Introduction

More and more, we are starting to see cases that include multiple tempered glass panels. This is usually reserved for cases in the $150+ price range but Cooler Master has extended its MasterBox line to include the MB530P, which sports 3 tempered glass panels for an MSRP of only $109.99. Having so much tempered glass means everything is on show and you must take extra care with your cable management. Thankfully the MB530P has included such features like a full PSU shroud, removable cable cover and silkscreened back panel to help with this. In addition to these cable management features the MB530P also includes lighting with a built in RGB controller and 3 pre-installed 120mm ARGB AB front fans. With all these aesthetic enhancing elements it should be almost effortless to create a great looking build that shines through those tempered glass panels.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• 3 tempered glass panels
• 3 x RGB fans with lighting control
• Cable cover

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The Cooler Master MB530P arrives in a standard brown cardboard box with the front sporting an outline of the case. In the lower right-hand corner, you get a splash of color with a purple sticker that includes notable features of the case.

Looking on the side of the box the case outlines continue with a front view of the MB530P.

Moving to the back, you’re given a description of the MB530P as well as a writing list of its most prominent features in 8 different languages. In the upper right you have another outline of the case from another view point looking at the back panel.

The other side of the box gives you the complete list of case specifications.

Opening the box, the MB530P can be seen sandwiched between 2 pieces of styrofoam and covered with a plastic bag.

As you can see from the beat-up outer box, the styrofoam did a great job protecting the installed tempered glass panels.

Cooler Master also included a bag of accessories which include zip ties, rubber SSD mounts, bag of screws and an instruction booklet.

Once all packaging has been removed you get your first look at the MB530P. It even includes a little bit of film at the front for your peeling pleasure.

A Closer Look: Exterior

The MB530P offers a matte black finish top to bottom and has clean lines throughout. The side of the case is covered with a full tempered glass panel that can be removed using two thumb screws at the top.

The front of the case features a curved body with a tempered glass front. The front glass does an excellent job of showcasing the 3 pre-installed ARGB 120mm fans.

On the sides of the curved front body, Cooler Master has included aggressive intakes which should provide great airflow for the installed fans.

Moving to the back-side panel, it very much mirrors the front side panel with the exception of the silk screening on the bottom.

Taking a closer look at the back tempered glass panel, you can see that the honeycomb design effectively covers the whole back PSU area. This should give you enough cover so that you will not see you PSU cables through the tempered glass.  

The back of the MP530P has your standard I/O, PCIE and PSU cutouts as well as room for a 120mm exhaust fan.

The top has enough room for a 240mm radiator and includes a magnetic removable dust filter.

Taking a look at the front, I/O Cooler Master has included:

• 2 x USB 2.0 ports
• 2 x USB 3.0 ports
• 3.5mm Headphone and microphone jack
• Power button with RGB outline illumination
• RGB lighting button
• HDD activity LED

Putting the case on its side to take a peek at the bottom, the MB530P has 2 rubberized feet on both the front and back of the case as well as a removable PSU intake filter.

A Closer Look: Interior

The same matte black from the exterior is carried into the interior of the MP530P. The motherboard tray includes 3 well sized grommets to the right as well as additional cutouts at the top and bottom. The tray itself is able to accommodate Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX and ATX motherboards. It also includes a full-length PSU shroud which is always nice to see in a mid-tower case with minimal space to manage wires.

Taking a closer look at the PSU shroud, it has ventilation on the left-hand side and a full-sized grommet on top which can be used for your GPU cables. On the right side, you have a 75mm radiator cutout which is large enough for a 50mm radiator with 25mm fan for a push/pull configuration.

At the front of the interior you have the 3 pre-installed 120mm fans and mount points for a 120/140/240/280/360 AIO or radiator.

The back of the case comes with a pre-installed 120mm non-RGB fan.

Going to the back side, it’s nice to see that Cooler Master has brought over a similar cable cover that we saw on the H500M on the left-hand side. On the bottom right, you have an exposed PSU bay which is covered using the silk screen on the tempered glass.

After removing the cable cover, it reveals the included drive bay which has been riveted to the bottom of the case. I do wish this was removable to be able to increase the PSU bay length, but cage might provide some support for the PSU shroud’s mid-section.

The PSU drive bay is rather small with a clearance of 180mm which may cause problems with beefier PSUs.

The included drive cage supports up to two 3.5” or 2.5” drives and has easy to remove trays.

Below the motherboard cutout, you have room for an additional two SSD’s. It’s the same tool-less design as the H500M and can be used by installing the included rubber mounts and attaching the SSD screws to your drive.

System Build & Installation

The hardware provided includes:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• EVGA 1070 FTW GPU
• DeepCool GAMMAXX GT CPU Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

Building in the MP530P and creating a clean build, which can be showcased through its tempered glass, was fairly effortless. The MP530P had many well-placed cutouts for routing cables and the 18-25mm clearance for wires at the back provided plenty of space to work with. The only issues I ran into were that the PSU bay is quite small and there is little to no room to work with. If you wanted to install another cable into your PSU it would require removing the whole unit from the bay. I feel this could be resolved by making the drive bay removable for some added PSU space. With that being said, this is a minor thing as I always pre-install my PSU wires before attaching it to the case. The included fans all come pre-wired to the included RGB controller and fan splitter.  The provided fan splitter is powered via a Molex plug which isn’t the most secure connection. I personally would have liked to see SATA powered fan hub so that we didn’t require adding another cable to the PSU and increase the possibility of adding more fans to the case.

I made good use of the grommets and cutouts to route my cables to give my build a nice clean look. I really liked the placement of the bottom cutouts in particular for my HD Audio and USB port cables.

The silk-screened honeycombs on the back side tempered glass did an excellent job of hiding my PSU cables.

Removing the tempered glass, I was above to maintain a clean looking back side thanks to the included cable cover. Looking at the PSU, you can clearly see that you don’t have much space to work with once your PSU is installed. Just like the H500M, I really do love the tool-less SSD mount points which makes installing them a breeze.

Once the system build was completed and fired up, the RGB fans and power buttons lit up with a rainbow effect. If using the included RGB controller by pressing the bottom right-most button on the I/O, you can cycle through its various effects.

Turning off the lights, you can really see how vivid both the fans and the outlined power button is.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

The MB530 has really impressed us with being both affordable and including many features only seen in $150+ cases. Some things that really stand out with the MB530P is its sleek design that includes 3 tempered glass panels, cable cover and vivid pre-installed ARGB fans with a lighting controller. Even being a compact mid-tower case, it still felt quite roomy in the majority of the case and had no issues fitting our ATX motherboard with EVGA 1070 FTW GPU. The only part of the case that felt a little cramped would be the PSU bay which was a tight fit with our EVGA 750W P2. I think this probably could be helped if it was possible to remove the drive cage that is riveted to the case. This is really a minimal issue and just requires you to pre-install your cables before attaching the PSU to the case. The cable management in the MB530P is on point with plenty of well-placed cutouts and grommets at the front. At the back of the case, the cable cover and silk-screened tempered glass makes it effortless to achieve a clean looking build. Overall the MB530P is a home run and is an excellent addition to the MasterBox line of cases.

Great job Cooler Master!

Introduction

More and more we are seeing case manufacturers design their cases to incorporate more than one system in 1 case, AZZA decided they wanted to jump on board this trend as well. You may ask yourself “Why would I want a PC case that can fit more than one system?” Well, if you are a streamer, you most likely would like one PC that would be your main gaming PC and one PC that would do all your heavy lifting and legwork like encoding, broadcasting, ETC. Maybe you’re a media buff that likes to have all your movies, pictures, etc. on one NAS (network attached storage) and you’ve run out of desk space for 2 separate PC towers so you build two pcs into one tower that can handle both of your tasks needed, without having 2 towers to place on a desk or walk around. Meet the Ragnarok 801 by AZZA, this full-size PC tower can fit two full systems. The main system can handle motherboards up to E-ATX and on the PSU shroud, there are mounting points for a smaller ITX system. We will take a look at the specs further down the review.

Pro Clockers would like to thank AZZA for sending us the Ragnarok 801 to review.

About AZZA:

Founded in 1996, AZZA launched its business as a motherboard manufacturer for the PC industry. The Company was one of the top ten leading suppliers globally in the 90’s. Jumpstarted in 2004 with the technology to build PC cases, AZZA expanded its business scope into the gaming industry and manufactured various OEM products including computer cases and power supplies for XION. In 2009, the Company restructured to establish its own label and began distributing products under AZZA’s very own trademark. Gaming needs are at the heart of its offering. For every product designed and developed, AZZA goes to its consumer for inspirations and ideas. When a product reaches the production phase, the manufacturing process meticulously tests every product at each stage of the assembly and involves a detailed final inspection before the product is packaged and ready for distribution. From the early phase of design and development to the final phase of quality control, AZZA makes no compromise to performance, functionality, and value. Our company now provides a growing and successful range of products to meet the demands of the gaming market. Since the launch of its very first case Solano 1000, AZZA is known for the quality, innovation, and value of its product offering.

Features & Specifications

▪Supports up to 400mm long video card.

▪Available Fan Ports:

4x120mm or 3x140mm ports on the Top

3x120mm or 2x140mm ports in the front

4x120mm or 3x140mm ports on the Bottom

1x120mm or 1x140mm Fan port in the rear

▪Supports radiators up to 280-420mm on top/240-360mm in front/240 on the bottom.

Packaging & Unboxing

The Ragnarok 801 comes packaged in a brown box with black writing and a couple of pictures of the product. It is packaged flat with support pieces on the outside of the outside top corners to help protect during shipping. This case shipped is a total of 47lbs.

The packaging is similar on the front and back of the box. The 2 opposite sides of the box have technical specs on them.

Taking a peek inside we are greeted with the tempered glass secured in their own packaging for safe keeping.

Under the glass, we see the case, secured with 4 foam corner pieces on top and 4 foam corner pieces on the bottom. The case itself is wrapped in plastic.

Included accessories with the Ragnarok 801. Grommets for the tempered glass windows. Standoffs for the included windows. A couple of screws to secure the front panel to the case. Various screws for your power supply, motherboard, 2.5” SSD, and 3.5” HDD. Also included in the accessories are an Allen wrench, 1 Velcro cable tie and a couple of cable management ties with adhesive to place yourself in the best place for proper cable management.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Let’s take a look at the exterior of the case. This first shot we have is of the side of the case with the tempered glass on. Mind you, there are 2 different shades of tempered glass panels. One is darker and should be used on the back side of the case to help with cable management. The tempered glass is held in place by 4 large threaded standoffs. Each one of these standoffs has a rubber grommet that goes over the middle to help protect the glass. This is why AZZA includes an Allen wrench in the accessories package.

Here we can see the standoffs that are used to attach the tempered glass. AZZA includes 2 sizes, the larger of the two are for the front panel glass. The shorter of the two is for the top glass and rear glass.

Onto the back of the case, near the top, we see the I/O shield cutout. Next, to that, we see the rear exhaust fan mount. This location can hold either 1x 120mm fan or 1x140mm fan. Below that we see the PCI-E covers, there are 8 covers here. Below these, we see the I/O cutout for the ITX system as well as 2 vertical PCI-E slots for a vertical mount graphics card for the ITX system.

Below the I/O cutout for the ITX system is the PSU shroud. This can be accessed by taken 6 screws out and removing the plate. This plate is then attached to the PSU via 4 screws. This side shows the second power cord extension so you can install 2 PSU’s in the case under the shroud. The second PSU gets installed in the front of the case behind the front panel. The extension routes through the PSU shroud so that both plugs can be on the same side of the case.

Moving onto the back side of the case we see the back tempered glass, again held in place by 4 standoffs. These are the smaller standoffs that are used on the top of the case as well. In this picture, we can see the venting in the PSU shroud. This is beneficial because, with 2 power supplies in the shroud, it can get very warm.

Taking a look at the bottom of the case we can see 2 more vents for the PSU. This area can be accessed through the bottom of the case from a couple of screws.

Moving onto the front of the case. We see the front panel here with the Ragnarok branding as well as vent holes for air movement.  We also see the front panel I/O here. Here is a list of the I/O on the front panel:

● Power Button

●2 USB 2.0 Ports

●2 USB 3.0 Ports

●HD Audio Jacks

In this picture without the front panel on we can see the mounting system for the front fans or radiators. The front of this case can fit up to 3x 120mm fans or 2 140mm fans. Next, to the fans, there are a couple of passthrough holes to route cables. There is also the ability to install up to a 360mm radiator in the front. The front panel is removed by 2 screws, one on the top and one on the bottom. Included in the accessories pack was 2 additional screws to better secure the front panel to the case. In the front, under the PSU shroud is the other mounting system for the second PSU.

A Closer Look: Interior

Inside the tempered glass panel, we are met with the motherboard tray. This motherboard tray is outfitted with multiple standoff locations for different size motherboards. This case can fit the following size motherboards: ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX, E-ATX, and XL-ATX. We also can see multiple cable routing holes as well.

