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

Cooler Master Stacker 830 (cont’d)

Cooler Master made the side fan cage's implementation nearly perfect, which really makes it one of the nicest aspects of the entire case.

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Two clips, just like the one pictured above, hold the door shut at the front when it's in its hinges. They're simple, effective, and since they are built like small springs, they help to absorb any extra vibrations, which helps minimize noise.

At the back on the top and bottom, the door is suspended between two springs.

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These spring-loaded stubs keep the door aligned perfectly for swinging, but release to make its entire removal easily possible. It really is a great feature and goes a long way to make the case a delight in which to work.

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Along with the side panels and fan cage, the motherboard tray can be taken out as well, but unlike the Tai Chi, the Stacker's tray includes the rear and comes out the back. The black clips halfway down the left side and at the top and bottom on the right side in this picture are what lock the tray in place; once unlocked, the tray slides along plastic rails, which brings us to our next picture.

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After only a few cycles of removing the tray and putting it back in, we noticed that plastic shavings were accumulating at the bottom of the case. While certainly it won't affect the case in any huge manner, it does mean that eventually the fit of the tray to the rest of the case might not be as snug as it is initially.

With the tray out, the 830 is amazingly open. In this shot from the rear, we can barely see the third and final included 120mm fan at the front of the hard drive cage. Also take note that there is almost perfect symmetry to the new Stacker – even the rails for the motherboard tray are on both sides. More on that to come.

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