Cooler Master CM Storm Stryker review - Product Showcase - Exterior

Normally we take our photo's in our photo studio. But we use white backgrounds and well, you can understand the dilemma :) So forgive me the somewhat simple photography environment.

Here we can see the front side and left side panel, it can be removed by removing two thumb-screws and pulling it backwards. The panel itself has a mesh (up front dark) for airflow. Behind it are two 120mm fans pulling air out the HDD bays where they are mounted. We'll show you that later on. Opposed to the Trooper new for the Stryker is a side window in this chassis. That just looks really good.

A quick peek at the backside teaches us that this is a serious puppy, on the top, grommet holes for liquid cooling tubing / cable ports. Two of them can pass large 3/4" O.D. tubing. Just below them, a 140 mm fan nicely in white. Then we spot no less than nine expansion slots, so that would even allow for three or four dual-slot cards to be setup in Crossfire or SLI mode.

To the far right you'll see a vertical expansion slot, you could use that for say rear IO USB 3.0 connector brackets, a fan controller,  CCFL / Cold Cathode lighting control and such. All the way below we see the PSU section. PSU wise, you name it ... it'll fit.

The top side of the Trooper and Stryker are nearly a work of art, alien vs. predator comes to mind, dunno why though. Centered you'll find the handle which you can use to carry around the chassis. It's positioned in the middle for en optimal balance. So when you lift the chassis, that's roughly where the balance is. Though, installing a heavy PSU might throw it off-guard a little. It's nicely covered up, a little stealthy even. So in your desktop environment you are definitely not looking at a weird looking top with carry handle.

At the rear segment you can see a mesh, underneath it is an actual 200 mm fan tucked away which can spin at 1000 RPM with only 23 dBA. Airflow was a priority for Cooler Master as they pre-fitted a total of four fans and another two are optional. We know that heat rises upwards, a well designed chassis like the Stryker will use that knowledge by allowing that heat to escape the case through a mostly ventilated top.