Next to the motherboard standoffs are the mounting holes for the HDD’s and the SSD’s. These can be mounted in either orientation whether you want your drives in the front of your case visible or the rear of the case. We do have a couple of cutouts as well to route cables to said items. This case can fit up to 4 HDD’s or 4 SSD’s, however, you cannot mount them in the same spots as the mounting holes are in the same position.

This case can fit multiple fans in it. The top of the case can support up to 4x 120mm fans or a 280mm-420mm radiator. The front of the case can fit up to 3x120mm fans or 2x140mm fans. If you don’t run the 2^nd system, you can place 4x120mm fans on the PSU shroud. In the back for rear exhaust, you can install 1x120mm fan or 1x140mm fan.

On top of the PSU shroud is where you see additional mounting points for the secondary system. This space can only fit an ITX system. We can see on the backside of the case the I/O cutout as well as the vertical PCI-E brackets.

Going to the back side of the case we can see that we have a decent amount of space back here to route cables. With multiple cable holes in the front, we can easily route multiple cables to look nice and neat. The PSU shroud also works as a place to hide some cables with the added “troughs” in the back area of the PSU shroud.

System Configuration & Build

Items used in this build:

Main system

● EVGA x99 classified EATX Motherboard with 5820k

● EVGA 980ti SC graphics card

● Thermaltake Ttoughpower RGB 750w PSU

● EKWB Supremacy Evo x99 water block

● XSPC photon 170 w/pump reservoir

● Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm Radiator

● 3x Thermaltake Riing Plus 120mm RGB fans

ITX System

● MSI Gaming Pro Carbon AC with 7700k

● Cooler Master MA G100M RGB Low Profile CPU Air Cooler

● Samsung m.2

● Rosewill 550w PSU

● Elgato hd60

I grabbed and installed the biggest motherboard that I own I still had a ton of space for extra things. The only thing that I could think of doing was to water cool this case. I found my thickest radiator that I had and mounted that in the case with some Thermaltake Riing Plus fans for the added RGB glow. Next was to figure out the easiest orientation for the large pump/res combo that I had. Best case scenario for this large pump/res was to mount it standing up next to the radiator. That still left a ton of space in the case for hard drives or SSD's. If I had enough gear, I was contemplating watercooling the ITX system as well. One thing to note, make sure that you install the ITX system first if you are planning on using one. I ran into some clearance issues with the large E-ATX motherboard covering some of the screw holes for the standoffs. Luckily the main system didn’t cover any major connectors needed, but based on your motherboard this could become and issues. Keep that in mind when determining the proper hardware for this case. Here are a couple of shots with the systems powered up.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Overall, we are very impressed with this case. The quality and craftsmanship of this case are above most that I have used and built in. The dual system feature is nice for a fairly decent group of people. We think that AZZA has put a lot of thought into this case. We greatly appreciate the fact that AZZA doesn’t have one single rivet on this case. This case can be taken completely apart with a Philips head screwdriver. My only complaint on this case is the AZZA logo in the shroud, the fact that it is see-through means that while cable managing in the shroud you can see the wires there. Overall this case met and exceeded our expectations. Keep AZZA in mind the next time you are ready to purchase a new case.

Introduction

Over the past few years, we have seen an emerging trend of people opting for mITX cases over larger cases like mid towers. This size factor typically appeals to people looking to build a media server or a mid-range workstation. Lately, we see that PC builders are making mITX builds for portability for events like Dreamhack or just having the challenge of seeing how much power they can cram into a tight space. Entering into the mITX space is MetallicGear with one of its debut cases the NEO G MINI which comes in a compact size of 355mm (H) x 190mm (W) X 375mm (D). Other stand out features include a vertical GPU mount with riser cable, tempered glass front and side panel with stylized silk-screening, and all steel chassis with sandblasted aluminum body. Despite these high-end features MetallicGear still manages to keep the NEO G MINI at an affordable MSRP of $80.

About MetallicGear

MetallicGear, which was announced at CES 2018 is a sub-brand of the Phanteks that hopes to bring innovative designs that strike the right balance between form and function. Their focus is to bring products that are brimming with personality that contain quality materials and still maintain an affordable price. They debuted their first product line of NEO cases at CES which include NEO, NEO MICRO, NEO MINI, and NEO G MINI.

Features & Specifications

Packaging & Unboxing

The NEO G MINI arrives in a branded box with the front side showing the MetallicGear logo in the upper right corner. In the middle of the box, a wireframe of the case is shown with the silk-screened tempered glass panels really standing out. If you look in the lower right corner, they include the slogan “POWERED BY PHANTEKS”.

Turning the case to its side, MetallicGear includes the case specifications, water cooling configurations, CPU/GPU clearances, and its weight.

The back of the package has both MetallicGear and Phanteks branding with a link to MetallicGear’s website. 

On the remaining side, you have features of the NEO G MINI in 9 different languages.

Opening the box, the NEO G is tightly packaged with 2 pieces of Styrofoam and wrapped in a plastic bag.

Removing the NEO G MINI from its packaging, you can see its accessory box attached to the inside of the case along with the included riser cable. The tempered glass also includes some plastic film, which is used to protect its surfaces from damage during assembly and shipment. 

After peeling the plastic from the tempered glass, you get your first real look at the NEO G MINI.

Looking in the accessory box, the MetallicGear has included:

• Installation Guide
• 6 x Zip ties
• 13 x Motherboard M3 screws
• 4 x PSU 6-32 screws
• 8 x Fan screws
• 4 x HDD 6-32 screws

A Closer Look: Exterior

After unpacking the NEO G MINI, what really stands out is the silkscreened tempered glass panels. The side panel screening is strategically placed in the upper left corner to cover the PSU to help maintain that clean look. The side panel is attached using 4 thumb screws in the corner and the front panel can be removed by pulling it from the bottom. The overall look of the case is very sleek with its smooth finish and all-black design.

Looking toward the front of the NEO G MINI, MetallicGear has included some ventilation that extends 2/3 the height of the case.

The I/O, which is located below the front ventilation includes 2 x USB 3.0 ports, audio/micophone 3.5mm jacks, and an RGB cycle button.

Looking to the other side of the case, you have a removable steel panel with a slightly different finish than the rest of the exterior of the case. This panel includes ventilation cutouts, which are used for the internal 240mm radiator/fan mounting bracket. Towards the front, we also see the same filtered vents as the opposing side with the exception of it extending the full height of the NEO G MINI. 

The back of the case has your regular motherboard I/O cutout and the right side including 3 horizontal expantion slots. Looking to the top, we can see the NEO G MINI employs a top mounted PSU, which isn’t something you see much in cases these days.

The top of the NEO G MINI has a single button power switch and has an extremely smooth black finish. After working with the case, we noticed that it attracts finger prints so make sure to have a cloth ready.

Flipping the case to get a view of its bottom, it features 4 fairly sized rubberized feet as well as a removable dust filter.

The side panel is silk-screened with an abstract pattern to provide some cover for the top mounted PSU

A Closer Look: Interior

The interior has the same black finish on the inside and includes a preinstalled riser cable for the horizontal expansion slots. Toward the bottom of the case is the motherboard tray, which holds a mITX board and to the right, you have mounting points for 2 x 120mm fans or a 240mm radiator/AIO.

If you choose not to use the fan/radiator mounting points, MetallicGear has included a black plastic cover that can just be snapped into place. 

To the front of the case, you have your choice of installing 2 x 120/140mm fans or a 240/280mm radiator. Preinstalling is a single 120mm MetallicGear RGB fan in the lower part of the mounting bracket.

Looking toward the back you have a top mounted PSU bracket, motherboard I/O cutout and 3 expansion bays. You will notice that unlike most cases, the NEO G MINI does not have any rear exhaust fan mounts.

Removing the back panel reveals mounting for 2 SSD’s behind the motherboard as well as an area at the top to store your cables. Included in the cable management area are 2 branded velcro straps to hold the cables in place. One thing, we did notice is that there isn’t much room between the back of the motherboard tray/radiator mount and the back panel. MetallicGear did include a little pocket in the middle with tiedowns to most likely help route your fan and case cables.

The back panel itself does include a magnetic dust filter, which covers the 240mm side ventilation.

System Build & Installation

Our mITX build is as follows:

• MSI H310I Pro
• Intel i5-8600K
• ID-COOLING ZoomFlow 240mm AIO
• 2 x 8GB Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance DDR4
• EVGA 1070 FTW
• Corsair HX750i

One thing that was evident during this build is that MetallicGear really put a lot of thought into the NEO G MINI’s design. The two things that really helped the build were the placement of cable cutouts and the additional 3rd expansion slot. This build didn’t come without its challenges, especially when it came to the PSU cables. I installed the AIO prior to plugging in the PSU cables, but when it can time to wire everything up, I had some clearance issues with the AIO fan. To maintain a clean look, I wanted to route all the cables to the back of the case so I had to remove the top fan, route the cables and reattach the fan to the radiator. Another slight issue was since the NEO G MINI isn’t that wide, I had to rotate my cooler so that the hoses were not extruding from the case. This might not be an issue with all AIO’s as tube lengths can vary.

I really like that MetallicGear included a mountable riser cable that is adjustable to your needs. When installing the GPU, it was a little bit of a tight fit with the AIO tubes in its default position. I was able to easily move the riser to the 2-expansion slots closest to the glass, which helped relieve tension on the PCIe slot of the riser cable.

The back of the case was probably the most time consuming and challenging part of the build. The room for cable management is quite minimal and required a lot of reworking during the process. The only options for routing cables are the little spot below the radiator mount, the center trench and the larger area in the upper right corner. There is little to no room between the tray and the back panel so that you can only really route fan or RGB wires elsewhere.  I’m also glad that my stock PSU cables were ribbon cables as it was much easier to work with than my set of EVGA cables, which are quite stiff. If I were redoing this build, I think I would opt for some custom cables so you didn’t have to tie down the slack in the upper right corner as I have done. The included Velcro strips and zip tie really came in handy to compress the cables so that they didn’t interfere when reinstalling the back panel.  

To install your SSD, you can remove the SSD bracket with a single thumb screw. After the bracket is removed, you have access to mount points to attach your SSD.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Like with many mITX builds, it was quite challenging to create a clean and great looking build. MetallicGear’s NEO G MINI was a pleasure to work in and felt much larger then it was. I really enjoyed the amazing build quality and materials used in the case especially with the all steel chassis and silk-screened tempered glass. There’s not a single place in the case that feels cheap or flimsy, which is something I have come to expect from Phanteks cases. The placement and size of the cutouts were perfect and allowed me to easily route any cables as needed. My only complaint about the case is the lack of routing options at the back. If the NEO G MINI was just 5-10mm wider, it would give more routing options and make it a little easier to manage those PSU cables. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed building in the NEO G MINI and I was able to make a nice compact gaming PC that is extremely portable. Even if you’re building something like a media PC, the NEO G mini is a perfect size and should also look great in your living room. In my opinion, MetallicGear has really hit the ground running with the NEO G MINI, which is part of their debut line of NEO cases and I look forward to their future products.

Amazing job, MetallicGear!

Introduction

In a year when pretty much every case has some element of RGB, sometimes it is nice to go back to the root of what makes a great case. That is what Cooler Master has done with its new case: the MasterCase SL600M. It has a stylish design, quality materials, and some innovative ideas. Some of the notable features of the SL600M are bottom to top airflow, a versatile mounting bracket for SSD/HDD’s or water cooler components throughout the case, and a rotatable PCIe bracket panel. In addition to these features, the SL600M also sports a dark tinted tempered glass back panel, adjustable top vent, and anodized aluminum panels with a smooth sandblasted finish. Despite this extensive list of features, the SL600M still manages to maintain an MSRP below $200 at a price of $199.99.

We would like to thank Cooler Master for providing us with the SL600M to review. 

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Bottom to top airflow
• Anodized sandblasted aluminum panels
• Sensor activated USB LEDs
• Rotatable PCIe bracket
• Versatile mounting brackets

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The MasterCase SL600M is packaged in a non-color box with the front featuring a wireframe drawing of the profile of the case with some additional black and outlined rhombuses scattered around. Towards the bottom of the box, there’s a tagline for the SL600M: “Blurring The Lines Between Work/Play”.

Turning the box to its side, there is another wireframe of the SL600M’s front.

Looking at the back of the box, you have a brief description of the SL600M with its notable features written in 8 different languages. Beside the SL600M’s description is also a smaller profile drawing ,this time, showing the back panel of the case.

Moving to the last side of the box, you're given the list of the SL600M technical specifications along with information regarding product registration and various Cooler Master locations.

Opening the box, the SL600M is safely packaged with 2 Styrofoam pieces on either end. Looking to the left side, included is a black accessory box along with the user manual.

Pulling out the SL600M, we can see it is also wrapped in some plastic and has a red fragile sticker on its tempered glass panel.

