The Cooler Master Storm Enforcer is the latest case in the CM Storm series, and at $90 average online price it comes in at a slightly higher price point than othan mid-tower cases. Cooler Master takes the all black design to the extreme, even providing black thumb screws for the side panel and additional black screws for the motherboard and drive installation. Not a single piece of steel is left uncoated anywhere on this case. The Enforcer features a very sleek, attractive design, utilizing red LED lights for the power and disk activity indicators. A red illuminated 200mm intake fan, produces a brilliant contrasting glow that glows from behind the front panel. The Enforcer also considers cable management and modern gaming hardware in every step of the design. Lets see how well it performs
Design
Unless you dislike the color black, it's safe to say that you'll find the Cooler Master Storm Enforcer to be an attractive looking case. Although quite heavy at nearly 20 pounds, the case is solid and big enough for anything you want to throw inside. Cable Management is fully considered, and enough room exists on the back side of the panel for every cable I had, including the primary 24 pin power cable. With the rise of 2.5” SSDs, the Enforcer includes provisions for mounting up to four without any additional adapters. Even black 5.25” to 3.5” adapter rails are included in the event you wish to mount an external 3.5” drive. All four 5.25” drive bays and 6 internal 3.5” drive bays feature 100% tool free installation. It also features an accessible back plate for the CPU heat sink.
The Enforcer includes a 120mm rear exhaust and a filtered 200mm front intake fan. The bottom features a filtered vented floor below the power supply to accommodate units that depend on an intake at this location. Rubber cushions are also present on the floor for additional support and vibration absorption from the power supply. The 200mm front intake is the only intake available on this model, however it does seem to provide plenty of ventilation. In addition, the case is tall enough that even with my enormous Noctua NH-14 CPU cooler, I could still mount an additional top exhaust fan.
There are no punched metal tabs that need to be broken free, which I really appreciate. The rear slot covers are reusable, and the front bay covers are simple finger clips, although they do clip from the back side. The front door feels sturdy, and enough room is maintained behind the door for my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 panel to fit. This is a problem I've encountered with other case doors, as the control knobs require about a half inch of clearance. The door is secured by small magnets, so you'll want to avoid rubbing your collection of floppy disks against the edge.
The case also features Storm Guard, which is an expansion slot panel through which you can route up to 3 USB cables. When combined with the side panel lock (lock not included, but the buckle is), this makes your expensive gaming mouse and joystick impossible to steal at a LAN party without stealing the entire case, which is much harder for a would-be thief to hide.
Front
Accessories
Features and Specifications
Tool free drive installation
Cable management.
Reinforced front door
Supports rear internal 120mm water cooling radiator
Removable & Rotatable HDD cage for convenient installation
Support extra long high-end graphics cards including ATI Radeon HD 5970
Storm Guard - security system for safeguarding your gaming peripherals
Removable, washable dust filters.
Accessible CPU backplate
Material: Steel, ABS Plastic
Color: Black
Dimensions: 9 ”W x 19 ”H x 20.6”D
Weight 19.5 lb
Motherboard: ATX / Micro-ATX
5.25” Bays: 4 External
3.5” Bays : 6 Internal, 1 External (converted from 5.25”)
Maximum Compatibility VGA Card Length: 12.4 inches CPU Cooler Height: 6.41 inches
Door opened
Overhead view
Installation
As with other cases, the first thing to do with the install is to mount the motherboard standoffs. This was pain free, especially since Cooler Master included a special phillips adapter that fits the hex pattern perfectly and lets you drive them in with a screw driver. Just remember to remove the adapter after the last one is in, or you'll wonder why your motherboard won't lay level!
After getting the motherboard installed, the rest wasn't as fast as other cases I've used. However, I will happily admit that this was due entirely to the cable management options that exist. Since the case offered this ability, I carefully planned every cable run, keeping as much as possible behind the panel. I spent probably about an hour, maybe a little more, ensuring the case was as clean as I could make it. Although I've had cases that included zip ties in the hardware, the Enforcer features several raised loops on the tray to use as tie off points.
I was happy to find that every 5.25” and 3.5” bay had the necessary tool free installation hardware. I've used rails before, but they still require tools to attach to the drive. Cooler Master's rails simply feature pins that slide into the screw holes on the drive. The installation feels quite secure once complete, and I must say I appreciate Cooler Master's attention to detail with design. Although I have no 2.5” drives, I did find the 2.5” mounting bracket to serve double purpose as a place to tuck the unused and non-removable power cable on my power supply. Alternatively it could have been tucked away behind the motherboard tray.
