Conclusion
Today we dove into the new, revived, Cooler Master HAF cases with the new Cooler Master HAF 700 mid-tower case which they’ve billed as ‘the Berserker’. The HAF 700 is a fully-featured EATX mid-tower with plenty of stock airflow, a wide variety of supported air and watercooling configurations, with impressive tool-less features, and excellent fit and finish.
Summary of Features
The HAF 700 is oozing with cooling potential. While that’s a given for Cooler Master’s HAF lineup, having support for four large radiators and then some puts the HAF 700 into a class all its own.
Shipping with two revised 200mm fans and three 120mm fans, all of the PWM and ARGB variety, Cooler Master was clearly trying to make sure that the out-of-box cooling and lighting experience was exceptional. The inclusion of a powered PWM and ARGB splitter with extra ports for additional user-installed fans and a USB ARGB controller provide maximum end-user flexibility.
Finally, the extensive use of toolless features throughout the case shows clear attention to the building experience. The HAF 700 provides an excellent base not only for users’ first builds but also for upgrading down the road.
Construction Quality
Like the HAF 500, the HAF 700 is built very well. Being such a large case, extra care in bracing is evident throughout the case, which allows for a sturdy foundation while keeping plenty of vents for airflow.
Also worth pointing out is the fit and finish – which are, in a word, excellent. While not everyone will appreciate Cooler Master’s design language used in the HAF series, at no point does form overcome function in the HAF 700. Panels fit together tightly all around, which is particularly impressive when it comes to the side panels. These are large and carry a noticeable heft, yet aside from their bulk, are easy to remove and reinstall, while still tightly lining up with adjacent panels at the edges.
Similar to the HAF 500, at the core of what makes the HAF 700 a worthy ‘high air flow’ case, the 200mm fans up front and three 120mm fans inside are definitely up to the task of quietly moving buckets of air. The lighting is a bit of a letdown, however, as the RGB light positions in Cooler Master’s fans are very distinct and not particularly well diffused.
Cooling Potential
As a top-tier HAF case, the HAF 700 has the potential for great air cooling out of the box, with the five fans and large interior volume unchallenged by a typical desktop system. But that’s not what the HAF 700 is really about.
The HAF 700 is designed with watercooling in mind. While one could certainly use AIOs for the CPU and GPU, Cooler Master has endowed the HAF 700 with mounting positions for an extensive combination of large radiators, pumps, and reservoirs.
In particular, the top panel, both the outer panel that holds the sides in place as well as the inner panel above the motherboard, are removable – and that inner panel is designed to hold two 360mm (3x 120mm) radiators side by side. It can also support single 420mm (3x 140mm) radiators, as can the bottom panel and the side panel, with the side panel additionally supporting up to a 480mm (4x 120mm) radiator. Finally, the rear 2x 120mm fan position can support a 240mm radiator.
Installation Notes
Installation into the Cooler Master HAF 700 was probably the fastest we’ve done, and we’d wager would only be a smidge slower than installing a system into an open bench chassis.
With all included cables pre-routed into the deep cable channel in the back and secured using the two QuickClips, very little needed to be done to get the ATX Review Rig into the HAF 700. We weren’t even tempted to remove the top panel for more clearance, as the extra height above the motherboard tray allowed direct access to the top motherboard sockets and screw holes.
Cooler Master does also claim 30mm of space behind the motherboard tray, and while this does result in the case being a bit wider than it would be otherwise, the extra room is absolutely appreciated.
Our Experiences
The Cooler Master HAF 700 is an excellent case to work in. We did find the size to be a challenge to manage in comparison to smaller ATX cases when having to reposition the case or even just plug in peripherals, power, and displays, but nothing beats having just so much room around the motherboard when it comes to getting everything hooked up inside.
Moving on to the RGB fans, it’s difficult to direct too much criticism at Cooler Master as in general, no one does RGB ‘well’. Our observation here then is that the two front fans have a different ‘white’ color than the rear 120mm fan, and all three differ from the Cooler Master fan bracket that’s used to support our GPU. Of course, the MSI motherboard and the Corsair RAM all have their own interpretations of ‘white’.
Again, we’re not counting this against Cooler Master as much as noting that color matching among RGB components is pretty difficult.
Final Points
The Cooler Master HAF 700 is an excellent, if a bit large, choice for performance-oriented builds and especially for those looking to build a custom watercooling loop. Stock cooling is very good, and expansion is unparalleled, especially in this price range.
While a bit bulky, for excellent cooling while keeping noise in check and extensive use of tool-less designs throughout, the HAF 700 earns our gold award.