After removing all the packaging from the case, you get your first look at the SL600M. All that’s left to do is to remove the fragile sticker and you’re ready to build.

Opening the black Cooler Master branded box reveals the following accessories:

• Branded macrofibre cloth
• 12 x small fan screws
• 8 x long fan screws
• Stand-off socket
• 3 x stand-offs
• 16 x motherboard screws
• 24 x SSD mounting screws
• 16 x HDD screws
• A USB cable to update the firmware
• 10 x Zip ties

A Closer Look: Exterior

With the SL600M free of its packaging, we get our first detailed look at the case and we are truly in awe of the design choices. The first element that really caught our eye was the anodized aluminum panels with a sandblasted finish. They are smooth to the touch and are free of any markings with the exception of the Cooler Master logo outline on the front panel. We were also delighted to see that Cooler Master put well-sized feet that are just over 2” high so that the bottom intake will not be restricted in any way. Looking over to the front tempered glass panel, it has a fairly dark tint with a ¾” black bezel all around it. The bezel itself is slightly enlarged toward the front of the case to hide any SSD cables if you choose to mount them near the front.

The back side of the case is a solid black steel panel with a smooth finish.

Looking at the back of the SL600M, you will instantly notice the lack of a PSU cutout and missing rear exhaust. Since the SL600M’s intake is at the bottom of the case, the PSU has been relocated towards the front of the case. Cooler Master has included a plug at the back, which then extends to the PSU’s new location. One item that we did wish they included with the plug at the back was a power switch to easily cut the power to the system. You can still do this on the PSU but it is a little inconvenient opening up the case and hunting for the switch with your fingers. Though you may think it’s a little unusual to omit the exhaust fan with the SL600M, it has been designed to exhaust solely from the top. If a rear fan was included, it would probably interrupt the intended airflow and also add unnecessary noise.

Another neat feature that has been added to the SL600M is a rotatable PCIe plate. This allows you to increase the number of vertical PCI mounts for builds needing more than the two default ones.

Flipping over the case to the bottom, the two aluminum feet include 4 rubberized pads. These pads will keep the aluminum off the surface and prevent scratches as well as help keep the SL600M stationary.  To help prevent dust getting in your case, there is also a filter covering the 2 pre-installed 200mm fans.

The filter can easily be removed to clean by pulling it from the back of the case.

The top of the case contains the same anodized aluminum as the rest of the case. Looking towards the front is the SL600M’s I/O port and a Cooler Master shaped power button. The top vent can be adjusted based on the performance to noise ratio you prefer. If you wish for a more silent system you can leave the vent in the default configuration, which will restrict the airflow but also be quieter. You can increase the airflow by either propping up the vent or completely removing it.     

Even with the vent totally removed, the SL600M still looks great and should provide you with better airflow.

Taking a closer look at the SL600M’s I/O, it includes left to right and top to bottom:

• 2 x USB 3.0
• Movement sensor
• 2 x USB 2.0
• Headphone and microphone 3.5mm audio inputs
• 1 x USB 3.1
• Fan control slider

A Closer Look: Interior

Taking off the front tempered glass panel reveals an all-black interior with the exception of a silver Cooler Master logo on the right panel. This panel is completely removable and also includes two SSD mounting points.

Looking behind the right panel is the PSU shroud, which has a single grommet at the bottom for running cables towards the front of the case. Attached to the shroud is one of the many brackets in the SL600M, which can be used to install SSD’s, HDD’s or water cooler accessories.

At the back of the case where you would normally see the rear exhaust fan, you will find another universal installation bracket.

To take off the right panel, you just need to remove the two screws on the top and bottom. Once it has been removed, you have access to the SL600M PSU shroud.

The shroud itself can be taken off by using the two thumbnail screws on the right. After it has been removed, it reveals the last piece of the PSU assembly, the PSU mounting bracket.

This mounting bracket can also be taken off by unscrewing the two thumbnail screws on the right. Now that is it removed, you can attach your PSU and re-attach it to the SL600M. Looking at the back, you will notice that there are notches from the bottom to top of the case that allows you to install the PSU in different locations.

Now that the PSU has been removed, toward the front of the case there are 2 more universal brackets.

To access the front brackets, you must remove the front panel of the case.

At the bottom of the interior, you have the two pre-installed 200mm under a steel encloser that has ventilation on the top.

This enclosure can be easier taken out by removing the 4 screws holding it in place: two located at the back and two at the front. Once removed you have access to the two installed 200mm fans, if you were to go with a smaller fan, it also supports 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans.

If you wish to install some exhaust fans, you can do so by removing the top panel. This can be done by removing the thumbscrew located at the back of the case and popping it off. The top, like the bottom, supports up to 3 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm, or 2 x 200mm fans.

For ease of installation of a radiator the whole top panel can be removed by taking out the 6 screws holding it in place.

Taking off the back panel, Cooler Master has included plenty of tiedown points for your cable management, 3 of which include Velcro strips. As far as running the cables to your components the SL600M has 2 small cutouts at the top of the motherboard tray, 3 large grommets on the left side and a long wire channel along the bottom. Also installed is a fan controller which supports up to 4 PWM fans and can be controlled using the front I/O or your motherboard. If you wish to install some SSD’s on the back, you can do so with the 2 brackets below the motherboard cutout.

System Build and Installation

The hardware included in this build is:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• MSI X-Gaming RX480 8GB GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Black Edition Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

Cooler Master has really outdone themselves with the SL600M as it was an absolute dream to build in. Being a little bit larger than your average case and the new placement of the PSU, the SL600M was by far the roomiest mid-tower I have ever built in. I’m a huge fan of the new layout and the SL600M has tons of room for doing SLI and adding a custom water loop. You also don’t have to worry about storage, even though the SL600M doesn’t have a dedicated drive bay with the help of the universal mounting brackets you can install up to 8 SSDs/HDDs throughout the case. I personally mounted my SSD on the front so I could show it off.

Taking a closer look at my build you truly get a sense of how much room you have to work with and thanks to the ample cutouts, I was able to easily able maintain a clean build I’m always aiming to achieve. I chose to install the CPU cooler as you normally would in a case that exhausts at the back. After doing some research, it was proven that your CPU will run cooler pulling in the colder air from the front of the case as opposed to the heated exhaust from your GPU(s). An added bonus installing it this way is that I didn’t have any ram clearance issues and the Cooler Master logo is orientated correctly.

One of my favorite cable management features of the SL600M is the wire channel at the bottom. It was extremely easy to feed wires through and it does a great job of hiding them from view.

Once I had the system booted, I was able to test the motion activated USB LEDs. I must say I really love this feature as with my current build I’m constantly searching for its front USB ports.

Even though the back panel isn’t tempered glass, the SL600M has plenty of tie-down points to cleanly manage my cables. I really liked that there was a lot of space between the motherboard tray and back side panel. Even with my bulky PSU cables, reattaching the back panel took no effort at all.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Cooler Master’s SL600M is truly the perfect mid-tower case for someone that is looking for something unique and doesn’t want all that RGB flair. I personally think the SL600M strikes the perfect balance between style and function and as its tagline suggests, it is great for work or play. The exterior of the case looks amazing with its sandblasted aluminum body and tinted tempered glass panel that would look great in your man cave or office.

Building in the SL600M was effortless to achieve a clean build and really felt more like a full tower case than a mid-tower. Throughout my build, there was plenty of room to maneuver and even though I did a simple air-cooled build, there is plenty of space for a full custom loop. The SL600M has plenty of cable management options such as tie-downs, grommets and cable cutouts which all helped keep my build tidy. Even with my bulky EVGA stock cables, I was able to re-attach the back-steel panel with ease and didn’t need to squeeze it back on like I have had to do with other cases.

I really liked that Cooler Master decided to change it up and go for a bottom to top airflow layout. Not only do I like how it looks by opening up the bottom of the case, but it also helps keep the system extremely quiet. The new PSU location makes it easy to add additional cables even after it’s installed and if you choose to show it off all you have to do is remove the PSU shroud. My only complaint about the SL600M is the absence of a PSU power switch at the back. This really is a minor issue and is something i hope they will consider in the next revision of this case.

Overall, I was beyond impressed with the SL600M and it has been my favorite case to build in for 2018. It had all the features I’d expect in a great case and even some features like the sensor activated USB LEDs I didn’t know I needed. Whether you're looking for a case for the game room or workplace, I would definitely give the SL600M a look.

Amazing job Cooler Master!

Introduction

Shopping for a case can be one of the hardest pieces to buy when starting a new build. The manufacturers these days do not make it easy for us when it comes to this. Features such as tempered glass, PSU shroud, and even RGB can all become deciding factors when shopping. On top of the features, you have to factor in the price, with added features adds added cost. The DIYPC TRIO-RGB-GT has premium features for a not premium price tag. Coming in at $109.99 this may be your next pc case.

ProClockers would like to thanks DIYPC for the opportunity to review this case.

About DIYPC

DIYPC is one of the leading professional manufacturers in the market of computer accessories (adapters, cable, card readers), computer case and power supply, input-output devices (hub, headset, mouse, webcam). We focusing on manufacturing, OEM and ODM. With our efforts of researching, developing and producing, DIYPC has won a wide positive reputation in the computer market in both domestic areas and overseas.

Through several years of rapid development and expansion, DIYPC has more than 200 employees and 2 factories located in Jingsu and Shenzhen, China. The factory has more than 8,000 square feet workshop which is equipped with several modern production lines and achieved computerized management, thus we have more than 20 core technologies and unique products. Averagely we develop one new item per month. Additionally, the company has independent Import & Export right. Our selective products have been approved and got various safety certifications such as CE, FCC, UL and ROHS. Also the products are very welcomed within over 20 countries in Europe, America and Asian area.

DIYPC used and continuous to focused on providing excellent products and services to our customers. Furthermore DIYPC wishes to make a bright future with all valuable customers all around the world.

Features & Specifications

Model

Details

Expansion

Front Panel Ports

Cooling System

Dimensions & Weight

Packaging & Unboxing

The DIYPC Trio-RGB-GT arrives in a brown box with light blue accents. The front of the box has the logo in the top left corner. Their symbol, which resembles a lion, in the middle of the box and their slogan “ Be Gamer” near the middle as well.

The side of the box shows the outline of the case inside. The light blue accents travel along the side of the box as well. Both sides of the packaging are the same.

On the rear of the box, we see a list of the technical specs for the included case.

The top of the box has the DIYPC logo as well as the name of the case.

Opening the box, the case is packaged with Styrofoam and wrapped in plastic. The glass panels have 2 pieces of Styrofoam to help protect them during shipping as well.

Here are the included accessories with the case:

• Bag with different size screws including mounting hardware for the motherboard, power supply, SSD’s and HDD
• 2 Motherboard Standoffs
• PCI-e expansion bracket
• Instruction manual for installation processes.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Starting with the front of the case we see the front panel. We see that the front panel is tempered glass. Small slits on the sides of the front panel for front panel air intake for the front fans.

Moving to the top of the case we see the front panel I/O. This is comprised of 2 USB 2.0 connectors, 1 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 LED connector that is hooked up to the included fan controller for the RGB fans. The main power button is in the middle of the of the I/O. On the right side of the, there is 1 HDD indicator light, 1 reset switch, 2 USB 3.0 connectors, and a fan controller button, that upon further review is not there, this is merely a placeholder for one.

Behind the I/O is the top panel. This has a nice aesthetic to it. If you look at this piece at an angle you can see that there are slits in this panel for airflow for the top mounted fans. This panel is removed by a thumb screw that is located on the back side of the case.

On the left side of the case, we see a nice piece of thick tempered glass. It measures at 4mm thick. This is attached to the case via hinges on the back side toward the rear of the case. The tempered glass themselves attach to the front of the case with magnets.

Moving to the back of the case we see the rear I/O cutout. We see a rear fan exhaust and a single 120mm fan that comes preinstalled. Below that we see 8 expansion slots. These are removed by the single thumbscrew securing the plate.

Flipping the case on its side we see the bottom of the case. There are 4 large feet that help raise the case off the ground, with rubber padding on the bottom of them to help the case stay put on slippery surfaces. We also see a removable dust filter for the power supply.

The right side of the case looks identical to the left side with a nice thick piece of tempered glass that is on a hinge and secured with magnets.

A Closer Look: Interior

Opening the left side panel tempered glass and removing it we are greeted with the inside of the case. Here we can see the motherboard tray and the internals. The motherboard tray has pre-installed standoffs for an ATX motherboard. This case has pre-drilled holes for mATX and ITX motherboards as well. Multiple cutouts are observed for cable management as well as what appears to be a rail system for water-cooling support.

Included with this case is a power supply shroud. This is a good feature on this case for concealment of the power supply and the cables. There is a nice window cutout to display the brand of your power supply as well. On top of the power supply shroud are 2 mounting points for 120mm fans.

