Cooler Master HAF X Black Gaming Case Review

FAQ for HAF X

– When will the HAF X be available?

The HAF X street availability will be early June
worldwide.

– How do I use the Nvidia GTX 480 ducting and what is
the best solution for nVidia certified cooling?

There are 3 major components of the GTX 480, GTX 470
SLI-certification: The GPU duct, the side fan duct and the GPU duct
fan.
The GPU duct fan requires a extremely high airflow 150cfm fan with at
least a
120x38mm specification. This specification was developed by nVidia.
Adding a similar high performance fan will also achieve the same cooling
effects. To install with 3-way SLI, first remove all the
components. Mount the cards, and install the GPU duct, GPU duct fan,
then
the side panel with 200mm duct. The GPU holder can be used instead of
the
side fan duct, but will not meet the nVidia engineered requirements for
cooling.

– How do I use the GPU bracket?

With the computer installed and the graphics cards
screwed in place, assemble the front of the GPU bracket. Attach the
optional 80mm x 15mm R4-SPS-20AK-GP slim fan. If the GPU are
separated by a single slot, pull the fingers of the GPU bracket off and
adjust
to a farther apart position. With the GPU fingers in place, press them
against the cards while screwing in the adjustment in the back of the
HAF
X. Ensure the GPU bracket is parallel with the GPU cards and
perpendicular to the chassis back frame.

– Why are there 9 PCI slots?

HAF X uses 9 expansion slots for 3 and 4-way SLI and
Crossfire X support. With selected motherboards, a HAF X will allow the
GPU to be fixed to the chassis firmly. For additional support the GPU
retention bracket, can reinforce the lower cards. Note that the ATX
standard calls for 7 expansion slots and certain motherboards will not
use the
first two slots. With 9 slots, the HAF X will maintain the 7 slot
standard even using the largest motherboards.

– How are the HAF X made and what are they made of?

The HAF X is made from .8mm SGCC steel, with ABS
plastic. The entire chassis is ROHS certified materials. HAF X is
manufactured exclusively by Cooler Master on our own machinery in ISO
9001,
9002 and 14001 certified facilities.

– How do I use the front hot-swap bays?

The bays should be gripped from the sides and gently
pinched together to release the tray. Once the tray is removed, the
hard
drive can be screwed directly to the tray. The tray must be gripped
firmly and installed straight in to contact the rear backplane. SATA
cables are directly attached from the backplane to the motherboard for a
direct
connection.

– How do I use the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports?

HAF X is the first available full tower chassis with
USB 3.0 support. Currently the NEC controllers on USB 3.0 motherboards
do
not support a standardized header. To use the USB 3.0 ports, route the
extension cables from the I/O behind the motherboard and through the
rear hole
in the motherboard tray. You can then use one of the three rubber water
cooling ports on the rear of the chassis to meet the USB 3.0 port on the
motherboard. As soon as a better solution is released with a standard
USB
3.0 motherboard header on chip, Cooler Master will provide the internal
header
USB 3.0 cables as a free part exchange.

– How do I mount a radiator on the top?

HAF will support a 240, 360, or 280mm radiator with
no modification. Remove the top 200mm fan, and use the 8 holes to
attach
the radiator. The top panel must be removed by pressing on the internal
plastic clips within the chassis. Some extreme radiators over 60mm
thick,
or too heavy may run into some issues in support, although most 360mm
radiators
will be accommodated with no issues.

– What is the proper order of assembly?

First remove all the ducting. These ducting
should be added after installation of the motherboard, fans and video
cards. Make sure to install the CPU cooler before installing the
motherboard since many motherboard layouts use different CPU socket
locations. Install the power supply partition after the PSU is
installed. Then install the GPU duct after the GPU are installed.

– What is the largest type motherboard that can be
installed?

HAF X will support ATX, EATX and some non-standard
sizes. Please note that some motherboards from EVGA follow non-standard
layouts. The HAF X will support the EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI
motherboard with optional 4-way SLI support. There is not enough depth
or
width available to support the EVGA Classified SR-2 because the
motherboard is
of a non standard layout and is 15 inches wide. This is over 2 inches
longer than the interior of the chassis.

– What is the maximum GPU length supported?

Video cards can be up to 342mm or 13.46 inches.
Please note that using the GPU ducting, or other fan mounting on the
hard drive
bays, will reduce the clearance by up to 40mm.

– What is the maximum CPU cooler height supported?

The HAF X will support all modern coolers including
the V6, V8, V10 and any cooler under 175mm in height.

– What is the maximum PSU length supported?

HAF X will support all modern PSU from 160mm to over
210mm. Note that longer PSUs will be covered by the power supply
partition.