As a reviewer, I get to play with a lot of gear. I look forward to embarking upon "most" new reviews, but every now and then an item comes up that really excites me and makes me want to rip it open like a kid on Christmas morning. The Cooler Master Stacker 830 case was one of those reviews that when I agreed to it I couldn't wait for it to arrive. We had received an early heads up from Cooler Master on this case and were told that when production got rolling we would receive one. However, that was quite a while ago and I had almost forgotten about the case. So when I arrived home one afternoon to see this huge box sitting in my doorway I thought, "What the hell is that big thing?" When I saw what it was I gave my best Napoleon Dynamite impression with a heartfelt "Yesss!" and a fist pump in the air. My wife just rolled her eyes and shook her head...

Why was I so excited to do this case review? Let me give you the case specs right up front:

Color - Silver with Black mesh
Dimensions - (W) 250mm x (H) 536mm x (D) 638mm / (W) 9.8in x (H) 21.1in x (D) 25.1in
Material - Aluminum
ATX Power Supply (Option)
Supported Motherboards - E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX, PICO-BTX
5.25 Bays - 9 Exposed
3.5 Bays - 4 Hidden in one 4-in-3 Device Module, 3.5 external adapter included
I/O Panel - Dual I/O Panel in Front and Top (USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE 1394 x 1, MIC x 1, SPK x 1)
Cooling System - Front Fan (Intake): One 120x120x25 mm (Blue LED); Rear Fan (Exhaust): One 120x120x25 mm
Fan Mounts - Up to 9 x 120mm FAN (option) ; Front x 3,Top x 1, Rear x 1, Side x 4 (Side fan bracket is also for 140mm x 4 or 120mm x 4 or 92mm x 4 or 80mm x 4 or 60mm x 4, or 300mm Cross Flow Fan x,1 or mix it up)
Expansion Slots - 7
BTX Upgrade Kit - SRM, BTX Air Duct, and BTX I/O shield included

That's right, nine 120mm fans possible with this big case. All aluminum structure, supports almost any motherboard, plenty of room for expansion... I knew that if Cooler Master actually built this case as good as it looked on paper, they could have a winner on their hands. Let's check out if the execution was as good as the plan.

Package

The Cooler Master Stacker 830 arrived in a humongous box that weathered the trip well. There was a half-hearted attempt to damage it on one side, but it was only superficial. Inside, the Stacker 830 was wrapped in plastic and secured with two styrofoam end caps.

Inside the case were two boxes, one contained the accessories and the other contained a BTX duct. The BTX duct is designed to have a 120mm intake mounted mounted on the large side and then the whole thing installed high in 3 of the 5.25 inch bays in order to provide airflow to where the video card would be mounted, or to better direct air at the CPU. The accessories include the obligatory bag-O-screws, a 3.5 inch bay adapter, a BTX motherboard tray adapter, a couple drive locks, and mounting plates for a cross flow fan. The English portion of the manual is well written and quite detailed, and covers just about every aspect of component installation.