Cooler Master HAF XB Review

[@666PANDEMONIUM]

Still the best horizontal case on the market.

[@syncmonism]

7 years later, this still looks like one of the best cases for enthusiasts looking for a good value. I still don't quite understand why cube cases aren't more popular than tower cases, though tower cases are starting to look more and more like cube cases, often putting the power supply and storage mounting area in a second section underneath the motherboard, and looking more "cube like" in their overall shape as a result. It's one of the best reviewed cases on Newegg, with an average rating of about 5/5

[@dayday1042]

The Tower case is just too tall and very hard to get good air flow. This case is a beast!

[@meisterpatch849]

I have the HAF XB EVO (RC-902XB-KKN2) which is a slight variation of this case. Have had it for ~7 years. I have performed many, many builds. The HAF XB is the best case I've ever had. I have no idea why CoolerMaster ever discontinued it; the case was wildly popular in its day. The only problem -- and it isn't even much of a problem -- is that the top panel (I have the mesh version) won't actually support installation of a 200mm fan as advertised because a) the screw hole mounting configuration doesn't match anything on the market, and b) an internally mounted fan would not permit enough clearance for any standard sized GPU with attached power cables. Notwithstanding, this is the best case I've ever used. CoolerMaster made a bad decision when it took this out of its product line.

[@freddielettegaard9308]

MeisterPatch Damn, I pray to the pc gods that I can get mine to fit. I’m waiting for my HAF XB to arrive and I’ve also ordered a 200mm megaflow fan (as it seems to be one of, if not THE only fan to fit that top section.. this is the first time I see anyone mentioning the gpu cable clearance as a thing to be aware of.. Fingers crossed 😅😅

[@meisterpatch849]

@@freddielettegaard9308 Good luck, Freddie. Fingers crossed for you. Please let us know if it fits, and provide a link if you make a video. Thanks!

[@gridlock9655]

@@meisterpatch849 A) None issue, there are 200mm fans that fit this profile (I have one installed), just gotta look for them, they normally have 2 sets of mounting brackets. Square configuration and rectangular configuration. B) Internally mounted fan provides enough space for GPU and GPU power cable. If your GPU really is that tall, get a 180 degree adapter for the power connection. The only issue with having a 200mm fan installed on the top cover is that it really limits the size of your air cooler. Any high profile air cooler will not fit with a fan attached. Also recommend using rubber screws for 200mm fan. Don't use regular metal ones because they will shred the grommets. Worst case scenario use cable management zip ties (the really thin ones) work great and literally invisible. If this ever gets a 202X version , I would like to see more ventilation up front given that the optical drive slots are basically useless nowadays, and better utilization of the space on the bottom seccion, tons of dead space. Especially by the 2.5" mounting area. Still the best case I've owned till now. Super easy to work with and the set up is quite simple, you do have to start your build with the PSU, cable management and placement given that once the motherboard is in it's pretty tough to reach anything in the bottom section.

[@Shmoozo55]

I recently picked one of these up. The current version of this case seems to come with a dual 3.5" drive cage in the basement level where the 2.5" drive cage was in the version reviewed here. Needless to say, this does permit both 3.5" and 2.5" drives to be installed provided you are willing to use mounting adapters for the 2.5" drives. In my build I swapped in some Arctic 140mm P14 PWM PST CO fans, which include dual ball bearings. These are relatively quiet and move a lot of air. I added a 120mm version of the same fan to the rear of the case behind the CPU cooler, two of the 80mm versions of those fans to the basement behind the drive cage (in exhaust configuration) and one of the new Noctua NF-A20 PWM Chromax Black Swap fans to the top panel. All these fans combine to provide tremendous air flow which should prevent any heat buildup inside the case. I should note here that installing the top fan significantly reduced the total height available for a CPU tower cooler, so I had to look at a lot of options before I found that an Arctic Freezer Xtreme Rev. 2 which is a 120mm dual tower air cooler would fit with a bit of room to spare. I didn't see any other 120mm class tower coolers that would fit, but fortunately the Arctic Freezer Xtreme Rev. 2 is a very capable cooler that seems to be more than sufficient for the Ryzen 7 1700 CPU I am using. I would add here that the Arctic Freezer Xtreme Rev. 2 is a surprisingly affordable cooler, currently priced around $38 on Amazon. Highly recommended. If, like me, you prefer airflow cases with a plain industrial esthetic over tempered glass cases with internal RGB 70's disco lighting, and if you can live with the unusual form factor of this case then this could be an option for you. It seems to still be in production after all these years, which I think it remarkable given its age, and while its design esthetic will not be for everybody, it does work remarkably well for a performance PC build. Needless to say, by the way, the issue with the top fan vs tower cooler height clearance vanishes if you build a water cooled system, and it looks to me as though both 240mm and 280mm A.I.O. coolers ought to fit in easily provided you mount your radiator fans outside the main chassis and just behind the removable front cover and the radiator on the inside of the chassis so that the fans and radiator sandwich the front chassis panel. And if you are willing to forego the top fan (a very viable option given the air flow in this case), then a truly huge tower cooler will, of course, fit with room to spare.