Moving to the front of the case we see that the power supply shroud does not fully extend to the front of the case, this leaves room for radiator support.

Pre-installed in this case are 4 RGB fans, 3 of which are in the front panel position. Here we can see these pre-installed fans. We can see that they have cable sleeving on the wires, another premium touch.

After removing the top panel, we see 2 additional mounting points for 2 more 120mm or 140mm fans.

On the rear of the case, we see the 4^th pre-installed RGB fan as well as the rear i/o cutout and the 8 expansion slots as we saw from the exterior angles.

Moving to the right side of the case, as we open the tempered glass and remove it we are greeted with the rear of the motherboard tray and the cable management area. Some notable features on the back of this case that I enjoyed were multiple tie-down points for cable management.

Included is an RGB fan controller which has been pre-installed and the fans have been pre-installed into onto this controller. This controller is Molex powered and does include an RGB motherboard cable. I will be installing this onto the motherboard to see if I can control the RGB with the motherboard header.

Below the motherboard tray cutout, we see the SSD bracket. This bracket can hold 2 2.5mm SSD’s. This bracket is removed by 1 thumbscrew.

Near the bottom of the case, we see the power supply shroud. Near the front of that shroud is where the HDD brackets are. There is room for 2 hard drives. This bracket is removable with 1 screw for additional power supply cable management.

System Build & Installation

For this system build I used the following hardware:

• Asus Rog Maximus IX Hero
• Intel 7700K Processor
• 4 x 8GB GSkill Trident Z 3000mhz
• EVGA 980ti SC
• Swiftech Drive H240 X3 AIO
• Thermaltake Toughpower 750w RGB

While installing hardware into this case I did run across a couple of things I hadn’t noticed before. I didn’t notice that the rear expansion covers were broken away pieces, and didn’t notice that until I went to install the graphics card, and had to remove the board to break out the slots. It makes sense that DIYPC includes 1 extra one in the accessory packaging.

I did have to remove the hard drive caddy in order to cable manage. If I was running a hard drive, I would have had a hard time getting decent cable management. The included tie-down points in the case is nice and in decent places as well.

The included RGB fans, in this case, are a very nice touch and I actually like them a lot. They are bright and the included fan controller makes them all sync up together. The button on the top of the case offers multiple settings as well.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Building, in this case, was a lot of fun. The overall build quality of this case was nice. The added RGB fans and the tempered glass are nice features. Like at the beginning of this review, this case has great features for a small price tag. A couple of things that I wasn’t too fond of were the breakaway expansion slots. The fact that the PSU shroud is not removable without modifying the case and the hard drive cage location. It took 5 screws to remove that for cable management and I feel like that was a little overkill, I feel like this could have been attached with 1 screw vs 5. I enjoyed the multiple cable management tie downs in the back of the case. The tempered glass was really nice and the front panel tempered glass that shows the front fans is a nice feature as well. Running an AIO I wasn’t noticing much temperature restrictions, the airflow, in this case, seems really well thought out. If you’re looking for a nice budget friendly case, this is for you.

Introduction

Not a huge fan of RGB? Looking for something that is stylish and has great airflow? Well, that’s the audience Cooler Master is looking for with their new ATX mid-tower case the NR600. The NR600 is comprised of modified a MasterBox MB5xx series frame, stylish minimalistic design, full mesh front panel for optimal airflow, and a tempered glassed side panel. Other notable features of the NR600 also include radiator support for 360mm up front / 280mm up top, room for 5 x 2.5” and 4 x 3.5” drives, and a full-length PSU shroud. Are you are still attached to your Blu-ray or DVD drive? The NR600 has you covered with a separate model that includes a 5.25” drive bay. Coming in at an MSRP of $69.99, the NR600 is also very easy on your wallet.

We would like to thank Cooler Master for sending us the NR600 to review.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Minimalistic mesh design
• Flush tempered glass side panel
• With/Without ODD support

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Cooler Master’s NR600 is packaged in a non-colored box with an outlined profile shot of the case. Since the NR600 has 2 models with one having an optical drive bay, the packaged model is noted in the lower right-hand corner. As you can see, our review sample is the one without the ODD.

On the back of the box are 2 more profile outlines of the NR600 with one being the optical disk drive model. To the left is a general description of the NR600 along with some of its notable features which include optimal cooling, subtle minimalistic design, and tempered glass side panel. These features are also listed at the bottom in 8 different languages.

On the side of the box is a full list of specifications for the NR600 along with where to get more information on the case from Cooler Master’s website in various languages.

On the final side is a front outline on the NR600 without the optical disk drive cutout.

Like many cases, the NR600 is packaged in between 2 pieces of protective foam with the case itself wrapped in a plastic bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed, all that’s left is to remove the film and fragile sticker from the tempered glass.

A Closer Look: Exterior

The exterior of the NR600 has a matte black finish that extends to all surfaces of the case. The front panel is comprised of a seamless piece of mesh with a stylized solid line on the right. On the side of the NR600 is a flush mounted tempered glass side panel that is attached at the back of the case. Moving the screws to the back of the NR600 keeps the tempered glass free of obstructions and maintains the clean look of the rest of the case.

Below the tempered glass panel in the lower left corner, there is some subtle branding with a barely visible Cooler Master logo outline.

On the other side of the NR600 is an all steel panel that is secured by two thumbscrews at the back of the case.

At the back, you have your regular I/O and PSU cutouts as well as 7 expansions slots. The screws for the expansion slots are on the outside of the case but are out of view thanks to a little bracket. I think this is a nice touch that helps with the rest of the clean lines on the NR600.

You can remove the expansion slot bracket simply by removing the two screws holding it in place. Once removed, you have complete access to your I/O screws. I personally prefer them on the outside of the case as I find it easier to access them with a screwdriver.

Looking to the top of the NR600, it contains a removable magnetic dust filter and in the right-hand corner the case’s I/O.

Once the filter is removed from the top, a hexagon cutout pattern is revealed and has a rail system for installing radiators and fans. The outer rails seem to give a fair bit of play for your 140mm wide radiator and fans which should give you maximum component compatibility.

A closer look at the NR600 I/O shows a 3.5mm audio jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button and a Cooler Master shaped power button.

Flipping the NR600 to the bottom, 4 rubberized feet are visible and there is a removable filter for the PSU intake.

Included with the NR600 is a user manual, warranty guide and stored inside the case is a bag of accessories which contains:

• Various mounting screws
• SSD grommets / screws
• Zip ties
• Tool-less drive rails
• Standoff socket
• Molex fan power cable

A Closer Look: Interior

The same matte black finish from the outside of the NR600 has been brought to the interior of the case. The NR600 has support for full sized ATX motherboard with plenty of room for cable routing. Your options for route include two cutouts at the top, two cutouts at the bottom and two grommets to the right of the motherboard.

The NR600 contains a full PSU shroud with a cutout at the front giving you about 70mm of radiator clearance. Cooler Master has also included three 2.5” drive mounting points on top of the shroud if you wish to show off your drive.

Looking toward the front, you have mounting points for three 120mm fans and/or up to a 360mm radiator. The NR600 comes with a single 120mm fan pre-installed on the front panel which acts as an intake.

At the back of the case, you have a second pre-installed 120mm fan as an exhaust fan.

At the back of the motherboard tray are various tie-downs at all sides of the case as well as two 2.5” drive mounting points below the processor cutout.

Under the PSU shroud is a riveted in HDD cage that has storage for up to three 3.5” drives.

System Build and Installation

The hardware included in this build is:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• MSI X-Gaming RX480 8GB GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Black Edition Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

The NR600 was a pleasure to build in and I loved the unobstructed layout in the case. I had plenty of room to work with while installing my components with room to spare if I wanted to upgrade to a 360mm AIO or even a custom loop. With a tempered glass side panel, I wanted to make sure my build looked great and my cable management was on point. This was easy to achieve thanks to the combination of the full PSU shroud and the cable cutouts around the motherboard. 

Managing the cables in the back of the case was a breeze with the many included tie-downs. The only issue I had with the whole build was how much of space you have for the PSU. It quite the tight fit and you must pre-install all your cables prior to securing the PSU. So, if down the road you wish to add an additional cable you will have to remove the whole unit to do so. I would have been nice if the HDD cage was removable or even if it was moved to the left a few more inches. Like many other Cooler Master cases, the NR600 has tool-less 2.5” mounts which I used to install my Samsung SSD. Personally, I’m a huge fan of this tool-less mounts and really hope Cooler Master continues to include these on all their cases.

The NR600 may not include any colorful RGB effects but it does have a single subtle lighting element with the Cooler Master power button.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Cooler Master’s NR600 is an excellent mid-sized case for anyone looking for a budget-friendly case that prefers a more minimalistic design. With the NR600 it was effortless to create a great looking build and I really liked the NR600’s unobstructed interior layout. The NR600 has many great features such as a full PSU shroud, plenty of tie downs/cut out for cable management, tool-less 3.5”/2.5” drive mounts and lots of room to install your hardware of choice. With the NR600 you also won’t have to worry airflow as the full mesh front panel provides this in spades.

If I had to change one element of the NR600 it would be the riveted HDD cage. The location of the drive cage limits you to 180mm of PSU space which is a little inconvenient adding/remove cables. In future revisions, I would like to see Cooler Master make this cage either removable or adjustable. This would give you some extra room for a larger PSU or more space to hide your cables if your build doesn’t include any 3.5” drives.

The NR600 was a joy to build in and I personally really liked its minimalistic design. In the end, I was able to create a clean build with ease and have plenty of room for upgrades in the future.

Great job Cooler Master!

Introduction

With the recent surge in high-end mITX and mATX motherboards, builders are moving to more compact cases. Generally, the trade-off between full-sized ATX and mATX cases is less room for cooling solutions resulting in higher system temperatures. Cooler Master’s new case, the NR400, offers a compact chassis that has been designed with cooling performance in mind. The NR400’s body consists of all steel construction, a mesh front panel, removable magnetic dust filter on the top and also has the option for one 5.25” drive bay up front. Despite its smaller form factor, the NR400 has ample room cooling hardware with it supporting a 280mm radiator up top, 280mm up front and a 120mm at the back. The NR400 is also gentle on your wallet coming in at an MSRP of only $59.99.

We would like to thank Cooler Master for sending us the NR600 to review.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Minimalistic mesh design
• Flush tempered glass side panel
• With/Without ODD support

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Cooler Master’s MasterBox NR400 arrives in a brown cardboard box with the familiar lined profile shot of the case. Even though the photo is of an NR400 without an optical drive bay, you will notice in the lower right-hand corner our sample does contain one.

On the back of the box, there are shots of both versions of the NR400 on the right side with a description of the case and some of its features on the left. Included at the bottom is a more complete feature list in 8 different languages.

On one of the sides of the box is a front view of the non-ODD version of the case with the other side listing the specifications of the NR400.

When you remove the NR400 from its original box, you will notice it is encased in Styrofoam at both ends with a plastic bag cover the entire case.

With all the packaging removed, all that is left before starting your build is removing the protective film from the tempered glass side panel.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the NR400 is unboxed, we get our first in-depth look at the case. Looking at the side tempered glass panels of the NR400 Cooler Master, we notice that Cooler Master has done away with the side mounted thumb screws and moved them to the back of the case. The tempered glass panel is also mounted flush with the case which provides a nice clean look. The entire front of the case is comprised of steel mesh with one single line going up the right side of the case. With our version of the NR400, there is also a subtle cutout with a mesh insert for a single optical disk drive.

On the left corner below, the tempered glass is an ever so faint outline of the Cooler Master logo. I really do love the stealth branding Cooler Master employs as it doesn’t distract from the product’s look.

Moving to the opposite side of the N400 is a steel panel which is attached via 2 thumb screws on the back.

The back of the NR400 has your normal I/O cutout and contains 4 PCIe slots which screw in from inside the case. The PSU cutout at the bottom is offset to the right giving some extra room for cable management behind the motherboard tray.

The top of the NR400 includes a detachable magnetic dust filter with the cases I/O to the right. 

Removing the dust filter from the top reveals hexagon cutouts for air flow and mounting points for fans/radiators. Cooler Master has gone with rails as opposed to predrilled holes to maximize component compatibility.

The top I/O consists of one 3.5mm audio jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button, and a Cooler Master logo as the power button.

Flipping over the case, the NR400 has 4 rubberized feet and a removable dust filter for the PSU’s intake fan.

Packaged within the NR400 was an installation guide and warranty booklet as well as an accessory bag which includes:

• Various mounting screws
• SSD grommets / screws
• Zip ties
• Tool-less drive rails
• Standoff socket

A Closer Look: Interior

Moving to the interior of the NR400, the matte black found on its exterior continues to the inside as well. The NR400’s motherboard tray supports both Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX boards and has two smaller cutouts at the top and two oversized grommets on the right. Looking at the ODD bay, it's nice to see that Cooler Master included a tool-less mechanism that should make installing a disk drive a breeze.  The bottom of the NR400 also includes a full-length PSU shroud which includes two 2.5” mounts on the top.

