Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Upon first seeing the Coolermaster ATCS 840 in our offices, expectations have been high, the design and attention to detail has apparently been a prime consideration of the designers and engineering process. Internally we are pleased to report that the product is just as impressive and the performance testing verifies the cooling prowess.
Build quality is top notch, all the screw holes line up perfectly and nothing needs forcing into position. Additionally, vibrations are down to a minimum with almost everything fitting tightly and securely. The edges of the side panel do feel quite loose but they don’t appear to cause any vibration problems with loud audio bass.
The ATCS 840 is very silent in operation, this is due to the use of three 230mm fans with one spinning at a mere 1,700 rpm. Even in a silent environment the ATCS is barely noticeable and will keep distractions to a minimum.
The chassis also exhibits some impressive thermal dynamics, with plenty of air moving through the system despite the large volume area. The 230mm intake fan is a great performer, even at a low 1,700 RPM and keeps components such as the hard drive and graphics card on the cooler end of the scale. Although the case would ultimately perform better with the top intake fans closer to the components and a smaller volume area, Coolermaster have had to sacrifice this potential performance increase to support certain functions and features such as high end water-cooling setups.
To cap things off, the case has huge potential for cable management should you wish to install a large amount of components in the system. With plenty of space behind the motherboard and numerous gaps and holes the chassis has facilities to route all necessary cables.
This chassis is due to be released next month with an expected price tag of £200 inc vat and has some competition around that pricing to fend off. Cases such as the Silverstone TJ09 and the LianLi PC V1110 will be tempting options for buyers with £200 to spare. That said, the Coolermaster ATCS 840 is a worthy successor to the famous cases of old, and the build quality and design is higher than anything we’ve seen in a while. Undoubtedly a great purchase.