[@johnfirst3986]

can you make videos of your set up thanks

[@EmergencyChannel]

Still using mine in 2020, just put a b450 and Ryzen 3700x in recently!

[@psun256]

Same!

[@ScorpioBuu]

Literally about to do this now

[@flashcloud666]

Still using mine too. The case is just too perfect.

[@ScorpioBuu]

@@flashcloud666 just finished my build last Sunday just gotta get my hands on a gpu now using a old 1060 6gb rn

[@BenDover-qi3qm]

I'm surprised you neglected to mention the lack of sag with your 570 in this horizontal configuration.

[@RangerS09]

Have had this case for over 7 years. I'm not replacing it. It is just to well designed. Easy to upgrade around.

[@sanzieu]

I just ordered this case from Amazon. I have an old HAF case from 2007 that is currently occupied with an Intel i9-9900K on a ASUS Prime Z390A motherboard. 32 GB of 3200 RAM, with Win 11Pro on a Samsung 500MB M.2 SSD. I plan on using this case for my next build. Been at this hobby for over 40 years now and I still get hyped for a new build.

[@Gohrek]

God I'm such a big fan of cubic cases. I just wish that we get to see a similar shape design from others, like Corsair or Fractal Design.

[@Xerai]

Me too! I'm looking for a new case and these cubes have caught my eye, there are only a few to chose from though. On both this and the Air 540 it's very easy to see simple ways they could have improved it a lot. Makes me want to buy one and start modding it, but with my skills it will likely turn out a mess. Why couldn't the cage in the lower section support 3.5 for example, would have been a great location right next to the fan intakes to cool them. 2.5 cages are so small they could have fitted them in elsewhere. The Lian Li PC-V358 makes better use of its space, but it wont fit full atx

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

I'm still using the Corsair Carbide Air 240 in 2021 with a Ryzen 5950X and an RTX 3080 Ti FE card. Amazing, compact, great-looking cube case. It's a shame Corsair hasn't revised it over the years to allow for better component clearances (taller graphics cards, for instance), but as long as you know the limits, it's still possible to run a high-end system with it.

[@sherlockhomie6062]

I purchased this wonderful cube in 2020 to meet the airflow requirements of my new build. Other than the slight bulkiness of the chassis it's a superb case for ease of assembly, durability, and of course the amazing airflow characteristics.

[@vsar1938]

7 years later and I am seriously considering this case for my next build. I had the full size HAF tower.

[@daanyalhassan2171]

Did you get it in the end. And how do you rate it?

[@vulcan4d]

They don't make them like they used to. One of the best cases ever made for sure.

[@boostergold9160]

I have two of these cases... they are great! I love the cube design... "Resistance is futile! You will all be assimilated!" LOL

[@MickehPuppeh]

"It is exactly what we HAF here." I see what you did there

[@WillenyAlmeida]

Wow Cara o melhor review que já vi!!! :) Tudo bem explicado nos minimos detalhes parabéns amigo! :) BRASIL - CRATO - CEARÁ

[@bravomanel]

Brabo, Cabo Frio - RJ

[@Homenzinho_torto]

$99 dolares anos atras, 1500 hj

[@Byrkster]

Loved this case, still have it! Many test build were born using this case.