Toward the front of the case, there are more rail mounts which support up to a 280mm radiator and comes preinstalled with a 120mm fan. If you are planning on installing a radiator at the front of the NR400, the PSU shroud contains a cut large cutout with about 70mm of clearance.

The rail mounting system is continued on the back of the NR400 with a second preinstalled 120mm fan.

Looking to the back of the motherboard tray, it contains plenty of tie downs on both sides and two    tool-less SSD mount points below the processor cutout on the right. Within the PSU shroud of the NR400 is a removable HDD tray which supports up to three 3.5” or two 2.5” drives and can be mounted in one of three positions.

System Build and Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• MSI H310I Pro
• Intel i5-8600K
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition
• 2 x 8GB Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance DDR4
• Gigabyte RTX2060 OC Pro
• Corsair HX750i
• LG 24x DVD Burner

Building in the NR400 was a breeze and even after my mITX build was complete, I had plenty of room to spare. I had no clearance issues with Cooler Master’s Hyper 212 cooler and had ample space for my full-length RTX 2060. Even though I decided on a complete air-cooled build I feel there is easily enough room for a full custom loop. Since I went with an mITX board I didn’t need to use the included grommets for the majority of my cables. The oversized processor cutout gave me enough space between the motherboard and cutout, which allowed me to neatly route cables to the motherboard and maintain an extremely clean build.

Moving to the back of the NR400, I also kept the cable management fairly clean with the available tie-downs. To help with the extra slack of the PSU cables, I removed the included HDD cage and chose to install an SSD below the motherboard cutout. The NR400 has 22mm of cable clearance between the motherboard tray and side panel so even with the extra SATA cables for the ODD, they had no trouble reattaching the panel.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Normally, building an mATX case is quite challenging due to the space restrictions but this wasn’t the case with Cooler Master’s NR400. Being a smaller case, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of space I had during my build. There was plenty of room for all my components and even more to spare if I choose to water cool down the road.

In addition to the amount of room in the NR400, some of my favorite features of the case include its minimalistic design, mesh front panel for excellent airflow, and the mounting rails giving you more options for components. Also, whether you require the use of an ODD or not it's nice to see Cooler Master offering the NR400 with or without a drive bay.

Typically, when looking for a case I tend to go for a mid-tower, but after building in the NR400 I may have to rethink that. This case has exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend anyone looking for a smaller chassis to check out the NR400.

Great job Cooler Master!

Introduction

Usually, when moving to a smaller enclosure, you often find yourself sacrificing features and customization. This isn’t the case with Cooler Master’s newest addition: the MasterBox Q500L. The Q500L sports a compact chassis that supports mITX, mATX, and even ATX motherboards. Some of the key features of the Q500L include moveable I/O panel, adjustable PSU locations, and custom silk-screened magnetic dust filters (extra cost). At an MSRP of $49.99, the Q500L won’t break the bank.

We would like to thank Cooler Master for sending us the Q500L to review.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Movable I/O panel
• Adjustable PSU mounting points
• Custom silk-screened magnetic dust filters

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Cooler Master’s Q500L arrives in a regular box with a profile line drawing of the Q500L with the I/O positioned toward the front of the case.

On the back of the box, you’re given a brief description of the Q500L on the left side with another profile line drawing on the right. At the bottom, there is a list of the Q500L’s notable features written in 8 different languages.

On the sides of the box, we are shown a front view of the Q500L and on the other side, a list of the case’s specifications are provided.,

Removing the Q500L from the box, like most other cases, it’s packaged in two pieces of Styrofoam and the case itself is wrapped in a plastic bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed, all that’s left is to peel the plastic from the I/O and side panel.

Stored inside the Q500L chassis are the user manual, warranty guide and a bag of mounting hardware.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the Q500L has been unboxed, we get our first look at the case. The side panel is comprised of an acrylic panel that has beveled edges and is secured to the case with 4 thumb screws. The panel itself does have a notch cutout which leaves room for the Q500L I/O. The front of the case is entirely covered by a magnetic dust filter which has a geometric design on it.

Taking a closer look at the I/O panel, it includes 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio connector, 3.5mm microphone connector, a reset button and a Cooler Master shaped power button. One neat feature of the I/O is that it can be installed in different locations. You can install it either on the top, bottom or its default location the front side.

The back side of the Q500L is closed off with a solid steel panel which is held in place with 4 screws with a rubber outer edge. These screws also act as feet if you wish to lay the Q500L on its side.

Like the front of the Q500L, the top also includes a geometric designed magnetic dust filter.

Removing the filter reveals a fully perforated panel allowing for excellent airflow.

Cooler Master was kind enough to include some customized silk-screened dust filters with the ProClockers logo on them.

Looking to the back of the Q500L, it consists of an I/O cutout, 7 expansion slots, and a plug at the top right. The expansion slots are accessed from the outside of the case by removing the plate covering the thumb screws. You may notice that there is no PSU cutout; this is because the power supply is installed at the front of the Q500L. The only downside to is that there is no power switch at the back of the case and you are required to remove the side panel access the switch on the PSU. I’d personally like to see Cooler Master include a switch if they choose to make a revision of the Q500L in the future.

A Closer Look: Interior

The Q500L has a matte black interior with room to support up to an ATX sized motherboard. If you do wish to install an ATX board into the Q500L, you do restrict what can be installed in the bottom of the case. With an ATX motherboard, you are limited to only a 2 x 120mm fan as 140mm fans will not fit. Also, you will be unable to install a radiator in the bottom if you are water-cooling or have an AIO.

Looking to the front of the interior is where the power supply is installed in the Q500L via a PSU bracket. This bracket can be installed in 3 different locations depending on where you require clearance for fans and radiators.

The back of the Q500L comes preinstalled with a 120mm exhaust fan.

The back of the motherboard tray has plenty of cutouts and tie-down points for cable management and two 3.5” / 2.5” drive brackets. Each of these brackets can hold a single 3.5” drive or two 2.5” drives.

System Build and Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• MSI H310I Pro
• Intel i5-8600K
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition
• 2 x 8GB Team Group Vulcan TUF Gaming Alliance DDR4
• MSI RX480 Gaming 8GB
• Corsair HX750i
• Corsair Force 120GB SSD

This is probably one of the smallest cases I have built, but despite its smaller size, it felt quite roomy for my mITX build. I did run into a few clearance issues when building in the Q500L. The first was when I was installing my Gigabyte RTX 2060 Pro with the Corsair HX750i PSU. Once the power supply was installed, the RTX 2060 card was about 5mm too long. If I had gone with a bigger motherboard, this would not have been an issue as I could have installed the card in a lower PCIe slot removing the clearance issue with the PSU. The other issue was with the moveable I/O panel of the Q500L. To clean up some of the I/O cables I wanted to install it at the top of the case as it had better routing options. But due to interference with the Hyper 212 CPU cooler, I was unable to do so. This was only a minor setback as I was able to install it at the bottom of the case and route the cables through the bottom of the motherboard tray. I really liked that the cutouts were extremely well based and this allowed me to easily route all of my cables for a nice clean look.

Looking to the back of the motherboard tray I was pleased at the amount of tie-down points and the generous amount of room from the back of the tray and back panel of the Q500L. This allowed me to easily manage all my cables and neatly tie them down to the back of the motherboard tray. Once all the cables were secured I had no issues reinstalling the back panel of the Q500L.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Normally I’m not a fan of the smaller cases due to the smaller work area and lack of versatility. This was not the case with the Q500L as it has a good amount of space and configuration options both for looks and component compatibility. One of the features that really stood out to me was the ability to adjust the case I/O to the top, bottom of front side of the case. This allowed me to move the I/O to the bottom of the case for some cleaner cable management options. This also would really work well if you choose to place the Q500L on the side and needed the I/O in a different location.

Even though the Q500L is quite roomy, it did run into a few clearance issues, on being between with the GPU and PSU. Originally, I wanted to install a Gigabyte RTX 2060 Pro but it about 5mm to long and interfered with the PSU. So, I ended up having to go with the smaller RX480 which fits nice and snug against my HX750i. If I had gone with a bigger motherboard with lower PCIe slots this wouldn’t have been an issue as I had plenty of room below the PSU.

Another thing about the Q500L that surprised me was the well placed cut outs and the number of tie downs at the back of the case. These both allowed me to cleanly route my cables and made for an excellent looking build.

The Q500L easily exceeded my expectations and was amazing to build in. I didn’t expect this much space and versatility in such a small chassis. Anyone looking to downsize their ATX build into a smaller case should consider the Q500L a solid contender.

Amazing job, Cooler Master.

Introduction

There are many factors when choosing the right case for your build. One of these considerations is whether you want a case designed to be silent or a case that has excellent cooling performance. Well, with Phanteks latest addition, the Eclipse P600S, you may not need to choose. The P600S is designed with soundproofing panels and Phanteks’ new high airflow fabric and can provide you with the best of both worlds with both silent and high airflow configurations. Some of the other notable features of the P600S include magnetic hinged side panels, magnetic front/top panels and a full-length PSU shroud. Even with all of these premium features, the Eclipse P600S still comes in at an affordable MSRP of $149.99.

We would like to thank Phanteks for sending us the Eclipse P600S to review.

Phanteks’ Take on the Eclipse P600S

The Eclipse P600S is designed to bring you the best of two worlds: a hybrid forged between silent and high-performance chassis. Find the optimal configuration in any situation by switching between quiet or performance mode. Designed with effective soundproofing panels and Phanteks' new high airflow fabric, the Eclipse P600S offers the full potential of two opposites, minimum noise, and maximum airflow.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Sound dampening foam
• Custom fabric mesh
• Full- length PSU shroud
• Magnetic hinged side panels

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The Eclipse P600S arrives in a brown box with black and white accents. On the front of the box, it denotes that it contains the Eclipse P600S with the P600S writing in white. On the right side, there is also a partial white outline drawing of the case which may give us a hint that it might be the white model of the P600S.

Moving to the other side of the box is another white line drawing, but this time of its internal layout.

Opening the box reveals an accessory kit that Phanteks is known to include in their higher-end chassis.

Removing the P600S from the box, it is protected by 2 foam panels with the case itself wrapped in a black fabric bag.

Removing the rest of the packaging from the P600S, we can see it is indeed the white model of the case. All that is left before we start building is removing the plastic film from the tempered glass side panel.

Opening the included accessory box reveals a lot of extras for your P600S. Below is a list of everything that Phanteks has included:

• P600S User Guide
• 4 x 3.5” Stackable HDD Brackets
• Vertical GPU Mount
• GPU Anti-Sag Bracket
• Airflow Cover
• Toolbox – Which includes various mounting hardware
• Zip ties
• Phanteks Case Badge

Also included in my review sample was a Phanteks riser cable which can be purchased separately.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the Eclipse P600S is fully removed from its packaging we can take a closer look at the chassis. The first thing that really caught our eye was the glossy white finish that encompasses the whole case. Looking at the tempered glass side panel you will notice that there are no thumb screws holding it in place. This is because the tempered glass panel itself is secured to the case with two magnets and is hinged at the back. When you're ready to start your build, you can remove the tempered glass just by pulling it off the hinge. Once removed you will notice it has 4 strips of foam on each side which probably helps with minimizing the noise and provides some cushioning when closing the panel.

The front of the P600S consists of a removable magnetic panel, black vents on both sides and a hidden I/O panel. Near the bottom, there is also some subtle branding with “Phanteks” written in silver letters.

The magnetic panel has three different configurations which include fully closed, slightly open, and totally removed. Leaving the panel fully attached to the case should provide near silent operation. The other configurations are designed for higher airflow while sacrificing some of the soundproofing that it provides.

The back of the panel it is equipped with sound dampening foam which prevents sound from exiting from the front of the case.

If you choose to remove the panel, the inside filter is made of a fabric mesh rather than the normal metal mesh seen in other cases. This fabric mesh is designed to give you better cooling performance as it is much less restrictive providing upwards of 90% airflow.

Cleaning this new fabric mesh is simple as the whole front panel can be removed by pulling it off from the bottom of the case. If you water cool in the P600S, you will be pleased to see Phanteks has included an easy to access drain port near the bottom of the case. We personally really like this addition and wished more cases would do the same.

Flipping open the smaller panel at the top reveals the P600S I/O. The case’s I/O consists of two USB 3.0 ports, a single USB Type-C port, reset button, and two 3.5mm audio/microphone jacks.

Moving to the back of the P600S, you have the common motherboard I/O cutout as well as 7 expansion slots. To the right side of the case, there are also 3 more expansion slots for if you wish to vertically mount your GPU. To the bottom, we have the PSU cutout panel with the two thumb screws holding them in place. We love this design choice as it makes it that much easier to install a PSU into the case. Looking to the top of the case you have two more thumb screws that hold the top panel as a small plate covering a secondary I/O cutout. This cutout would be used if you purchased the ITX kit which allows you to install a secondary system into the P600S chassis.

