Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 - A Worthy Successor?

Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2: A Worthy Successor?

Cooler Master is a company that needs no introduction by now. Its plethora of products run the gamut from PSUs with 80 Plus Platinum certifications to laptop devices and tablet accessories. Despite the risk of spreading itself too thin, the company, in our opinion, still manages to churn PC chassis of sound build with features that are able to meet the requirements of their targeted market segment. From the Cooler Master Silencio 550 to the Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus recently and many more from our previous encounters, our experience with their casings underscore the company's trait to improve and not rest on their laurels of success as these chassis proved to be palpable attempts by Cooler Master to improve upon their predecessors.

In the same line, the CM Storm Scout 2 is touted as the successor to the CM Storm Scout, which we did not have the opportunity to review earlier. Both mid-tower casings hail from the CM Storm series that is targeted squarely at the PC gaming community. Compared to the earlier Scout model, the newer CM Scout 2 is available in two colors; midnight black and gunmetal gray and we have the latter in our labs. Read on to uncover more differences that will distinguish the CM Storm Scout 2 as we ascertain its worth as a successor.

Exterior Design

One of the striking features of this casing is its carrying handles. They comprise a dark rubberized hand grip with a pair of bars that extend from the top of the casing and taper off near its front to give the CM Storm Scout 2 that peculiar stoop. According to its specifications, the bars are made of hard plastic and they felt sturdy enough to withstand the heft of the CM Storm Scout 2 that has an empty weight of 8.3kg. The other primary material used in casing's construction is steel, and for this particular model, the gunmetal gray paint job felt smooth-to-touch as though it had been electroplated onto the steel parts of the CM Storm Scout 2. One of its side panels feature two options for a pair of 120mm cooling fans while a tinted side window seats above them. The panel also sports a nice embossed feature that breaks the usual monotony of chassis side panels, giving the CM Storm Scout 2 a somewhat edgier look without going against the grain of its clean and pristine appearance. The other side of the chassis sports a similar design sans the window and mounting options for fans.

The front cover of the casing appears rounded at the top with a straight edge for its bottom; however, when we viewed it from its side, the edge of the front fascia appears to jut out in a gradual taper while the dark wire mesh seats in the recess of the front cover. Its design is extremely interesting with a strong muted visual appeal. The lower half of the dark wire mesh covers numerous hexagonal cut-outs for front air intake. There are three 5.25-inch expansion-slot covers that also feature the same wire mesh; however, the mesh covers are not removable as they are fused to the slot covers.

Moving to the top of the CM Storm Scout 2, we have a better view of the single rubberized hand grip that connects the pair of grasping bars. The air intake cut-outs cover almost two thirds of the casing's top, but these allow installation of dual cooling fans. Accessibility to mount these fans or performan mainternance is only possible from within the interior as we'll show on the following page. Near to the front edge of the chassis is crown that houses three control buttons. Note the lack of an accessory tray that's a common trait for most gamer-class chassis.

The crown housing the three buttons extend beyond its beveled edge to the cleverly hidden I/O ports that are covered behind a sliding panel. There is a pair of USB 3.0 and pair of USB 2.0 ports. The mic and headphone jacks are to the left of the USB 3.0 ports. As you can notice, the three control buttons rest on a higher plane than the I/O panel.

The rear of the CM Storm Scout 2 is rather standard fare, save for two interesting features. One of them is StormGuard security bracket that allows you to secure the wires of attached devices to the chassis for cable management. There are also mounting holes for a chassis lock buckle so that you can keep your installed components inside the CM Storm 2 under lock-and-key. (Even so, we figure that the casing is reasonably light enough that someone determined enough might just grab the entire case if you leave it unattended at an insecure but sizable LAN party where there might be strangers walking about).

We tipped the chassis over to have a look at its design. There is a removable filter for the air intake vents of the PSU and mounting options for a 120mm cooling fan. More details of the interior build of the CM Storm Scout 2 in the next page, so hit the link to continue reading.

Interior Design (Part I)

We slid off both the side panels to reveal a compartmentalized interior; the drive bays on one side while the other can accommodate motherboards of mATX and ATX form factors. According to its official specifications, the Scout 2 can accommodate graphics cards of lengths up to 399mm (15.7 inches), this is possible if we remove one of the side panels of the 3.5-inch HDD cage. With this side panel in place, the longest card that can fit is of 287mm or 11.3 inches in length - this is probably just barely enough to fit most of the commonly sold graphics cards, but some extreme cards would have difficulty to fit unless the drive cage panel is removed. Over on the other side, we also noticed the rectangular cut-out at the motherboard panel to accommodate CPU cooling solutions that may require access to the backplates of the boards. There are also a number of rubber grommets to cover the cut-outs for cables on the motherboard panel. And while we're discussing on the internal components from the following photo, you might want to note that there is a bundled rear 120mm cooling fan with red LED for added visual effect.

