 7200-RPM HDD |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 1000W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
For the "full fat" testbed, the GTX 560 Ti is swapped out for a pair of GTX 580s, and three hard disks are added to fill out the case.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z77X-UD4H motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- Thank you to HGST for providing us with the trio of hard drives.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
On page 4 in the ATX Test Configuration table in the GTX 580 description you have: "(full fat testing only)" which is actually a little bit amusing but it should probably say: full fan testing based on context.MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
well... I guess since you used that terminology again I guess it was intentional.JarredWalton - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
It's a reference to types of milk or cream: you have the "light" options with reduced fat (easier on your body in theory), and then there's the "full fat" milk and cream where you get all the flavor along with all the fat. I suppose it's probably used outside of dairy stuff as well, but you get the point. :-)MrCommunistGen - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
Yeah after I kept reading I realized it was meant to by synonymous with "heavy duty" or the like. The terminology just caught me off guard.pcfxer - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
The power of a hyphen ;)>. Full-Fat Testing!Grok42 - Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - link
I really liked your comment about the bog standard ATX case layout design as "...been done". Couldn't have said it better. Why through yet another ATX case at us, give us something different.bogda - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
Why is gallery at anandtech simplified to stupidity?You can go next by clicking anywhere on picture but you cannot go back by clicking on left side of image as it is usual. If you want to go back you have to click on "film strip" at the bottom. It is not intuitive and requires more time, especially if "film strip" moved to next page.
REALfreaky - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
The best performer for the price (Antec GX700) is ugly as sin. One of the better looking cases (this CM Storm Scout) is a poor performer and overpriced.Why is it so hard to find both? The exterior looks of this CM Storm Scout and the internal configuration and price of the GX700 would impress to no end.
TGressus - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
The case could be a a good performer. It has 5 fan mounts that the reviewer chose to leave unpopulated, instead relying on the manufacturer's bare minimum. It is up to the consumer to design and tune their own system, and it is true the less experienced in the community would benefit from more detailed guidance in this area.alsmith - Saturday, November 22, 2014 - link
Both as in poor performer and ugly? I bet there'd be a few suggestions ......