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Features
The Cavalier actually comes in eight different
versions. It can come in either black and silver versions of a desktop or a
tower, and with or without the large analog dial. The model we have here is
the Cavalier 1, the tower version with the dial.
**click to enlarge**
I’ll start with the front of the case. The upper
and lower portions are made of the brushed aluminum Cooler Master cases are
famous for, as well as the power and reset buttons. The slightly darker
stripe on the right side of the front is a clear plastic insert with the
Cooler Master logo. The door is held firmly in place with four magnets, two
on each side. The door can be set up to open to whichever side you like or
it can be totally removed very easily – a nice touch! There is plenty of
space between the door and the 5.25” bays…almost a whole inch at the
narrowest gap. Fan controllers and knobs will definitely not get in the way
of operating the door.
**click to enlarge**
The lower portion is dominated by the large
analog VU dial, which appears to be a larger version of the ones we saw on
the Musketeer II. The blue power and HDD lights are not in line with each
other horizontally or vertically, but rather diagonally. The power and reset
buttons are directly below, with the same sort of feel and finish as the
Centurion 5 and are quite nice.
The front ports are arranged on each side of the lower front. There is one
Firewire and two USB ports on the left side, and the headphone, microphone
and volume are on the right. The volume actually controls the sensitivity of
the VU dial.
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**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
Once you’re past the front door, the rest of
the case is plastic and steel. The five 5.25” bays and the lone 3.5” bay are
all covered with silver painted plastic covers. Kind of a disappointment, as
the slightly more expensive Wave Master has all aluminum construction.
The side panels feature the same venting that we’ve already seen in the
Centurion 5, but are otherwise featureless. Unlike the Virgo and Armor
cases, the side panels slide on and off with little difficulty. And of the
two doors, only the left panel employs thumbscrews.
**click to enlarge**
The rear of the Cavalier is almost exactly the
same as the Centurion, except for the knock out I/O panel. I was a little
surprised to see that, as the lower priced Centurion featured a full color
removable one. Unfortunately, The PCI covers are also knock outs. The
Cavalier ships with two fans, one 80mm intake and one 120mm exhaust. The
rear grille is punched, but is at least of the honeycomb design which I find
to be less restrictive.
**click to enlarge**
Inside the Cavalier is the tool free system we
first saw on the Guardian, and later on with the Centurion 5. This is a very
good system, and I was very happy to see it. Insert your drive, slide the
clip, and lock it into place. Very simple and effective.
One familiar problem came up with the power supply. As was the situation
with the Centurion 5, I was down to four 4 pin Molex connectors. This time,
I’ll be installing dual SATA drives, so I’ll be able to use the extra two
SATA power connectors. Still, there should be at least six. The stock power
supply is rated at 350W.
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