Referring to the below photo, we can see neatly bundled cables trailing from the front controls. The grommets function more to cover the cable cut-outs than to help bunch the cables together because they are thin and flaccid. We also noted that the thumbscrews that held the slot covers and StormGuard in place needed a screwdriver from them to be removed with ease. Fortunately, the installation of the drives at the 5.25- and 3.5-inch drive bays are tool-free. A 5.25-inch drive is held in place by a latch that can move into a locked position. Such a convenient mechanism can even be found in the entry-level Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus chassis. The 3.5-inch drive is mounted in place with HDD rails that we shall see in detail on the next page. As for smaller drives like 2.5 and 1.8-inch ones, there is only one drive adapter provided. Given that SSDs are gaining popularity these days, having only one drive adapter provided in a gamer-oriented casing isn't enough; at least two should have been provided considering future needs.

We proceeded to remove the front cover in order to study the front cooling options; we pinched the pair of bottom round clips and removed the cover with a quick jerk at its bottom finger grip. There are also top cooling options available as we view the top of the chassis from its interior.

Interior Design (Part II)

The motherboard standoffs were not pre-installed, but we are pleasantly surprised to find that Cooler Master had included a standoff socket for making easy work of screwing the standoffs to the chassis. There are also etched instructions on the metal panel to inform us which standoff mounting holes that are in used for boards of different form factors. The socket can be used with bare hands or with a Philips screwdriver.

We proceeded to install our standard ATX motherboard, our standard sized 10.5-inch graphics card and a PS2 ATX PSU and found the whole experience went without a hitch. We had the option to mount a bottom 120mm cooling fan in front of the PSU for additional cooling. At this point of time, we recalled our recent experience with the Enermax Ostrog as it also had the same option; however, due to the facing of its bottom drive bay, it was extremely difficult to accommodate the bottom cooling fan. Fortunately, we are glad to say that Cooler Master did their homework and made the orientation of the 3.5-inch drive bays such that drive installation will not be hindered by the power cables from the PSU or the installed bottom cooling fan.

The installation of 3.5-inch hard drives involved snapping on a pair of HDD rails and guiding the drive with the rails into its bay. Take note that there are no removable drive cages for the Scout; instead, there is a removable panel from the middle 3.5-inch drive cage. We had to remove four M3 screws before we can take it away from the cage.

Conclusion

Although we didn't have any recent hands-on experience with its predecessor, we can say that there have been some improvements made to the Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 that would be apparent. The case has been updated to support USB 3.0 and has been made about 700 grams lighter. The Scout 2 comes in two colors; midnight black and gunmetal grey. The unit we reviewed was of the latter color and we were rather impressed by this unique color that made the Scout 2 stand out in terms of visual appeal. Besides its color, Cooler Master has also taken pains to update the whole look-and-feel of the casing. With its re-designed front cover that features beveled and chamfered edges to give Scout 2 an updated facade.

Its embossed side panels break the usual stoic side profile of most such mid-tower casings, while its tinted side window gave the Scout 2 a sense of mystery about it. There are also plenty of cooling options but we felt that there could be more than just the one bundled fan out of the box. We are also surprised by the lone bundled 3.5-inch drive adapter for 2.5-inch and smaller storage drives. With SSDs becoming more budget-friendly, it is highly likely the lone bundled adapter may not be sufficient to meet the storage needs of current rig builders.

The CM Storm Scout 2 is available from local retailers for S$159, which makes it slightly expensive considering there are cheaper mid-tower alternatives like the Cooler Master Silencio 550 that costs slightly over a hundred dollars at S$115 or the Thermaltake Armor A60 that will set you back by S$129. With all things constant, it means that consumers are paying a premium for the gunmetal gray color option, updated facade with embossed side panels and its gaming street cred, which will definitely appeal to its target group of buyers. Hardcore LAN gamer who would like to have a chassis that is easy to lug around (though not light enough as it's not made from aluminum) and aesthetically unique will easily succumb to the Scout 2, while others who don't require such a design would be better served by other casing models that are better priced for its features.

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