Product Listing

Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 - A Worthy Successor?

By Wong Chung Wee - 2 Nov 2012
Launch SRP: S$159

Exterior Design

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.

From the side, we can see the one of the carrying bars that tapers to the front of the chassis. The side window is tinted and below it are options to mount up to two 120mm cooling fans.

The opposite side of the CM Storm Scout 2 is kept plain.

From this perspective, we can see the pair of carrying bars that is an extension of the hard plastic top crown that is firmly screwed to the steel body cage of the chassis.

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.

The bevelled edge of the front fascia is evident when the casing is viewed from the side. It tapers away gradually, creating a pleasant visual effect.

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.

There are hexagonal air intake cut-outs at the top. Near the crown of the front fascia of the casing, we see three buttons; from the top, we've the reset, power and LED control buttons.

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).

The StormGuard security bracket looks like a unique expansion slot cover. The mounting holes are for the lock bracket for some old school lock-and-key security to keep your installed components safe. 

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.

The air intake vents have slots for housing the removable filter too.

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8.0
  • Aesthetics 8.5
  • Functionality 7.5
  • Usability 8
  • Value 7
The Good
Unique aesthetical appeal
Good build
Many cooling options
Relatively tool-free installation
The Bad
Only 1 cooling fan provided
Not enough drive adaptors for SSDs
A tad pricey
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