Aesthetics [that means looks]:
Looks are always going to be subjective, I could give you just my opinion and you might not agree with it. So to be fair I used my usual method for scoring the appearance of cases. I asked multiple people what they thought and asked them to score the CM Sniper based on overall looks and “coolness” this latter category is described as “An ability to grab your attention and hold it” something does not have to look good to be cool. Additionally I asked for a one word description of the case.
As you can see many liked the looks of the case but not everyone thought it was cool. For the most par the first impression was that it looked familiar or it was very military in appearance.
My personal feeling is that it looks like a piece of military hardware. I am not sure exactly what it reminds me of [other than my BattleStar Galactica reference above] but it certainly gives an impression of police or military gear.
Installation:
I used this case to build an i7 920 system complete with a CoolerMaster V10 cooler. It was very easy to work with. There is plenty of room inside for you to route cables. I did find that the opening for a fan was covered by extra cabling when I used a non-modular PSU. The beveled out area of the side panels made it very easy for me to route cables behind the mainboard tray [out of sight out of mind]. One problem that I did have was with the use of double height cards. The plastic tabs do not like them at all. You really have to force the middle tab down while moving the card to ensure a snug fit. Leaving the middle tab open is not an option as the card feels loose if it is not in place.
Price /Warranty:
The CM Storm Sniper retails for around $160 but there are a few places that have rebates so you might be able to get it at a lower price. At $160 this is a fair price for what you are getting; I cannot say enough about the build quality. I was very impresses with how scratch resistant the sides were. The air flow is great [I would still recommend adding in the 220mm fan in the side] while the noise level is low for the number of fans present. The option to turn the fans up or down and the lights off is a nice touch as well.
The CMStorm Sniper has an industry standard one-year warranty. Cooler Master has an e-RMA form that you can access directly from their website. Cooler Master also gives you options for call in RMA as well as forum support for questions.
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