[section_title title=Closer Look – Interior]Closer Look – Interior
After taking the side panel off, aside from the all-black finish the first thing I noticed was the insane amount of 2.5” SSD/HDD bays; 4 x dedicated 2.5” bays as well as 3 x 3.5” bays below which actually support SSDs and 2.5” drives too; maximum support of up to 10 x SSDs, awesome stuff!
Also in terms of features on the CM690 III, we have improved rubber grommets which actually feel more secure and better quality than on previous models from Cooler Master; any improvement is a step in the right direction!
The CM690 III also has ample air cooling support:
Top: 120/140mm fan x 2, or 200mm fan x 1 (optional)
Front: 200mm fan x 1 (installed), or 120/140mm fan x 2 , 180mm fan x 1(optional)
Rear: 120mm fan x 1 (installed)
Side: 120mm fan x 2 or 180/200mm fan x 1(optional)
Bottom: 120mm fan x 1 (optional)
HDD cage: 120mm fan x 1 (optional)
The CM690 III also allows you to install water cooling with plenty of options available to the enthusiast:
Top: 240mm radiator
Front: 240mm radiator
Rear: 120mm radiator
Taking a closer look at the storage enclosures, here we have the expendable and removable trays which allow you to install your selected HDD/SSDs into the case; the drives get wired up at the rear which not only looks neater but is much handier for cable management.
The Cooler Master CM690 III chassis features 7 x PCI expansion slots so the maximum support motherboard size is ATX; very standard with this being an ATX mid tower chassis. The blanking plates are held in place via the traditional thumb screw method; not tool-less like on some cases but still effective nevertheless.
In the top left corner we have one of the included fans (1 x 120mm) which acts as an exhaust and would also be a great place to place one of those good quality AIO 120mm CPU coolers. In the top there is also support for those wishing to place a 240mm radiator up top; the top panel does come off via a thumb screw which offers complete access.
As previously mentioned, the CM690 III comes with space for 3 x 5.25” media drives or of course 5.25” bay reservoirs for those water cooling nuts among us; the bays feature tool-less mechanisms which is nice to see!
To add to the level of quality, Cooler Master have implemented 4 x rubber stand-offs for your chosen power supply to sit on; not only does it help a little with air flow but it also stops the power supply scratching the case and visa versa.
Here we have one of the Play3r test systems installed into the CM690III which includes the Corsair H80i AIO CPU cooler, Intel Core i7 4770k processor and of course the MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC motherboard.
The CM690 III features ample room for cable management and has support for ATX and M-ATX motherboards. This particular chassis would be a good case for water cooling due to the space for a 240mm radiator in the top but you could just as easily install an AIO CPU cooler variant. Did I mention there is tons of space for that all important storage for the latest games?
Please note, no Disney characters were harmed in the building of this case!
