Testing

With the room at 68°, I used the sensor module in EVEREST Ultimate Edition 2006 v3.50.858 Beta to measure motherboard, CPU (including each individual core) and the 8800 GTX’s temperatures under idle, and load. Having a Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard also allowed me to use EVEREST Ultimate Edition's LCD applet to monitor these temperatures on the G15 LCD in real-time.

Idle temperatures were recorded after allowing the system to run for an hour at the desktop from a cold start after being turned off for the night. Load temperatures were recorded while playing The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion for three hours (may as well get my game on while working). Two sets of temperatures were recorded: one in the stock configuration, and one with two extra fans installed in the side fan tray over the GeForce 8800 GTX . All temperatures were recorded with the case closed. Note that your results will depend on your specific hardware configuration, case fans and ambient room temperature. Also note that the CFM, RPM and noise rating of the stock Cooler Master Fans I replaced with the Cooler Master Neon LED are virtually identical to one another. Besides, an NVIDIA case should have green fans...

Although it doesn’t run as hot as initially rumored, the GeForce 8800 GTX still pumps out quite a bit of heat—which is no surprise considering the amount of processing power it has. When the card really started to crank running Oblivion at 1920x1200 with 4x Transparency Multisampling Antialiasing, HDR lighting and 16x Anisotropic filtering (yes, you read that correctly), the side panel area with the fan blowing directly over the rear section of the card was warm to the touch! Nevertheless, the NV-830 Stacker does an excellent job of keeping the heat at manageable levels with or without two 120mm fans parked over the 8800 GTX—although having the extra fans assisting in cooling the card certainly doesn't hurt...

The tested configuration here was fairly quiet during heavy gaming sessions—and I'm referring to the combined sound of all the fans in the case and hard disk seeks over a set of 5.1 speakers set at a normal volume. I could hear the fan on the GeForce 8800 GTX spool up to higher RPMs when it was really crunching the pixels while playing Oblivion, but the sound wasn’t anywhere near as jolting as the factory cooler on the ATI Radeon X1900-series video cards. I took a Galaxy Audio CM-130 SPL Meter (a very nice and affordable unit I learned about from the folks over at The Inquirer) and measured the loudness of the Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition with the configuration in the review (which includes the two extra 120mm fans cooling the video card).

Removing as much extraneous noise from the environment as I possibly could, I placed the meter roughly the same height and distance as if I were sitting in front of the system using it. I observed and recorded the values from the CM-130 during system boot, idle, and under load running the full battery of benchmarks at the default settings with the exception of the resolution set to 1920x1200 under 3DMark06 Advanced Edition v1.1.0. I recorded the lowest and loudest readings then averaged the results:

Overall, the Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition was reasonably quiet with the hardware I installed—certainly not as loud as some of the rigs I've owned. Keep in mind that my idea of “reasonably quiet” may not be the same as yours. Nowhere does the phrase "your actual mileage may vary," ring truer than when it comes to evaluating noise with a case like the Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition (or any case for that matter). The decibel ratings of your case, CPU and video card fans under load, the total number of case fans installed and whether or not the hard drives you’ve installed are noisy during access will play a major role in how loud the system will be. The mesh side, top, and bottom inlet panels on the NV-830 will obviously allow more noise to escape than a case with solid body panels.

Final Comments

Truth is, any case designed for proper air flow that can support a kilowatt EPS power supply, preferably has active cooling over the video card area (at least one 120mm fan or larger), and is roomy enough to support multiple video cards that are 10.5” long—or longer—is “SLI-ready.” Figuring out which case meets those criteria is another matter. The specs on a manufacturer’s website or the ones printed on the box don’t always tell the whole story. NVIDIA’s decision to add cases to their SLI certification program is already drawing criticism as a marketing gimmick, but the benefit of what NVIDIA is doing will become more obvious over time. As they evaluate and add more cases to the list, the guess-work in choosing one with the necessary space and cooling requirements for building a high-end gaming rig with full-length video cards and power supplies will be eliminated.

If you want to add four hard drives to the Cooler Master Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition, but don’t want to risk overheating problems cramming all of them into the 4-in-3 Device Module, and don’t want to invest in a second 4-in-3, you’ll certainly find the Hard Drive Rack useful. The top mounted location directly beneath the upper mesh panel is ideal for any hot-running 3.5” hard drive. Although the rack is hyped for the Raptor X, even with the additional illumination from the LED harness, the only way you’ll be able to admire the Raptor X’s cool, see-through dome is by removing the case’s side panel, opening the Side Fan Tray and looking up and into the case.

The eye-catching NVIDIA branding of the case is tastefully executed without being an over-the-top eyesore. However, a green LED intake fan, green LEDs for the power button, reset and HD activity indicators, and the LED cable for the Raptor X drive rack, would have been more consistent with the case’s NVIDIA theme. The area around the front bezel should have been anodized black like the rest of the case to make it look uniform. Extending the black anodized finish to the inside of the case would have really made it look awesome and more like a special-edition case over a regular Stacker 830 Evo. After all, if you’re going to charge a premium for an “exclusive” case like this, attention to these seemingly “insignificant” details is crucial (not to mention it makes the higher price tag a little easier to take). Take a good look at the visual execution of the Zalman ZM-FC-ZE1 FATAL1TY Champion Series Gaming Case (regardless of whatever else you may think of it), from its anodized black exterior and interior, to the red color-coordinated LED fans and indicators—and you’ll see what I mean.

With availability only at NVIDIA’s online store and commanding a $40-$55 premium (which doesn’t include special sales) over what an identically-configured, “plain” black or silver Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution case is going for on the streets, the Cooler Master Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition isn’t cheap—even for a “special edition” case. If you already own a Cooler Master RC-830 Evolution, you won’t get anything from the Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition that you don’t already have—except the NVIDIA branding and a nicer-looking front door. Like any black anodized aluminum case, the NV-830 Stacker is bound to be a magnet for dust and fingerprints, so don’t forget to keep a tack cloth and a can of compressed air nearby to keep it looking good.

On the other hand, if a single or pair of GeForce 8800 GTX cards, EPS power supply and a Stacker 830 are already on your upgrade shopping list, but you'd really prefer a Stacker that stands out from all the other ordinary black and silver ones out there, you may find the Cooler Master Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition worth the extra bucks.