On top of the case, there is a single black power button with an LED edge which will illuminate when the system is powered on.

Like the front of the case, you have a second magnetically attached panel with a fabric mesh underneath. The top panel also includes the same sound dampening form to ensure silent operation when the top panel is left on.

When installing fans and/or radiators to the top of the P600S it can easily be done by removing the top panel which reveals a removable steel plate. Removing the top panel can be done by loosening the 2 thumb screws at the back of the case and sliding the panel off. The steel plate is removed in similar fashion with the thumb screws to the right.

Once the plate has been removed, you can go ahead and install up to 3 x 120mm fans and/or up to a 360mm radiator. Depending on your configuration you can also install the included Airflow cover on the front of the back slot to prevent hot air from circulating. A nice addition to the top plate is the included fill port located on the lower right side. This is perfect for someone wanting to do a water cooled build in the P600S.

Going to the bottom of the case, it includes four rubberized feet with a removable PSU intake filter.

A Closer Look: Interior

The white with black accents seen on the exterior of the chassis continues on the inside. It’s nice to see that the Eclipse P600S includes a full-length PSU shroud as well as plenty of room to work with. If you have worked with many mid-tower cases, you can see that the P600S has a lot of extra room above the motherboard tray. This probably was done to give you room to install an ITX system in the roof of the case, but if you did go with a single system it should give you enough room for a push/pull 360mm radiator setup.

Phanteks has also done away with the plastic grommets and went with a plastic sliding panel instead. Personally, I much prefer the look of these panels over the traditional grommet, but did wish they were done in steel or aluminum matching the rest of the P600S accessories.

Looking down to the PSU shroud, you have multiple cable cutouts near the back for your motherboard wire as well as a covered cutout for your GPU. Toward the front of the case is a generous cutout giving you room for a push/pull configuration is you wish.

Also, near the front of the shroud is a beveled edge which has been inscribed with “Phanteks”. Its aesthetic additions like this one really gives the case some personality.

The front of the P600S comes with two pre-installed premium 140mm fans but does have room for a third. This also gives you the option to install up to a 420mm radiator in the front of the case.

The back of the P600S also comes with a pre-installed premium 140mm fan.

Going to the back of the P600S, like the front of the case, it also has a magnetic removable hinged panel. This solid steel panel includes sound dampening foam as well as a ribbon near the front to easily open the panel.

If you’re a fan of cable management you will absolutely love the back of the P600S. Phanteks has included many tiedown points on the left and bottom of the case which all include Phanteks branded Velcro straps. Phanteks also provides three 2.5” drive brackets which are located below the motherboard cutout.

The left side has 2 useable cable channels which are held in place with double looped Velcro strips.

By default, the PSU shroud is free of all obstructions and provide plenty of room to tuck away your cables. If you did have some 3.5” drives you wished to install, you can use the included stackable trays and install them in the back half of the shroud.

At the top of the P600S is the included Phanteks fan controller which has support for up to 3 x 3 pin fans and 5 x 4 pin PWM fans. You can expand the number of fans using splitters as long as the total power doesn’t exceed 4A.

System Build and Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• ASUS STRIX RTX 2060 GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Black Edition Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

Recently, I have done a lot of mid-tower builds, but I must say this one has been my favorite by far. Personally, I couldn’t find a single flaw in the Eclipse P600S. It had extremely well-placed cutouts, an amazing amount of room to work with, and aesthetically it just looks stunning. In addition to it looking great, it is also very well constructed and feels more like a $200+ case as opposed to one priced at $150.  It was truly effortless to create a clean build in the P600S with the help of features like the cutout sliders and motherboard cutout above/below the motherboard. Some of my favorite features of the case are the vertical GPU mount, removable side panels, and the fact the all the panels are magnetically attached.

Out of all the cases I have worked with over the years, the P600S has the best out of the box cable management I have seen. Thanks to all the included Velcro straps and tiedown points I was able to keep the back nice a tidy even with my bulking EVGA stock cables. I really liked that Phanteks included straps on the majority of the tiedown points so I didn’t have to resort to zip ties. This makes it much easier to add/rearrange cables in the future and just looks much better in my opinion. Another huge plus is the included fan controller which should easily handle any fans you decide to add to your build.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

This was the third Phanteks case I have built in and like the others, the Eclipse P600S continues to bring great design coupled with excellent quality. After looking over the case and I completed my build, I could not find a single flaw with the P600S. It’s an extremely well-designed case that is extremely versatile, whether you are doing a duel system, air cooled or water cooled builds. The P600S can accommodate each perfectly.

While doing my build, I was amazed by the amount of room it had, especially for a mid-tower. Another huge plus for me was the amount of included tie-down points and straps in the back of the case. This allowed me to keep my cable extremely clean at the back of the case and thanks to the well-placed cutouts, it was easy to create a clean build.

Some of my favorite features of the P600S include the magnetic side panels, the choice to either run a silent/performance configuration and cloth mesh. I really hope in the future that Phanteks releases some custom colored fabric mesh so you could further customize your build.

I really can’t say enough about the Eclipse P600S, and regardless of the type of build you’re doing, the P600S has something to offer. 

Amazing job, Phanteks!

Introduction

In the era of tempered glass and RGB, it seems like every manufacturer has created its own version of a case with these features. This is no different for DIYPC with its Vanguard RGB chassis which sports three 4mm tempered glass panels and includes four of their 120mm RGB fans. In addition to its thick tempered glass panels, Vanguard RGB also features a solid 0.8mm steel frame, 2-piece PSU shroud and an included fan hub with support for up to 7 fans. Even with the addition like the fan hub and pre-installed RGB fans, the DIYPC Vanguard still comes in at an affordable MSRP of $129.99.

We would like to thank DIYPC for sending us this case for review.

About DIYPC

DIYPC is one of the leading professional manufacturers in the market of computer accessories (computer case and power supply, and input-output devices). With several years of rapid expansion, DIYPC employs more than 200 employees and has 2 factories located in China. The factories are equipped with several modern production lines allowing them to continue to develop new products every month. DIYPC is focused on providing excellent products and services to our customers and wishes to make a bright future with customers all around the world.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• 0.8mm steel frame
• 3 x 4mm tempered glass side panels
• 4 included 120mm RGB fans
• PSU shroud

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The DIYPC Vanguard RGB arrived on our doorstep double boxed with the inner box being a brown box with bright blue accents. On the front of the box, we have the name of the case: “Vanguard-RGB” along with the tagline “Be Gamer”.

On one side of the box, we are shown a profile view of the Vanguard RGB which showcases its side and front tempered glass panels. The other side listing the specifications of the Vanguard which includes a brief description of the case along with its dimensions (507mm L x 246mm W x 518mm H) and weight (10.7kg).

Once the Vanguard has been removed from the box, it’s encased with two pieces of Styrofoam on either end with some extra foam next to the tempered glass side panel. Like many cases, the Vanguard is also stored in a plastic bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed, all we have left to do is to remove the protective film from the three tempered glass panels.

The case contains a box of accessories that includes:

• Printed installation sheet
• Small speaker
• Zip ties
• Various mounting screws

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the DIYPC Vanguard has been unpacked, we get our first look at the chassis. The Vanguard is comprised of a completely black finish and is fitted with three 4mm tempered glass panels. The front panel includes airflow vents on either side and a full tempered glass front to showcase the front RGB fans. On the front side of the Vanguard RGB, there is another glass panel which is secured to the case using a thumb screw in each corner.

Upon taking a closer look at the thumb screws, I noticed a few of them didn’t sit flush with the glass. It’s not that noticeable from a distance, but would still bother someone who is a perfectionist in the case of computer aesthetics. The mounting point on the cast looks to be bent ever so slightly.

Looking to the back side, we have an identical tempered glass panel as we saw on the front.

The back of the Vanguard has your normal cutouts for the PSU and motherboard I/O as while as 8 expansion slots. In the upper right corner there is a mounting point for a 120mm or 140mm exhaust fan.

Moving to the top of the case, DIYPC has included a removable magnetic dust filter. I am personally a big fan of the magnetic dust filters and they are extremely easy to remove and clean.

With the Vanguard RGB, there is no shortage of front USB with two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports. In addition to the USB ports it also includes an LED button to manage the case’s RGB, audio/microphone 3.5mm jacks, power button, HDD LED, reset button and a fan speed slider.

On the bottom of the chassis, there are 4 large rubberized feet and a removable PSU intake filter. You will also notice some screws which hold the HDD and PSU shroud in place. As a modder, I also like to see the use of screws used over rivets making it easy to remove and paint/mod parts.

A Closer Look: Interior

The black finish on the exterior is mimicked on the interior of the Vanguard RGB. The interior features support for full ATX motherboards and 3 SSD mounts to the right of the motherboard. If you choose to forgo installing SSDs, it does have the option to install a 240mm radiator/AIO. If you did go this route, airflow might be a little bit of a problem since the back side of the case consists of a full tempered glass panel. Looks like the Vanguard has plenty of cable management routing options with various rubber grommets around the motherboard tray and two more on the PSU shroud. At first glance, the grommet to the right of the motherboard does seem to be a little small, so we will have to see if this is an issue when it comes to our build. It is nice that DIYPC has included a PSU shroud which will help hide the PSU cables and keep the front side the case looking tidy. On the second portion of the shroud, there is also a mounting point for a pump if you are running a custom water loop to your system.

Looking towards the front of the case, DIYPC has pre-installed three of their RGB fans and if you wished to install a radiator in the front, you have 60mm of clearance from the PSU shroud to the front of the case. If you did require more room, you could remove the second section of the PSU shroud which currently hides the back HDD cage.

The back of the case includes another pre-installed 120mm RGB fan.

Taking a closer look at the installed fans, it consists of black translucent blades with a LED strip attached to the interior. Personally, I would like to see DIYPC cover up this strip somehow to make it a little more visually pleasing when powered down.

Flipping the case around to the backside, it’s nice to see plenty of tiedown points and some Velcro straps to keep your cables looking neat. Another nice addition included with the Vanguard RGB is a pre-installed fan hub.

A closer look at the fan hub reveals that it is powered by a single Molex connector and the four installed RGB case fans are already hooked up. If you wish to install more PWM fans to the chassis you have room for up to 3 more on the hub.

Looking to the bottom, there is a removable HHD cage with room for two 3.5” / 2.5” drives. The HDD cage can be detached by removing the 4 screws on the bottom of the case as well as a single screw attaching it to the motherboard tray. Once this has been done, you also must remove the second portion of the PSU shroud to be able to remove the tray from the case. It’s a little more work than I think it needs to be and if DIYPC makes a revision of the case in the future I’d like to see an easier way to remove the drive cage.

I also noticed that when we removed the bottom screws, some of the paint peeled off of the case. Even though the blemish is on the bottom of the case, it was still disappointing to have that happen.

System Build and Installation

The hardware included in this build is:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 2060 6GB GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Black Edition Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

While building in the Vanguard RGB, I really loved the amount of space I had to work with. This made installing the motherboard a breeze and there was plenty of room in the upper portion of the case to connect the CPU power with ease. I did run a few issues with some of the case cutouts with my larger sized EVGA cables. With the 24-pin motherboard cable, I even had to remove the rubber grommet all together to get it to fit. I think this could be easily remedied if DIYPC would make these cutouts a little bigger and used some firmer rubber for the grommets themselves.

I decided to install my SSD using one of the mounting points to the right of the motherboard. Installing it was a little awkward since the SSD sat flush to the mounting plate causing a little bit of a clearance issue with the power and data cable. To make this a little easier, it would be nice if DIYPC raised these mount points just a little or move to an SSD tray type system.

Overall, I find the Vanguard RGB a nice case to work in and with a few minor changes could make building in it even better. Once the system was booted up, I also really liked the look of the included RGB fans.

One of the Vanguard’s nicer features is the 30mm+ cable clearance in the back of the case coupled with the included Velcro tiedown points. It was painless to manage even my extremely bulky EVGA cables and with the HDD tray removed, I had plenty of room to tuck away any extra slack. Though I didn’t add any fans to the case for this build, it’s nice to know that I still have room for 3 more on the included fan hub.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

This is the first time I have built in a DIYPC and I was pleasantly surprised. The case itself is extremely solid with a 0.8mm steel frame and the three tempered glass panels looked great. DIYPC has also added tons of value to their case with the inclusion of a fan hub and 4 of their 120mm RGB fans. Some of the other features that really stood out are the full PSU shroud, the many Velcro tiedown points and the amount of space you have to work with both in the front and the back.

With that said, the case is not without a few flaws. I ran into a few quality control issues with the tempered panel thumb screws not sitting flush to the glass and some of the case’s finish being stripped when I removed the HDD cage. Those are really quite minor as they are hardly noticeable and don’t really detract from the look of the case. From a design perspective, there are a few changes I would like to see which include bigger grommets, an easier to remove HDD cage, and a modified SSD mounting points.

