Cooler Master's Storm Enforcer: The Not-So-Quiet Storm
by Dustin Sklavos on July 5, 2011 5:39 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler Master
- Storm Enforcer
Testing Methodology
For testing 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.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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tzhu07 - Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - link
I would not buy the case simply because it is so damn tacky looking.These companies need to take a hint from Apple, Fractal Design, and Lian Li on how to make simple aesthetically clean cases.
SunLord - Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - link
This is why I like my Silver stone fortress 2 some much it's stands out with out being tacky plastic crap pileandy5174 - Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - link
What do you expect from such a cheap case? It doesn't make any sense to ask for a Ferrari for the price of a Nissan. BTW, Fotress 2 is also damn ugly imo. I prefer Fotress 1 and 3.Operandi - Thursday, July 7, 2011 - link
Look at InWin's server/workstation and mATX boxes. Not perfect but clean lines, quality plastics, and tool-less features that actually work, almost certainly better than the case featured here in every regard.your Mama asshole 123 - Monday, February 25, 2013 - link
fuck you !! you asshole .... you dont know what coolermaster is ...i am in india ... and is not cheap if you are so rich try buying this shit ( http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Level-VN10001W2N... ) fuck you !! asshole !! bhitch!!
ziggurat512 - Monday, July 8, 2013 - link
nice usernameNataku - Wednesday, July 6, 2011 - link
I would have to disagree with taking hints, imagine a world where everything look nearly the same, that would suckand besides maybe u don't like this design, but someone else might
some ppl like simple/elegant designs and im ok with that, I myself, I like designs like thermaltake, so ya...
san1s - Friday, July 8, 2011 - link
I think those cases are too bland and boring. It's like the designers took some pieces of metal, placed them in the form of a rectangular prism, and gave up from there.marc1000 - Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - link
actually, for me this case has the same problem as HAF912: almost 23cm wide. I need a case 21cm wide at most :(epistemological 1 - Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - link
I actually have this case, and have had to remove the central drive bays to fit my GTX580 card in. However the one thing I bought this case for was the 2 front USB 3 & USB 2 drive slots. This alone sold me the case, which, whilst I agree is ugly & loud, has massive functionality as I have had to transfer large amounts of data recently.Besides who really looks at the case after turning the computer on? I have found all my past cases to be invisible after the first couple of weeks.