[@josiahcochran8290]

Still best cube case on the market, very future proof, even in august of 2020

[@sellera]

I've just bought the HAF XB EVO last may (2020) and I'm loving it, pretty sure it'll be the last case I'll ever need!

[@unspokendesign]

Best reviews on KZbin; short(ish) and straight to the point without fluffing about, still covering everything.

[@Ray-bo7zg]

4:48 lel no I/O shield. Ouch "clean looking build"

[@Kojiros7th]

Alot of mobo nowadays come with an I/O shield

[@Toffypops]

and you dont need one since mobos are grounded with power wires.

[@Granatenman]

Hey HardwareCanucks, i only want to let you know that i like your chanel most of the review ones. You are professional, objective and only filming the product, which helps to focus on this. Thanks for your reviews and keep going that way! (CM was not the first who are using these hdd brackets. Fujitsu Siemens did this long ago in there "businesses" desktop pcs.)

[@bloodreighn]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!!!

[@AsbestosMuffins]

makes a decent small mining box if you just want to mess around, plus has the option of passing cables through the rear for some reason, if you want to connect an ASIC to this for some reason

[@NogginNogs]

That is what is making me get this case. All the tower cases I see are starting to blend together and look the same.

[@Dimitry49]

Hey thanks for your support and pointing out about the HDD bracket. I haven't seen those before and its actually a really clever design. No more flexible brackets that may snap with time.

[@Toffypops]

another great feature is that they are stackable vertically and 2 fit under a table

[@chutneyferret3569]

RTX 3090= 13.2" long HAF GPU length compatability 12.5" I really like the look of this case and would like to see it 'full' size to fit new cards and modern cooling technology such as Noctua NH-U12A

[@Cosmopavone]

?? I easly installed a 3080 in my haf xb and there is still more room for a longer card. Evga 3090ti is 300mm , haf xb can mount 334mm long graphic cards..And i have a nh-u12a that easily fitted too.

[@blahhblah2295]

best series of cases ever. they use to sell replacement parts for like 10 years. so sad they are being discontinued. (i have the 932 advanced) LOVE THESE cases!!

[@i.constantin7855]

Very good review. I agree with Joel Klavins, the point in doing a review is to correctly describe as much as possible the reviewed item.

[@Toffypops]

you forgot to mention they are awesome because they can be tacked vertically if you have more than 1 case :D

[@RKTGX95]

i can already see a kick ass Water Cooling build in that.

[@WarriorWoz]

"Kicking cat in frustration" Love it.

[@schmagoogly]

Your reviews are absolutely stellar due to the great camera work! Keep them coming!

[@FordGTmaniac]

So... to be clear, mounting the optional 200mm fan doesn't take away from the cpu cooler height limit? Cooler Master's website didn't say that, annoying... **EDIT** Yes, it does. If you mount the optional 200mm fan, the thickness of the fan will deduct from the cpu cooler height limit. Be careful and know the measurements of your components before you build in this case!

[@HardwareCanucks]

no its actually all white - a white backdrop..doing chroma key would take WAAAAY more work and wont look as clean. All you see is shot in camera plus a little curve adjustments in post. All i have is two lights with nice soft umbrellas and this is the result! :D

[@MitchL85]

You guys should re-review this case with current standards, GPU sizes, and CPU cooler sizes. I'd like to see your opinion on how it aged. I'm still using mine but looking to upgrade internals, I don't think the 3070 will quite fit, lol.

[@RussellRobinson77]

I havnt seen many fullsize cube cases on the mainstream market besides lian li. good to see some variation

[@Dimitry49]

Well you do have enough space for a dual rad at the front, but if installing the rest of wc components at the bottom portion, it would be difficult passing all the tubing, unless you make additional cutouts.

[@DeadStawker]

I already own a gaming CM. However, I'll add this to wishlist in case I get it at a good price. It may become more suitable to me in the future. Subbed because of this review.

