CoolerMaster HAF XB in 2022 - Opinions Please

[GDI Lord]

Hello

Could anyone help me with their experience or opinions on a computer case please? I have the opportunity to replace my faithful & (kinda) quiet Corsair Carbide 100R Silent Edition (which I keep on its side anyway to prevent GPU sag) with a used CoolerMaster HAF XB for the price of roughly USD50. I've been struggling to find ANYTHING reasonably priced that is like an old "desktop" style case that has space for an optical drive and can accommodate a modern vertical CPU cooler. This case design is from basically ten years ago though.

Current hardware: i7-6700 and RX470 with 2x SSDs and 1x 3.5" HDD.
Planned future hardware purchases: Intel 12th/13th gen i7 with appropriate air cooler, plus Intel GPU. I might pick up my friend's Ventus X2 3060 Ti since he's emigrating soon, I'm not sure.

Any comments please?

Thank you
GDI Lord

 

[BlackDragon1971]

I've always wanted to try these cases myself for a Home Theatre build. The price is good... following to hear folks thoughts.

 

[GDI Lord]

OK, so initial impressions were good. I was schneid the rear 120mm fan, but I got a DVD burner, so the deal was overall pretty good. Plus I have plenty of 120mm fans. Plus the price went down to roughly USD40.

I transplanted from my Carbide 100R Silent very easily. Except it wasn't. The motherboard screws were too big for the copper standoffs on the XB, so I moved all of them across from the 100R. I'm impressed with the thoughtful labelling of the motherboard tray in the XB - and it being removable was _so good_!!

The case is an absolute pleasure to build in. Thoughtful additions like a space between the motherboard tray and the lower component boxes like the spaces for the CD drives for the cables are great. My SATA power cables felt a bit short, but that was the same in the 100R. (I'm now running 2x SATA SSDs, 1x 3.5" HDD and 2x CD drives.)

I transplanted the fan speed selector from the 100R Silent (the mesh on the side panel is PERFECT) and running the fans on the slowest setting the noise is pretty much the same.

My temps over ambient playing GTA V dropped from +46C CPU to +34C and +46C GPU to +41C.

My only concern is spilling liquid from the top of my desk. I will see about closing the top off and the adding a side intake fan directly to the GPU.

Overall, I'm very happy.

Edit: Naturally, I forgot to take photos. lol

Edit 2: And to the designers of the Lock/Open CD drive quick release mechanism, I doff my hat to you, madams and sirs, for I am still truly beaten by those clips even now, in the year of our Lord 2022. (I just secured my optical drives with screws on one side. *shrug* )

 

[magnetik]

still running a few of them. They are perfect for my use. I like the ability to treat it like a bench case. Easy to work in and keeps MB uptop cleanly away from wiring/heat with PS below. for $50 it'd be a no brainer. You can put a pretty chunky aircooler but I use a AIO.

 

[Nobu]

It's yuge, a bit picky if you want a 280 radiator, but otherwise it's a great case. Bit of a pita if you want to adjust cables without removing the MB tray, but I guess they assumed you'd do just that if you wanted to change anything.

 

[JSHamlet234]

I have three of these going right now. One X99 with custom water and two Ryzens, a 1700X and a 5800X with 280mm AIOs. They're very solidly built and probably one of the best cases (if not the best) you can still easily find if you're running a air-cooled GPU because of the 200mm fan mount.

 

[kirbyrj]

I mean if it still works, why bother changing it? I've spent way more money than I've had to just to change the look of my PC case while not gaining anything significant though, so I guess I understand the need to upgrade.

 

[GDI Lord]

View attachment 466027

Thanks man! That looks great!

What radiators are you using, and which AIO are you using? A slim EKWB 240 plus a thick 60mm 120 XE in a push-pull config at the back immediately popped into my head as a good combination.

 

[JSHamlet234]

Thanks man! That looks great!

What radiators are you using, and which AIO are you using? A slim EKWB 240 plus a thick 60mm 120 XE in a push-pull config at the back immediately popped into my head as a good combination.

It's a 280mm Koolance HX-CU1402V with push/pull fans and a 120mm Bykski CR-RD120TR-TK-V2. The only problem with going thicker than 40mm (or going push/pull) on the 120mm radiator is that it won't clear the 200mm fan at the top. That 200mm fan does wonders for VRM, DRAM, and GPU temps. The AIOs I've used are EVGA CLC 280s. If you go with a 280mm radiator in front, I recommend cutting away the sheet metal for the 120mm fan mounts, or you aren't going to get much more surface area than you'd get from a 240.

 

[lopoetve]

I've always wanted to try these cases myself for a Home Theatre build. The price is good... following to hear folks thoughts.

I have 2 currently and had a third that I sold with system in it. I LOVE the things - but realize that they are VERY big and chonky. They're not pretty - just stupidly effective at what they do. One of mine has a Xeon in it, the other is a 1950X - lots and lots of clearance for things in these too.

 

[magnetik]

think the best "feature" is the MB orientation. You can stick in the largest cards and never have to worry about sag.

 

[GDI Lord]

So I added a 200mm fan to the top blowing down, and WOW the difference is massive. The temperatures went down by roughly 10C on top of the previous numbers. And everything is still pretty silent, too!

That 200mm fan does wonders for VRM, DRAM, and GPU temps.

Aboslutey!

think the best "feature" is the MB orientation. You can stick in the largest cards and never have to worry about sag.

Yep, that's why I wanted it.

I've always wanted to try these cases myself for a Home Theatre build. The price is good... following to hear folks thoughts.

I can recommend! It's a chonky case, though.

 

[Zepher]

I had a pair of them a number of years ago. I had the original as well as the EVO model which was identical externally, but had some changes in the bottom chamber that I can't recall at the moment.
My main desktop and my HTPC as I was setting it up,

 

[Zepher]

I personally moved away from an HTPC since I never did PC stuff on it, just watched media. I went to an Apple TV with a PC running Plex.
I recently moved my Plex server into my 20 year old YY-0221 case.