DIYPC’s Vanguard RGB was a good case to build in and really does look sharp with the included RGB fans. I do find the MSRP of $129.99 a tad high, but at the time of this review it is currently on sale at NewEgg for $79.99, which is a real steal.

Introduction

Corsair’s Crystal Series of cases have been a staple for builders and is well-known for including multiple tempered glass panels enabling you to see every aspect of your PC. The newest addition to this popular line is Corsair’s 680X RGB which sports three tempered glass side panels, high-airflow design, and dual chamber design. Other standout features include magnetic hinged side panel, vertical GPU mount, Lighting Node PRO controller and three pre-installed LL120 fans. With the inclusion of the LL120 fans and the Lighting Node controller, it is no surprise that the 680X commands a slightly higher price tag over other cases from the Crystal Series lineup with an MSRP of $259.99.

We would like to thank Corsair for providing us with the 680X RGB to review. 

About Corsair

Founded in 1994, Corsair started by making Level 2 cache modules for OEMs. After Intel incorporated the L2 cache into the processor, Corsair refocused and started making DRAM modules. Fast forward to 2018, and they have become one of the leading names in the high-end PC industry. Over the years, with their groundbreaking technology and innovation, they have expanded their line of products to include high-performance memory, ultra-efficient PSU’s, cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, SSD’s, keyboards, mice and headsets.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Corsair’s 680X RGB arrives in a large box (425mm x 500mm x 584mm) that has some heft to it weighing in at just above 25 lbs. On the front of the box, we are presented with a profile shot of the 680X with some Corsair branding in the upper left corner and another enlarged logo behind the case drawing.

Turning the box to the side, we have more shots of the 680X showing its dimensions as well as some specifications written at the top in 3 different languages.

Moving to the back side of the box, we have an exploded view of the 680X with each of its notable features/hardware marked with various letters. You can find a legend for these letters at the bottom of the photo which will go on to describe the feature or piece of hardware.

The 680X it is firmly secured in between 2 Styrofoam blocks with the case stored in a black fabric bag. Nestled in the sides of the box was a user guide for the 680X as well as a magnetic dust filter.

Once unpacked, all that is left to do is peel the plastic film from each of the installed tempered glass panels.

Inside one of the HDD sleds of the 680X was an accessory box which includes:

• 12 x zip ties
• 8 x long fan screws
• 24 x short fan screws
• 24 x motherboard/HDD screws
• 12 x ODD/SSD screws
• 4 x short rubber spacers
• 1 x motherboard standoff

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the 680X RGB has been removed from its packaging, I must say I really like its size. The 680X is wider than most cases due to its dual chamber design and front to back is a little shorter as well. In my opinion, this size makes it ideal for placing on top of most desks.

The sample we received has a white finish with some subtle silver accent such as the Corsair logo on the front of the case. If white is not to your liking the 680X RGB is also available in black with the same silver accents. The body itself consists of all steel construction with plastic molds for the front and top panels of the case. Like most cases that integrate plastic with steel, the finishes on these pieces are ever so slightly different hues. Though only a keen eye can see the difference, so it’s a non-issue but worth mentioning.

The 680X makes it easy to showcase the internals of your build with a hinged full tempered glass side panel which is held closed via 2 magnets. Towards the front of the case, Corsair has included some large side ventilation to provide good airflow for the included front fans.

The front of the 680X includes the second of the three tempered glass panels which show off the three pre-installed LL120’s RGB fans. In addition to the side ventilation, there is also a generous amount of room between the tempered glass panel and 680X. The may not give the optimal airflow such as a meshed panel but I believe this is an excellent midground between aesthetics and airflow.

The cable side of the 680X consists of an all steel white panel which has some filtered ventilation on the lower portion. This filter magnetically attaches so it’s easy to remove and clean when doing maintenance on your PC.

Moving to the back of the case, you’re greeted with your common motherboard I/O cutout and rear exhaust mounting points. The 680X itself provides you with 8 normal expansion slots with an additional 2 if you wish to go vertical with your GPU. One thing you will notice right away is that Corsair has moved the PSU to the left side keeping it isolated from the rest of the case. This is part of the 680X dual-chambered setup which is designed to give you better airflow for your internal components.

Looking at the top of the 680X, we have our final piece of tempered glass which like the front has plenty of space between the case and glass for air flow. Below the glass is room to install two 120/140mm fans as well as support for up to a 280mm radiator. To the right of the tempered glass is the 680X’s I/O which includes a reset button, two USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 3.1 Gen-2 Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack and a power button.

Placing the case on its bac,k you can get a look of 680X’s bottom which includes rubberized feet in each of its four corners as well as a removable filter. The filter is easily taken out by sliding it out of the side of the case and can be removed while the 680X is standing on your desk or floor.

A Closer Look: Interior

To access the 680X’s interior we went ahead and took off the hinged tempered glass panel by removing a single screw on the top hinge and sliding it off. With the panel removed, the case is much easier to work with and we don’t have to worry about breaking the door. The 680X’s interior continues with the white theme and adds some black accents with the grommets and expansion slot covers.

There seems to be plenty of cable routing options with two grommets up top, 6 grommets to the right and three cable slots on the bottom. Since the PSU has been moved to the back of the case Corsair was able to lower the motherboard tray from its typical position. This gives you more room to work above the motherboard if you wished to install any radiators up top. You also have plenty of room in the basement for radiators as well, thanks to not having a PSU in the way.

Toward the front of the case, Corsair has included three of their LL120’s fans and has room for up to a 280mm radiator/AIO.

At the back of the case is another 120mm fan, with this one being the non-RGB variety.

At the bottom of the case are mounting rails for up to two 120mm/140mm fans and can also support a 240mm/280mm radiator.

Looking to the top we have some more mounting rails which also support up to two 120mm/140mm fans and a 240mm/280mm radiator. These rails are actually part of a bracket which can easily be removed using the two black thumbscrews toward the front of the case.

Once removed you can install any fans/radiators as well as attach the included magnetic dust filter.

Moving to the back of the 680X, I must say I really love having the PSU at the back of the case. Not only did this give us a nice amount of room in the front, it has given you over 3x the amount of space at the back to manage all your cables. Also, to help with your cable management are various zip tie points on the back of the motherboard tray. I do think they are a little sparse around the six grommets on the right side. We will see how well it works during our build. It would have also been nice to see some Velcro straps included as I’m personally not a superfan of zip ties.

Right below the CPU cutout is the pre-installed LED fan hub along with the Lighting Node Pro to manage the three included LL120 fans.

At the bottom is your PSU mounting platform which includes 4 rubberized contact points as well as an adjustable bracket to secure the PSU from the back.

The 680X supports up to three full sized 3.5” drives and an additional four 2.5” using the drive cage placed above the PSU. Depending on how many 2.5” drives you are installing, you can adjust the number of bays by adding/removing them as you see fit.

If you wish, you can also remove the 3.5” drive cage that is secured with 5 screws at the back of the case. Note if you do decide to do this you will also lose your 2.5” drive bays as it required the 3.5” cage.

Throughout both the front and the back of the case there isn’t a single mount point for SSD, water cooler pumps or reservoirs on the motherboard tray. This is probably due to the dual chamber design and the case’s unique shape. If you did want to water cool, Corsair did sneak in some mounting rails in the back of the case and even included a drain port on the bottom. This seems like a good spot for a reservoir but you might run into some issues if you have bulkier cables since it's pretty close to the grommets. You might also want to mount an SSD or two if you did choose to remove the included drive cage.

Software

Since the included Lighting Node PRO and LL120 fans are iCUE compatible you can control them using Corsair’s iCUE software. The latest version of the iCUE software can be downloaded from Corsair’s website. For this review, we will focus on the elements of the software that pertain to the Lighting Node PRO and LL120 fans.

Once you install and run the software, it will automatically detect all your iCUE compatible devices. As you can see, the pre-installed Lighting Node PRO was found. If for some reason you don’t see your device, just shut down and restart the application. We have had this happen in another Corsair review, and a simple restart of the software resolved the problem.

After selecting the Lighting Node PRO from the device list, you get an additional navigation bar on the right to configure the device as well as the lighting for any attached fans. In the left pane, you will notice a photo of the Lighting Node PRO as well as its current configuration below the image. For our 680X, the three LL120 fans are installed on port one so we go ahead and adjust the configuration to reflect this.

Now that the Light Node PRO has been configured, we can adjust the lighting effect for port 1 using the left navigation pane.

The iCUE comes with a lot of predefined lighting effects that you can additionally configure settings for, such as speed, color, and direction.

Predefined/Lighting Link:

• Spiral Rainbow – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow in a circular motion
• Rainbow Wave – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow going left to right
• Visor – Random/alternating colors moving across the LEDs then bouncing off the last one and returning to the start
• Color Shift –  Shifting between random/alternating colors
• Color Pulse – Fading random/alternating colors in and out
• Color Wave – Like visor except it doesn’t bounce when hitting the end of the LEDs
• Temperature – Have your key change color based on various temperature sensors
• Sequential – Coloring each LED one by one and then starting over with a different color when reaching the end
• Marquee – Flashing somewhat like a marquee sign
• Rainbow – Fading colors through the color spectrum
• Strobing – Blinking LEDs on/off and changing the color each time
• Rain – Rain-like effect across all LEDs with random/alternating colors
• Arc – LEDs circling in each and changing colors each time it completes the circle
• Heartbeat – Random colors fading in and out resembling a heartbeat
• Color Warp – Changing colors up and down the color spectrum

Custom:

• Static Color – Solid static color that is always on
• Solid – Solid color that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Gradient – Gradient of 2 colors that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Ripple – A ripple effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time
• Wave – A wave effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time

Once you have selected your desired lighting effect, you can see how it will look in the upper right pane. If you which to change attributes such as the speed, direction, and colors you can do this on the lower portion of the screen.

System Build & Installation

The hardware included in this build is:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• ASUS Strix RTX 2060 GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Black Edition Cooler
• Seasonic Snow Silent 750W Platinum PSU

Let me start off by saying I absolutely love that the PSU is at the back of the case. This was the first time in a long time where I could install a PSU and not worry about pre-installing the cables beforehand. There is so much room at the back of the case I was able to easily install them one by one near the end of the build. Also, if at any point in the future I need to add an additional GPU/SATA cable ,it will be extremely easy.

In addition to the tremendous amount of space at the back, I really like the amount of room you have to work in the case. Once the motherboard was installed, I was able to maintain a nice clean looking build thanks to the plethora of grommets/cable slots the 680X provides. Even though I just went with a simple air-cooled build, if you wanted to water-cool there is plenty of room both above and below the motherboard for your radiators. The only issue you may run into is that there are no mounting points for a reservoir so you will likely have to mount it at the back of the case or on one of your radiators.

Normally I would have gone with a vertical GPU placement but it looked a little weird with the riser card just floating at the bottom. This is due to not having a PSU shroud to mount the riser card as you normally would. Again, this is just a personal preference and might not be an issue for you.

One thing that really stands out with the 680X RGB is the absolutely gorgeous LL120 fans. Pictures do not do these fans justice and you really need to see them in person.

Working in the back of the 680X was a dream thanks to all the added space. Well doing some cable management, I did find I could have used a few more tie-downs near the grommets and a Velcro strap would have been handy as well. I personally really like the placement on the PSU as it makes adding/removing cables a breeze. Also, the included bracket at the back of the PSU is a nice touch. I’m guessing this helps relieve some of the pressure from the back of the case when pulling out cables from  the PSU.

Since my PC only contains a single 2.5” I would have liked another option to mount it without the use of the drive bay. At some point, I may try and mount it on the rails near the front of the case so I can remove the cage altogether.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

This has been the first Corsair case I have had the pleasure of reviewing and it did not disappoint. I’m a huge fan of the dual chamber design of the 680X, which made it effortless to create a clean build. No matter if I was at the front or back of the case there was tons of room to work in.

One of my favorite features of the 680X RGB is the included LL120 fans and Lighting Node PRO. These fans really make the case pop and thanks to the included fan hub it’s easy to add an up to three fans if you wish. I also really liked the placement of the PSU at the back as it really cleans up the front of the case and made the building of the PC so much easier. Some other features that I really liked were the removable hinged tempered glass side panel, the amount of airflow around the front/top panels, and the included drain port at the back of the case.

During the build, I did wish there were additional SSD mounting points throughout the case and that you could use the 2.5” bays without the 3.5” drive cage. I’m assuming these are the design trade-offs for moving the PSU to the back and keeping the size of the case smaller, which in my opinion is a small price to pay.

Overall, I think Corsair created a really great case with the 680X RGB and I look forward to the other cases the Crystal Series future.

Great Job, Corsair.