[@DunderHead.5000]

This case would be perfect for what I would like to do, except for a handful of things. I really like this airflow and sitting flat is how I like my PC's and this hits everything that I wanted in a PC except for - The PCB would have to go, I don't need Hotswap and it is rumored to fry storage on this box. I know they don't make them anymore but I think more case manufactures should be looking into doing this style at this price point. The last and most important complaint is that they don't make them anymore and haven't for years so, everyone of these you buy online has been returned or I'm sure most of them and with serious flaws - the bent motherboard tray. I don't have much money but I would like to piece together a nice little PC over time because I like tinkering but not at the risk of it pulling MOBO screws loose and damaging the MOBO. And it's highly likely that if I were to buy one that I would get a bent tray one because they haven't made them in years but they are still up for sale sold as 'new' but the company won't stand behind them because they have been discontinued. Which makes me think of another thing to complain about - being sold as 'new' at new price with known faulty trays is a real issue for me. Love the concept but am not buying so, I'm looking for alternatives.

[@humanitysonlyhope]

It wouldn't be too hard to mod but it seems like a huge overshight that they didn't set up the top mesh panel to support 2x120 or 140mm fans so you can put in an H100 or a small custom watercooling loop with a 240 or 280mm radiator.

[@MickehPuppeh]

Fun fact: It's actually possible. 2 dual-GPU cards are classified as Quad Crossfire. Then again, I have no idea if there are dual gpu cards that are short enough to fit in this case.

[@MrBlackCracker100]

I'm going to be giving this case a try. I had a rosewill Thor V2 for a good number of years but it suffers from dead zones in airflow like many cases. Thankfully they come with side, top, under, and front fan support in order to maximize the usage and cut some of the Dead zones out. My case is taking quite a beating over the years and it was just time for a replacement, and I was in almost complete dismay to see the computer case market flooded with such god-awful cases that are all basically clones of one another. This case has got me hopeful. Cooler Master seems to really done some nice work here. It's a nice case that looks decent, but is almost exclusively features and focuses on cooler Masters specialty of keeping your parts as cool as possible

[@MultiMetalhead86]

I love this case I have this case in my liquid cooler nvidia build.

[@duramirez]

I wish those SDD trays were removable, also the 2 frontal hotspot trays, since today we mostly use Nvme.2 those became optional parts. My case have those supported bolted in and i had to force it out to benefit from additional ventilation flow, because those sits on the front and prevent free flow from the fans :(

[@derangel9143]

Not officially, but an EATX board will fit on the tray. I've seen a picture of someone using the EVGA Z77 FTW board in the case and that's EATX.

[@Dimitry49]

I would love to see Obsidian design of this, but I'm afraid it might make the case just a dull black box. Having diff. options is what we want, so Corsair/Fractal/LianLi/NZXT get on THAT!

[@Dimitry49]

As mentioned in the review, it supports dual 140mm intake fans. So considering that, it will fit a dual 140mm rad as well, just as long as your GPU allows for additional clearance.

[@KhasnFX]

Agreed. It's best for an HTPC, rather than a conventional one.

[@hardtrance9]

Well, the only thing I believe you didn't comment as with the Corsair models (strong critics because of the "high" price) is if the power supply vent has a dust filter too? Thanks for the review! Your reviews are one of the best! Thanks!

[@V0lvet]

2:27

[@hardtrance9]

V0lvet Haha thanks!! I take back my question!

[@t77snapshot]

Exactly! and that is why I love all of HardwareCanucks case review videos.

[@christoiMc]

Wow, I'm thoroughly impressed by this one. While I don't really care much about the cube design, the direct airflow and maintained clearance is extremely impressive considering the price. +1 to Cooler Master for such a unique case. :)

[@XtianC]

nice cube design!

[@Blynd_HD]

I'm buying this for my e-atx Asus Maximus v formula, to mod this for e-atx, all you need to do is evenly electrical tape over the edge where the board hangs over and it can still fit a front rad in push pull. :)

[@a64738]

