Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Following the success of the full tower HAF 932, Cooler Master has now successfully extended their product line to a mid tower with the HAF 922. It has a strong appearance and I think they did a good job on the HAF 922. The open design of the HAF line makes for nice air flow throughout the case. The space also made it easy to work in the case; I have rather large hands and I had no issues working in the HAF 922 at all.
Wire management was fairly easy as well. The tabs on the back of the motherboard tray make it very easy to tie wires back and out of the way. I would still suggest a modular PSU to make it just that much easier. I chose the easy way and stuffed my extra wires into the lowest hard drive bay. There is some space between the motherboard tray and the side panel, if one wanted to take the time to tuck every wire you could avoid this, or just get a modular PSU and save both time and the headache of hiding the wires.
The HAF 922 comes with three fans pre-installed with space for more. The two 200mm and the single rear 120mm fans are very quiet and just barely noticeable, even with it sitting on top of the desk even with my head. Like with the Sniper, Cooler Master included a way to turn off the LED light portion of the front intake fan. I love this option; I, for one, grew passed the need for a night-light many years ago, so being able to turn the light on and off when I want is a massive plus to me.
The HAF 922 was just recently released by Cooler Master, and as of the time of writing this it has not hit stores. The cost is said to have an MSRP of $129.99 so there stands a good chance that it may be found for less once it hits store shelves. Even at the $130 price point the HAF is a very well built case with some nice options. Most notable is the ability to change the cooling setup within the case, which is the point of the HAF design.
With the economy the way it is, some enthusiasts will start to cut corners on builds and the case is the first place (second is usually the PSU). However, at $130 the HAF 922 is not completely out of reach of most users and the HAF 922¡¯s cooling ability makes it worth it. So if you¡¯re looking for a solid case that won¡¯t break the piggy bank completely open and does the job of keeping stuff cooled very well, the HAF 922 should be on the short list.
Legit Bottom Line: Cooler Master has brought us yet another very well built case that performs very well, is quiet, nice looking, and can hold large parts with ease.
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