Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Black & White Edition Case Review

The Front and Top Panels

The front panel of the Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Black & White Edition has four external 5.25” bays, using meshed covers with air filters. The case comes with a 140 mm fan on its front panel (1,200 rpm, 19 dBA), which glows white when turned on. The case has a button on its top panel for you to turn off this fan’s LEDs. The fan uses a standard three-pin fan power plug, and it comes with an adapter if you want to connect it directly on the power supply. As you can see in Figure 5, you can move this fan down, if you want, or replace it with a 120 mm model. There is an air filter for the front fan.

Figure 4: Front panel

Figure 5: Front fan

The top panel of the Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Black & White Edition is meshed, and it comes with one 140 mm fan (1,200 rpm, 19 dBA) installed. This fan uses a standard three-pin fan power connector, and it comes with an adapter, in case you want to connect the fan directly on your power supply. You can install a second fan, which can be either a 120 mm or a 140 mm model. The top panel has an air filter. It supports the installation of a radiator from liquid cooling solutions up to 280 mm.

Figure 6: Top panel

The case comes with two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and the traditional audio jacks on the front side of the top panel. It also has a button for turning on or off the LEDs of the front fan. The USB 3.0 ports utilize an internal connector, so you must use a motherboard with a USB 3.0 header if you want to use these ports. (All newer motherboards have this kind of connector.) One of the highlights of the reviewed case is the presence of an external 3.5”/2.5” docking bay. A plastic lid protects this bay (compare Figures 6 and 7 to see it). The eSATA port that was available on the original CM 690 II Advanced was removed to make room for the two USB 3.0 ports.

Figure 7: Buttons, connectors, and the docking bay