Warning !!! In spite of HAF XB case having some of the best airflow it has a major design flaw when it comes to the cooling of the hard-disks. It has very little to no airflow at the HDD bay areas and this case is know for killing hard-drives. When I took of the motherboard trey I immediately saw why. The hot-swap bay have only small air holes at the sides and not at the top plus that the hard-disks is on top of each other very close without any fans to blow air. The other hard-drive tray is a little better as it at least have mounts for two 80mm fans. Don`t even think about mounting hard-drives other than SSD in this without mounting cooling fans first, your drives WILL overheat and die slowly if you do*. Besides the major flaw with HDD cooling the HAF XB have potential to become one of the best cases there is with a little modification and this case is really easy to modify. I have removed the side panels and put 14cm fans at top there instead and 12cm fans downstairs to blow at the hard-drives (did also removed the hdd tray and mount the drives standing up at the bottom of case). I also have a 200mm fan at the top and that fan really helps get the heat from my Zotac GTX980ti AMP out of the case. Temperatures when running GTA V benhmark is 55C at the graphics card max overclocked and 38C at my i7 4790k CPU at stock speed with Schyte Ninja 3 cooler. Thees temperatures is really impressive specially for the graphics card, my GTX980ti gets a lot hotter when I run it in a open testbed. *This summer one of my passively cooled 750gb drives died at 32Celcius ambient and that one was mounted in an open case alone with no other drives near. My 3 other drives was also really hot about 50 -60 Cecius (burnt my fingers) on the outer case but they survived. I learned my lesson, conventional spinning type hard-drives need active cooling or they get really hot and die. At normal ambient room temperature of 24C my hard-drives did not get more than 42C, problems only arose when it got hot in the summer and for some reason the HDD`s got much hotter when it got a little warmer .

[@emu5581]

+Rondo Cat Did you make it your personal goal to tell everybody this because I've seen you post this on 3 different videos on this case

[@crysin3090]

+Blake Fasse Yeah I've seen it on just about every HAF XB EVO case review. Also seen it on a website.. probably not even his own. Someone is fishing for likes. A buddy of mine has built numerous computers with this case and he has never got any complaints from his customers.

[@a64738]

Crysin I love the HAF XB case but having hard-disk failures because of overheating is no joke and this case is known for braking hard-disks ... I am telling people about this because people seems to be unaware that passive cooling is not enough when ambient temperatures gets higher. Last summer I had one drive fail because of heat at only 30c ambient with the drive mounted in free air passively cooled.

[@crysin3090]

+Rondo Cat right. I understand. It just seemed a little fishy cause it was literally on every haf xb video. my bad it I came off as being rude brother!!

[@SiliconPower74]

Only installs the 2 80mm fans as air intake and problem solve. I will buy the EVO version of this case, i like so much.

[@Skott62]

For those wanting something like the MM cases but at a cheaper price. I'm not liking the 80mm fans. Adding some height for 120mm fans instead would have been preferable. As for ease of portability to go mobile? Not the case I'd want for that. Once fully loaded it can't be that light. A bit too bulky I'm thinking. I'm curious as to how the windowed side panels look.

[@WheelsOfDeath]

I'm strongly considering this case for a future build! I have another HAF case that works awesome, but it's hard to keep it all clean. That and it's HUGE! I could use a much smaller case.

[@TheHarvman313]

For those that like the HAF series cases (I have 2) this is an awesome case!!! I'd love to build a nice HTPC in this case.

[@pinkpanther9462]

This is the best review review for this case.

[@CapnGarr]

Cool case. Loving the Hardware Canucks reviews, great presentation and always cover all the details ...and you always use my aging EVGA mobo in them. :P

[@vlad_8011]

There is still no side glass panels till today. There is no competition for this case also till today.

[@Dimitry49]

I believe that cooler is 165mm, so yes, it will fit any cooler up to 170mm.

[@MrPersonbelowmesucks]

this is nice and old school computers were ıse to be like this everybody was putting their monitor on top of the case and it was really nice i might get this

[@canadianwildlifeservice8883]

Unfortunately it did not fit an XFX 6800xt so I had to return the GPU for a smaller brand. In the end it worked out great. I love not even needing a gpu support bracket, and knowing that my cpu's dual tower heatsink will make even contact with the cpu and be as sturdy as possible without bending the motherboard. This is one of the best ATX cases ever made and is far superior to tower cases in terms of airflow even in 2022.

[@MickehPuppeh]

You guys should've added in a deafening applause with fireworks in the background when you showed that the motherboard tray was removable

[@yalman32]

man i would totally buy that beast if it were out two months earlier

[@markka8284]

Bitch to clean from dust but still one hell of a case, definitely still recommend buying this if you can find it on market these days.

[@neilbertram1922]

Very nifty case .... innovative! Love the side handles.

[@Grim30011]

Awesome case. I like it!

