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Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 - Greater than the Sum of its Parts

By Wong Chung Wee - 23 Jan 2014
Launch SRP: S$269

Design, Features, Installation and Conclusion (HAF Stacker 935)

Stack Them Up for HAF Stacker 935

In our final page of assessment, we''ll look at a typical HAF Stacker 935 user and how he or she might segregate their components across. To construct the HAF Stacker 935, we had to slide the HAF 915 unit onto the top of the HAF 925 mid-tower chassis. The HAF 915 slides in from the rear, and it is secured with four mounting screws from the side. The HAF Stacker 935 is essentially a mid-tower 925, with an expanded loft in the form of the HAF 915R.

The HAF 915R slides easily into its place atop of the HAF 925.

This is one of the four mounting screws that secures the HAF 915R atop the HAF 925.

 

Installation

Next we proceeded with the installation of our components. We decided to make the top part of the HAF Stacker 935, a repository for storage drives. Since hard drives heat up quickly when the system is running, it makes sense to keep them separated at the top, away from the rest of the PC components.

The HAF 915R becomes the exclusive storage space for our storage drives and optical drive.

To facilitate this, we removed the pair of 3.5-inch HDD enclosures from the HAF 925 so that there is unobstructed airflow towards the rear of the chassis. It also creates more space to accommodate extra large graphics cards with large custom coolers. We placed one of them at the top half (the HAF 915 unit) so that it can hold a total of six storage drives.

The HDD cages were removed to create a clear passage for unobstructed airflow towards the rear of the chassis.

With the HDD enclosures removed, another advantage is more room for long graphics cards with oversized custom cooling systems.

Besides the storage drives, the rest of the PC components were installed in the mid-tower portion of the Stacker. Since the storage drives were at the top, note that the SATA power and data cables had to be stretched and routed accordingly. Cooler Master has provided a SATA power connector extender to reach the SATA power connectors from the bottom-mounted PSU. This can help you route your SATA power cables behind the motherboard tray to reach the top mounted 'storage unit'. SATA data cables are however not long enough to be routed at the back, but they are are slim enough that you can still run them across the case within the main compartment and not mess up the air flow.

The provided SATA power extender cable has a length of 115cm, long enough to reach the top-mounted HDDs.

The rear of the motherboard plate of the HAF Stacker 935.

If for some reason, a top mounted 'storage unit' isn't feasible, you can easily consider a bottom-mounted placement. That way, most of the cabled will surely be within short reach between the main mid-tower unit's power supply and SATA connectors on the motherboard.

Affixing the side and front panels to complete our installation exercise, we found the HAF Stacker 935 standing at a height of 745mm, which is even taller than the NZXT Phantom. The latter stands at 627mm and is one of the tallest casings that we have reviewed recently. Of course, seeing that the HAF Stacker is more like two case units sold as one, it's height is inevitable.

Its the synergy of its components that brings out the unique modular feature of the Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935.

However, this isn't the limit for the HAF Stacker 935. Since it is compatible with the HAF 915R or HAF 915F, an additional mini-ITX unit can be added to the base of the HAF Stacker 935 for housing more components, like the radiators of the liquid cooling kits. Thus, the maximum conceivable height of the Stacker 935 can be boosted by an additional 248mm to 993mm! If the user needs to mount more than two HAF 915 components, which this modular system can accommodate, we can't quite imagine what the additional space might be used for. Perhaps a tool box storage disguised inside a mini-ITX modular unit or a unit to hold spare parts? The sky's the limit it seems.

Another observation made is the possibility of housing two separate PC systems in a single HAF Stacker 935. The HAF 915R will house a mini-ITX system; while the mid-tower 925 houses another. And they can co-exist in the HAF Stacker 935. A possible scenario would be the top mini-ITX system functioning as a HTPC, and the mid-tower system taking the role of a gaming PC. This will however require some case modding know-how, unless Cooler Master can retail the I/O module separately which would solve all the trouble.

 

Conclusion: A Towering Hunk

The Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 has a suggested retail price of S$269, but it can easily be found from as low as S$238, which is slightly lower than those ultra-sized full tower casings like the NZXT Phantom and the NZXT Switch 810 Special Edition The latter chassis cost almost S$300 apiece. Hence, the HAF Stacker 935 is attractively priced. As a whole, it allows the system builder to put together a full tower system with sufficient space for large graphics cards and CPU coolers. On top of that, the case is well-ventilated, with many options for both air and liquid cooling.

However, one of its drawbacks is its weight that tips the scales at 15.6kg, even when it is empty. Hence, with our installed components, we estimated its entire weight to be approximately an unyielding 20kg! Therefore, it would be good if Cooler Master had included casing feet with caster rollers that can assist the rig's ease of mobility and handling.

On the other hand, its greatest advantage is its modular nature. Users can choose to grow into the full size and capabilities of the HAF Stacker 935 gradually with its flexible usage of either the mini-ITX HAF 915 or mid-tower HAF 925 or even both (with modifications). Advanced enthusiasts can immediately take full advantage of the HAF Stacker 935's modular nature and even expand upon it endlessly with multiple HAF 915 case add-on units.

For builders who want to start small, but have grand plans for later, they can consider purchasing a HAF 915 mini-ITX chassis for S$119. Like the HAF Stacker 935, the HAF 915 supports modular stacking, and it can be expanded by simply adding one or more HAF 915 chassis units. To walk the middle path, it would be ideal if Cooler Master can make the HAF 925 mid-tower available as a standalone component. It is a well-ventilated case with many options for air and liquid cooling. If the owner decides to invest in a system upgrade, the HAF 925 can be quickly transformed into a HAF Stacker 935, with the addition of a HAF 915 unit.

In conclusion, we find the HAF Stacker 935 a feasible solution for system builders who enjoy its modular feature, regardless of its bulk or heft. It's the very strength of this chassis that makes the HAF Stacker 935 greater than the sum of its parts. For other builders who are set on their computing requirements, you can opt for a more compact non-expandable mini-ITX chassis like the recently launched Corsair Obsidian Series 250D for small form factor computing. Else they could settle for the aforementioned ultra casings along with the Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 to build full tower systems right out of the box.

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8.5
  • Aesthetics 8
  • Functionality 8.5
  • Usability 8.5
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Unique modular structure
Easy to stack
Tinted case window
Fairly priced for a full tower system
The Bad
Very Heavy
Drive adapters that fit 5.25-inch bays should be provided
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