Coolermaster ATC-110-SX1 Review

This case is supposed to be the rolls royce of computer cases, top of the Coolermaster tower range. Its one of the few Coolermasters with a door covering the drive bays, this means that your horrible beige drives can be hidden from view. Lets have a look at what its like and how it compares to the competition.

What are the specs of the case?

• 5.25" Bays (Exposed) x 4
• 3.5" Bays (Exposed) x 2
• 3.5" Bays (Shadow) x 5
• Form Factor: - ATX Mid-Tower
• Material: - Aluminium 
• Case :7.8 Kg
• Dimensions 535 mm(L) x196 mm(W) x 484 mm(H)
• Dual 80 mm x 8 mm x 25 mm Fan attached front panel.(in)
• One 80 mm x 80 mm x 25 mm Fan attached back panel.(out)
• One 80 mm x 80 mm x 25 mm Fan attached top panel.(out)
• Removable Motherboard tray
• Blue LED's

Lets have a look at the case

Looking at the pictures of this case don't do it justice in the flesh it is ten times better. Personally its the best looking of all the Coolermasters. The front is very similar to both the ATCS 200 and 201 with the dual fan grill and the switch gear layout. The quality of the front panel is far better. In sections it is 1cm thick aluminium , this is very very solid chunks of aluminum make no mistake. The case aims to be discrete, it has a simple door with a small Coolermaster logo on. There are very few other things on the front to spoil the clean lines of the front.

Open the door

Opening the door of the case is a joy, its held shut by two small magnets which hold it firmly in place. The hinge is very smooth, with no noise , it holds the door open at the position you wish as well. Revealing the drive bays, presents you with the normal Coolermaster aluminium bay plates. Note as usual the top one is not supplied with the case, this is the normal Coolermaster practice but its still annoying, particularly on a case of this cost. There are 4 x 5.25 bays, this is the right amount for nearly everyone. The ATCS 101 has one more but 4 is fine for me. There are also 2x 3 1/4 bays. I don't have a floppy disk personally as I think it should be confined to the history books, but there are still those of you requiring one. The only problem I can see with door is that clearance is going to be tight, normal drives will fit fine, those of you with a SBlive platinum or similar will run into problems as there simply isnt the room Rheobus's and baybus's will also be a no no unless they are recess.

Getting inside

As with all coolermaster cases this is a breeze to get into. The sidepanels are held in by 2 thumbscrews each. These are easy to remove but the sidepanel is sometimes difficult to grip , the sidepanels on the new ATCS 200 with the handles would be preferred but I can't say I ran into any problems. As with all the coolermaster cases the motherboard tray is removable , this again is held in with thumbscrews so its really simple to remove. The ATCS 110's motherboard tray is much more substantional than other Coolermasters , there is much more support which is a good thing to see in the days of heavy heatsinks and dual CPU motherboards. The tray itself is huge with lots of room for large motherboards.

PSU Fitting

PSU fitment has been address more than adequately. Simply you insert the PSU from inside the case then screw it in place. This is the easiest method by far. There is no messing around removing plates or top panels. There is plenty of clearance inside between the drives as well. So changing PSU's is also easy. There is a lots of space at the bottom of the PSU for the bottom fan. Nothing obstructs the airflow or these types of PSU which is good news.

Switch Gear

Its nice to see that Coolermaster haven't scrimped on the switch gear. The buttons are both aluminium. They have a bright silver border with a brush finish in the centre. They look very nice indeed. Also its great to see that Coolermaster listen to the modding community and have used blue LED's for both hard disc and power. The blue light looks extra nice on the ATCS 110 , as it flows down the channel above and below for extra effect. A nice touch is that the cables are tied together with a little clip that can be stuck to the case just to keep everything nice and neat. All cases should have one as is always causes a mess having lots of spare switch cabling.

Strengthening and Cooling

Coolermaster have gone out of their way to make this case very structurally strong. It has extra strengthening on the motherboard tray. It also an extra support strut down the right hand side to make it even stronger. The left hand side is not left either with extra width on the corners. This still leaves the possibility for modders to add a window to the left hand side without it being blocked. The cooling as with all Coolermaster's is excellent, there are four fans (All ys-techs) in the same layout as normal. Two at the front blow in then one on the top and one at the back extract the heat. The overall cooling is slightly better than the Coolermaster ATCS 200 on my setup. I think due in part to the slightly larger size.

Pro's

• Look's
• Build Quality second to none
• Door to hide drives
• Blue LED's
• Very light
• Cooling
• Removable drive tray
• Thumbscrews all round
• Space for drives

Con's

• Price
• Top bay plate missing.
• Clearance for drives maybe an issue for some

Conclusion

This is the best case I have ever owned, and I've owned a fair few. If you can afford this case don't hesitate its the king of cases. The only serious critasism I can come up with is its price, its not a case for all. Its more sturdy than all the other tower Coolermasters. Dual cpu motherboards will fit fine and the cooling is excellent.