Cooler Master Storm Scout II Advanced Case Review: Falling Behind the Curve

Assembling the Cooler Master Storm Scout II Advanced

The one nice thing about a standard case design is familiarity. Since Cooler Master didn't mess with the program with the Storm Scout II Advanced, the whole case is easy enough to assemble. With that said, though, the relentlessly conservative design also means giving up on some minor conveniences that often come with modern case designs.

For starters, no allowances are made towards making the motherboard easier to install. It's still the same routine; install nine motherboard standoffs with a socket wrench, snap in the I/O shield, install the motherboard. The cabling that comes with the Storm Scout II Advanced is at least routed neatly, though, and it's not too difficult to get the wiring started and all the headers into place. Keep in mind that this is a basic ATX case, though; a standard ATX motherboard will fill out the tray.

5.25" drives benefit from a very secure and easy to use toolless locking mechanism, though you'll have to snap off the front panel first to get the bay shields out. Cooler Master is also using snap-on rails for the 3.5" drives instead of trays; these rails are reminiscent of the ones Antec uses in the Eleven Hundred, and while they don't grip quite as well, they do get the job done and are easy enough to install. Finally, though 2.5" drive installation isn't toolless, the adapter trays they include are at least smartly designed, able to hold two drives apiece. When drives do snap into the case, they're all pretty secure.

Expansion cards will typically need to go in after the drives themselves are wired, but there are no surprises with either expansion cards or with the power supply. The routing holes surrounding the motherboard tray can certainly get crowded in a hurry, though, and cabling can start to get difficult. This is pretty normal when a full fat system is installed into a case. What's worth noting, though, is that the fans included all use 3-pin headers and there are no molex adapters included for them. While this is a non-issue with the new testbed I've been using, the old board didn't have the free headers to handle these fans. By the same token, if the board you're using can't support three fans in addition to the CPU fan, you'll want to buy adapters separately.

Ultimately there aren't really any surprises when it comes to installing a system into the Cooler Master Storm Scout II Advanced and wiring it up. Everything goes where it ought to go, and things get crowded but not overwhelmingly so. My behind-the-motherboard-tray cabling job is a disaster (same as it ever was), but while Cooler Master uses notched side panels, the extrusion in the panel behind the motherboard tray goes a long way towards relieving any congestion there. Like I said, there are no surprises: pleasant or unpleasant.