Cooler Master Storm Styker Case Review

Sean Gibson / Sep 19th, 2012 No Comments

Cooler Master Storm Styker Case

The Cooler Master Storm Styker case is a full-tower behemouth that includes a top side carrying handle, glossy white finish, a windowed side panel, multiple dust filters and an external SSD drive hot-swap dock, plus two modular hard drive cages. Cooler Master is one of the leaders in the computer peripheral industry, specifically in the realm of Power Supply Units (PSUs) and with robust cases that typically appeal to gamers. The Storm Styker is the latest release that features a sexy design with all the features you could possibly want in a case.

Features & Specs

Storm Styker

The Cooler Master Storm Stryker is a full sized tower case and looks like it was meant to intimidate all other computers that ever come in its presence. The case comes in both black and white models and is made with a glossed steel case body. The front is a mesh front bezel and on its own, the case weighs 30 pounds. It’s quite diverse in the sense that it’ll support Micro-ATX, ATX and XL-ATX motherboard sizes. One of the big advantages of using a full tower case is that you get plenty of space, which is true for the Storm Stryker. There are nine 5.25″ drive bays which can be converted to 3.5″ drive bays. There’s even a separate area to mount separate SSD drives close to where the PSU sits, which is at the bottom of the case, not the top like it most designs.

The cooling system is outstanding as there are two 120mm LED fans, one 200mm fan at the top, a rear 140mm fan and two optional areas where you can mount 120mm fans at the bottom. The fans are ultra quiet with the biggest fan (200mm) running at just 23 dBA, meaning that even with all the fans on, the case is still pretty darn quiet. The case size is 9.8″ x 23.8″ x 22.8″ so it’s a nice sized full tower case, with USB ports at the top of the case along with the big rubberize handle to make transporting the Storm Styker easier than other cases of this size. Perhaps the biggest “wow factor” is the fact that there’s an SSD slot at the very top of the case. Right next to it are two USB 3.0 ports along with two USB 2.0 ports.

Working with the Case

The Storm Stryker features a glossy steel finish and a handle at the top.

We decided to actually migrate one of our gaming rigs over to the new case to take advantage of the space the Storm Stryker offers and see just how easy it would be to use the device. The case was actually quite adaptable to whatever we happened to throw at it. The motherboard area can be adapted to serve whatever sized motherboard you decide to mount inside of it. The drive bay area is actually configurable to face in one of two directions which was helpful because our configuration demanded that we move the bays so that the fans faced out front which allowed us to reduce the number of needed power cables. There’s also a really cool “toolbox” that lives inside the case at the bottom behind the main logo bracket where you can put your screws, a few brackets and a bit more so you don’t have to go looking for them should you need them in the future.

Migrating from one case to the other took about an hour and a half, which is on par with other case migrations we’ve done. We were extremely impressed with the case’s ability to be reconfigured which saved us the headache of having to rethink our cabling. All the parts included are top quality components, from the included case fans, to the brackets and mounts to the thumbscrews. The case itself is well made and overall was a real joy to work with.

Performance

Everything fits, looks great, runs quiet – great product.

Once we had the case ready, the components fit in wonderfully, including an extra long ATI Radeon HD5870 video card. We loved the fact that the PSU is at the bottom of the case instead of the top and the rubberized holes in the case allow you to effectively manage your cables to go from one side of the case to the other without hassle. The case remains quiet and if you plug them in, the fans do have LED lights that also show up on the top front panel where the on/off button and external USB ports reside. It’s a great case – it looks downright badass and offers great airflow and room to grow should you want to pack it with two (three?) video cards and a bunch of drives.

Look and Feel

The Cooler Master Storm Stryker is a case that has that wow factor you want when other gamers come over to take a look at your rig. It’s not big on flashing lights or gimmicks, which is part of the appeal for us because on it’s own, the case has such a killer design. Couple that design with a really nice white glossy finish, the meshed front bay ports plus the handle on the top and you just have an absolute winner.

Overall Impressions

Editor’s Choice Award

Cooler Master has an absolute winner on its hands with the Storm Stryker case. It’s intelligently laid out and is completely configurable to make sure there’s no headaches when building a system. The look and feel are tremendous as it has a definite wow factor that will make other gamers drool. The case performs well and its ability to be reconfigured means that if you decide to compeletely rebuild your gaming PC you aren’t going to need a new case because the Storm Styker will be ready to perform.

Overall, the Storm Stryker is quite simply the best PC full tower case we’ve ever seen going back 10 years. It’s flat out gorgeous, wonderful to work with and performs like a champ. If you’re looking for a full sized case and want something with some real flair, this should be right at the top of your shopping list. If you’re in the market for a new case, definitely head over to Amazon to check out the Cooler Master Storm Stryker Gaming Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 Ports and Carrying Handle.

COOLER MASTER STORM STYKER CASE REVIEW

Gaming Illustrated RATING

Overall91%

DESIGN9.5

A gorgeous case on the outside and a brilliantly configurable case on the inside. The best of both worlds.

VALUE8.5

At the time this review published, you could find the Storm Stryker for about $160 which is a very reasonable price. It'll be more expensive than some gamers are comfortable spending, but it's worth the extra bucks.

LASTING FACTOR9.5

This case is highly configurable and extremely well made. It's very conceivable that this case can last you 8-10 years.

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Sean Gibson

Founder, Featured Contributor at Gaming Illustrated

Sean Gibson has been the owner and Executive Editor of Gaming Illustrated for over eleven years. His roles include acting as CEO and President of Gaming Illustrated, LLC and also includes being a reviewer, previewer and interviewer. Sean's opinions on this site do not reflect those of his full-time employer.

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tags: case , cooler master , coolermaster , hardware , review , storm styker

Cooler Master Storm Styker Case Review

Features & Specs

Working with the Case

Performance

Look and Feel