Final words and conclusion
Final words and conclusion
That was a bit of a Déjà vu alright eh ? Yeah I know, the Stryker and Trooper pretty identical, ... yet still so different.
It's amazing what side panels and color toning can de really. Now the Trooper I found to be great, but the Stryker I find to be fantastic. And that's a dangerous statement as it is subjective as heck. See I like the white color tones much better then the all black designs. And yes, that's a personal flavor .. so I should stop right there and then for the sake of objectivity in this article :)
Features and innovation wise this chassis is just very original. Cooler Master chassis are just a pleasure to review time after time, and each and every time they achieve to improve on the case in some way, form or manner. So though the Trooper has 95% of the DNA that the Stryker is, it still remains to be a very unique and attractive product.
I have to get back to it, style as that's the ever so important factor. We say it over and over again, taste is the most subjective thing and is not making the job of reviews any easier. Some will hate it, and others will love this chassis for its looks. Fact is that if the aesthetics suit you, then for 150 EUR you are looking at an outstanding chassis. There's very little left to be desired as the CM team thought through it all, the optimal cooling, the fan controller, dust filters, the handle with rubberized grip, the lovely USB 3.0 integration, tool free design, the new X-Dock, the hidden drawer for screws and so on ... the one little gripe would be the removal of the eSATA port at the front panel. But that's all really.
Internals are great too, even the large ATX-XL motherboards will fit, the most lengthy graphics card will fit, heck even four of them if your mobo allows it. Then there's place for liquid cooling, the drive bays you can disassemble, the really nice motherboard cutout and then there's just plenty of space left for cable routing through the grommet holes, all in that all black painted interior.
It seems that pretty much any chassis Cooler Master releases these days is a win, at least in my book. So yeah it all comes down to aesthetics, your requirements and the price you are willing to cough up for a chassis.
Are there any wishes from my side ... well personally I would have really liked to see the front panel connectors behind a small latch -- that again is taste though. Oh and I keep repeating this, I really would like at least two 3.5" hot-swappable bays as well. But again these are things I'd like to see, not need.
Cooler Master has been able to out a long list of impressive cases over the past few years from that legendary Cosmos (which will get an update soon as well) to the gamer oriented HAF and Storm series. Each and every time they hit the nail on its head as CM designs cases that appeal to gamers and enthusiasts, this audience. The CM Storm Trooper was an excellent combination of features, requirements, looks and offers decent value. The CM Storm Stryker continues on that trend, it's fairly similar .. yet then so very different. if this sort of chassis is something you like, then we have absolutely nothing to say to you that should keep you away from it. I certainly adore it and as such Guru3D.com can wholeheartedly recommend it.
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