[@Dimitry49]

:D It was strange...the first thing i thought about once taking the tray out of the case! I guess Rodney has left some kind of a mark on all of us!

[@AiRGUiTaRiST87]

This case is huge!I love it, it's very fresh.

[@chrisbullock6477]

I mainly wanted this for its low profile and keeping My graphics card better supported.

[@DieselCat18]

Like the features of this case very much. May be a bit over kill for a HTPC system though. Still if one is looking for a portable PC, this case looks to fit the bill nicely...Nice job CM and a good review HC.

[@MMOsWhitest]

This is the case ive been waiting for.

[@Dosycool1]

Extremely good review, and I loved the 3DGameMan reference. Thank you, I may just buy this case!

[@symbolsandsystems]

Glad your paying attention.

[@markdavenportjr5129]

Just ordered my Haf xb :P Arriving next Tuesday :D

[@tkg212]

Ok

[@TheKnorkey]

thanks for the review :) got this case and i am using it as a testbench .. i got the one with the window on top but .. i am not even using the window part at all as my one is open for the most of the time :) but this case is extremly easy to build in so .. to all that see this video .. and thinking of this case .. i say go for one :) this is 1 of my all time fav cases of all time

[@jimbrannan5825]

One of the best case makers there is. Too bad the company has no people or support.

[@ToastyMozart]

Fair enough, I just figured that SSD's are still a bit expensive/imperfect, and most people (Sadly including myself) still use internal 3.5" drives as an OS drive, and it would suck for someone to accidentally jimmy their C: drive out when they are working. It's not a large problem, it's just that I could imagine myself fiddling around with it until the hard drive breaks :)

[@wwyk1993]

Rodney Reynolds is gonna love this.

[@iCashCZ]

cool video. could you please tell me what software you use to edit your videos? i love that part where you rotate around case with case dimensions. i would love to know hot to do that. Thanks

[@dzsozeTTa]

Yes. Just remove the two front fans and the dual radiator will fit in.

[@sbvikings30]

the 3dgameman reference made my day.

[@ToastyMozart]

My only issue would be the lack of internal (non hotswap) 3.5" drive bays.

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

Okay, i did not know those tabs on the tray was to extend them. Ive been bending the tray for 14 years

[@LFC-Star]

fortunately I've a spare 200mm fan from my last build a COOLER MASTER HAF X. So I'll be reusing that with the HAF XB EVO build :).. I'm also reusing a Antec TruePower 850 watt PSU, 500GB Western Digital HDD. So that'll save some cash :).

[@braynumb]

Was hoping that there would be more mounts for 3.5" hdd instead of that much mounts for 2.5"...

[@t77snapshot]

I don't believe this new HAF is intended for htpc's, its more if a gamming/ watercool case for those who do not want a full tower case, but with all the options an enthusiast desires.

[@badguymayo]

And now I know what case I`ll use for my NAS server...

[@amessman]

I love the case but i wish you could put an eATX mother board in it

[@ikaruga24]

I got this too and it is an awesome piece of kit. My only gripe had to be that i needed to change the fans that came with the case because they were loud as shit. Now i got 3 Scythe gentle typhoons runing on the system and the only thing i can hear is the hard drive reading but this is going to get changed with an SSD soon enough.

[@Hymer300]

The 90s called and wanted back their case design.

[@markdavenportjr5129]

I'm getting it this fall after I upgrade my video card/Monitor this Summer along with a new Computer Desk to make my xb build look great and have a 2nd PC aka my corsair 200r server build with it. :)

[@damnsmalldan]

It's not the best looking case, but it's so efficient. I actually really like it.

[@FoodOnCrack]

Cooler Master definitely has the best drive caddies

[@luongkevin]

Not bad, not a bad case at all, i could see myself using this case for my Htpc

[@justusklein6456]

Ok, thank you. I see he already said in the video ;)

[@IronSunsetscales]

For those willing to put a radiator in the top fanmount, 200mm rads are available, Phobia's got them

[@arielfrancodelaserna3404]

I loved this vídeo format.

[@behemothokun]

nice, been searching for an easy to carry full atx case with good cooling possibilities for a while.

[@JohnDoe-bd5sz]

IBM Deathstar harddrive and OCZ SSD. Living on the edge....