Introduction

With the rise of completive PC gaming, companies are now creating limited edition products based on popular games and streamers. NZXT is no different and has been creating a variety of limited-edition cases such as H500 Overwatch, H700 PUBG, H700 Nuka-Cola for some time. Now joining the ranks of these special-edition cases is the H700i Ninja, which has been designed based on well-known Twitch Streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. The H700i Ninja has all the features of the original H700i such as all-steel construction, tempered glass side panel, custom cable management system and a PSU shroud but has been given a custom ”Ninja” theme. This theme consists of a custom blue/yellow paint, an etched “Ninja” on the tempered glass panel, and Ninja’s logo painted on the back. Being a limited-edition case, the H700i Ninja does retail at a premium price point of $274.99 but at the time of this review is currently on sale for $199.99.

We would like to thanks NZXT for sending us the H700i Ninja for review.

About NZXT

NZXT was founded in 2004 by Johnny Hou and they have been building cases and accessories for PC gamers for over 13 years. Primarily known for their cases, they also develop many cooling accessories such as their Kraken line of GPU and CPU coolers and AER fans.  Just recently, NZXT also joined the list of motherboard manufacturers by releasing their first motherboard: the N7 Z370.

Features & Specifications

Notable features of the H700i include:

• All steel construction
• PSU shroud
• Unique cable routing kit
• Etched tempered glass front panel
• RBG lighting controller
• Integrated RGB lighting
• Custom Paint

Technical specifications are as follows:

Packaging & Unboxing

NZXT 700i Ninja deviates from its traditional white/purple packaging and replaced it with an entirely blue box. On the front of the box is a profile shot of the H700I Ninja sporting a custom blue paint job and giant Ninja logo on the back panel.  

Turning the box to the side, we see the H700i Ninja’s notable features as well as the case specifications, cooling capabilities, and system requirements. The listed features are also written at the bottom in 10 additional languages.

Moving to the back of the box, the Ninja theme is continued with Tyler’s logo filling up the entire back of the box. In the bottom right corner is another shot of the H700i showing off its custom “Ninja” etched tempered glass side panel. 

The final side of the box highlights some of the unique features of the H700i Ninja and what inspired the case’s design.  Also, in bold text, we have the slogan “Stand out from the other 99 players” which references the highly popular game, Fortnite, by Epic Games.

After removing the case from the box, it is protected by two pieces of foam on each side and is wrapped in a plastic bag.

Since the H700i Ninja has no plastic film, after all the packaging has been removed, you can jump right in building your PC.

Included with the H700i Ninja are two custom Ninja vinyl stickers, H700i user guide, front panel extension cable, LED strip extension cable, zip-ties, and various types of screws. I really like that NZXT too the time to individually package each set of screws and even labeled the baggies. Little things like this really make it easier to find the correct screw when completing your build.

A Closer Look: Exterior

The first thing that really catches your eye with the N700i Ninja is the beautiful blue chassis with yellow accents. This finish is seen throughout the exterior of the case and on our review sample; it’s absolutely flawless. Another unique feature of the H700i Ninja is the word “Ninja” that is laser etched on the tempered glass panel. We find the etching faint enough not to obstruct your view too much and it really adds that little bit of uniqueness of the case.

Going to the front of the case, there are some yellow Japanese characters that translate to “Ninja” as well as some extremely stealthy NZXT branding below them.

Looking to the back side of the case, we see Tyler’s ninja logo prominent painted in the center of the panel. We also notice that there are no thumbscrews holding the panel in place as you would normally see in most cases. This is because NZXT has replaced this with a much easier mechanism which involves pressing a single button on the back of the case to release the panel.

Turning the H700i Ninja to the back, it has your stand cutouts for your PSU/motherboard and also includes 7 expansion slots and mounting for a single 120mm exhaust fan. Taking a closer look at the PSU cutout, NZXT has chosen to include a PSU bracket so the PSU can be installed from the back of the case instead of sliding it in from the interior. For us, this is a welcomed addition as it makes installing the PSU so much easier.

The top of the H700i Ninja consists of the case’s I/O toward the front and doesn’t include any ventilation that would we see with most cases. Taking a closer look at the I/O, it includes a 3.5mm microphone/audio jacks, two USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and a power button.

You may have noticed the lack of intake/exhaust vents both on the front top of the case. NZXT has chosen to go with side ventilation which does make for a sleeker/cleaner look but at the expense of airflow. This likely won’t be an issue for most people but if you are planning to do some overclocking you may see slightly higher temperatures.

Turning the H700i Ninja to its front, the bottom of the case reveals rubberized feet on each corner and a removable PSU intake filter. There is also a handle if you wish to remove the front panel to gain access its removable filter.

A Closer Look: Interior

To get a look at the interior of the H700i Ninja, you must remove four thumb screws and gently remove the tempered glass. Taking off the temper glass panel was a little tricky due to it being slightly indented into the case. When doing so, we made sure we had a hand at the bottom to prevent it from falling onto the desk. Once the panel was removed, the H700i Ninja has a matte black finish on the motherboard tray and PSU shroud with a nice pop of color with a yellow cable management bar. On their PSU shroud, we have some more ever so subtle NZXT branding with a detachable SSD mount beside it.

Looking toward the front of the case, are three pre-installed NZXT Aer F120 fans along with an LED strip to their right. NZXT has also included a second LED strip which is located at the top right of the case. Both the fans and LED strips are plugged into an NZXT Smart Device which is installed behind the cable management bar at the top of the case.

At the back of the case, we have our fourth pre-installed 120mm fan which acts as the case’s exhaust.

Looking down at the PSU shroud, we have two more detachable SSD mounts which can be installed anywhere on the shroud. Beside the SSD mounts, there is also a hole to feed some cables through, which is perfect for running your PSU cables. If you wanted to install a 360mm radiator or AIO up front, you can do so thanks to a cutout in the front portion of the shroud. The large cutout is approximately 70mm from the back of the cutout to the installed fans, this gives you enough room for even a push/pull configuration on the radiator.

Going to the back of the case, it's nice to see that NZXT has kept with the cable management channels at the back. We loved these in our previous review of the H500i and I’m sure they will come in handy with our H700i Ninja build. Looking below the motherboard tray, we have two more SSD mounting brackets bringing our total up to 5.

Taking a closer look at the cable channels, we have multiple cable lanes located on both sides of the cable management bar as well as below the SSD brackets. It’s nice to see that NZXT has also included many Velcro straps over these channels limiting your need to use zip ties when cleaning up your cables.

Underneath the PSU NZXT has also included a 3.5” drive bay that can store up to two drives. If you are not utilizing the drive bay or wish to have more room for your PSU, it can be removed using the two thumb screws at the bottom. Also if you want just to use one of the brackets, the second one can be detached using the two thumb screws in the middle.

System Build and Installation

Building in the H700i Ninja gave me fond memories of the build we did in the H500i. I absolutely love the cable management options in the H700i and it has resulted in one of my cleanest builds to date. The center cable management bar not only gives the case a nice pop of color, but it also hides all of the cables going to the motherboard extremely well. I also really enjoyed all the cutouts throughout the case which allowed me to cleanly run the rest of my cables to the motherboard, GPU and SSD drive. 

Some of the features that really stood out in addition to the cable management was the ample SSD mounting locations and the single connector for the front panel. I can’t tell you how many times I have referenced my motherboard manual when hooking up the front panel. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see a single 9pin connector which made it foolproof when plugging it into the motherboard.

Being that the H700i Ninja has a fully tempered glass panel, it is nice to see NZXT has added some case illumination to showcase your components. Here we used the downloaded CAM software to set the LED strips to “Spectrum Wave” to match our RGB T-Force Delta ram.

Even though you don’t see the back of the case often in the H700i, we put those cable channels to use. With the addition of the second set of channels on the right of the cable management bar, we even managed to get our bulk 24 pin cable routed. This was something that we couldn’t do in the H500i and we were thankful for the extra lanes in the H700i. Thanks to all the included Velcro strips, we only needed to use a single zip tie on the CPU cable which is quite impressive.

Software

To control the included LED strips, you must download NZXT’s cam software from theie website. This piece of software allows you to view and configure various aspects of your PC and its dashboard includes readouts for temperature, CPU/GPU load and your current clock speeds to name a few.  In this review, we will focus on the features that pertain to the pre-installed RGB LED strips.

Under the lighting tab of the CAM software NXZT, it comes loaded with 10 presets which can apply a certain lighting pattern to your LED strips. These presets include:

• Fixed – Solid color
• Breathing – Colors fading in and out
• Fading – Fades colors in and out and blending them during the transition
• Marquee – LED chases around attached LED strips
• Covering Marquee – Like Marquee but the LED stays on when the color moves to the next LED
• Pulse – Pulse the color
• Spectrum Wave – RBG Wave going through all colors
• Alternating – Alternates colors each LED between 2 colors
• Wings – 2 chasing LED’s going in opposite directions and bounce off each other.
• Candle – Add a flame effect to the LEDs

Under the “Smart” tab you can have the LED’s change base on CPU/ GPU temperature as well as your current FPS

The “Custom” tab allows you to create a custom version of the Fixed, Breathing and Wave presets.

On the “Audio” tab, it allows you to change the LEDs based on various sound presets such as Level, Bass, and Gain.

On the last tab “Game” you can configure your LEDs to react to various attributes in games. Each game can be configured individually and the software will change the present based on what game you are playing.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Building in the H700i Ninja was an amazing experience and ultimately resulted in one of my cleanest builds to date. The number of well-placed cutouts coupled with the cable management system behind the motherboard tray made achieving this effortless.

In addition to the amazing cable management options, I really enjoyed the custom themed paint job. Even if you are not a fan of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins you can still appreciate the look of this case. I also thought the etched “Ninja” on the tempered glass was a nice touch. Personally, I usually don’t like anything obstructing my view but this was faint enough to be a non-issue. My only minor issue with the H700i Ninja was that taking off the tempered glass is a little tricky with it being slightly indented. You just have to remember when removing it to make sure you have a hand underneath to prevent it from falling.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the H700i Ninja and would highly recommend anyone looking for a solid mid-tower case to give it a look. Also, if you not a fan of the theme of this specific case check out NZXT's regular H700i as it contains all the features that make this case great with other finishes available.

Introduction

With the trend of PC builders flocking to smaller and smaller cases, we have seen an increase of small form factor cases hitting the market. A new contender in the ring is Cooler Master’s latest addition to its H line of cases: the H100. The H100 features steel frame construction, a single 200mm RGB fan, and an extremely small footprint of 12.28 x 8.50 x 11.85 inches. Even with the H100’s small frame, it still manages to support a full ATX PSU and room for a front radiator up to 200mm in size. The H100’s size isn’t the only thing mini about this case, as it lists an affordable MSRP of only $69.99.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Extra small form factor
• Single 200mm RGB front fan
• Carrying handle

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Cooler Master’s H100 is packaged in a plain cardboard box that has a wire-frame outline of the case on the front of the box. Toward the bottom, it  has the tagline: “A Little Game-Changer” due to its extremely small form factor.

There is a wire-frame shot of the front of the H100 on the side of the box.

On the back is our final wire-frame of the H100 on the right-side with the left-side describing the features of the case. At the bottom half is a bulleted list of all the H100 features written in 8 different languages. These features include:

• Compact Mini-ITX design
• Fine mesh ventilation
• 200mm RGB fan
• Fits full ATX PSU
• Built-in handle
• RGB lighting control

The final side of the package is a table of the case specifications and a link to Cooler Master’s website to get more information on the H100.

Taking the H100 out of the box, it is nestled between 2 pieces of Styrofoam and wrapped in a plastic bag protecting the case during shipping. 

Now that the packaging has been removed from the H100, we get our first look of its unique single 200mm front fan.

Included with the H100 are the following: an installation guide, RGB controller, zip ties, and mounting screws/hardware.

A Closer Look: Exterior

The H100 features an all-black finish with a steel frame construction and measures at an extremely small 12.28 x 8.50 x 11.85 inches. The front of the H100 sports fine mesh ventilation for its large 200mm RGB fan, which is the only fan that provides airflow for the case.  The left side of the case is covered by a steel removable side panel that is attached via 2 thumbscrews at the back of the case.

The H100 other side is also covered by a steel panel that is attached via 4 screws located on inside of the case.

Looking to the back of the H100, you have your normal cutouts for the motherboard’s I/O and PSU as well as 2 expansion slots. Due to the H100 small form factor, the PSU cutout includes a protruding plate which secures the PSU to the case. This was likely done to provide you with additional clearance for a front radiator if you wish to install one and some additional cable management space. 

Flipping the case to its front reveals the H100’s I/O panel, which includes an HDD LED, reset button, Cooler Master logo power button, two USB 3.0 ports, and 3.5mm audio/microphone ports.

The top of the H100 includes some more mesh ventilation as well as a handle at the back. Thanks to the H100’s small size it’s a perfect case to bring to LAN parties and thanks to the handle, it would be super easy to carry around.

Moving to the bottom of the case, it consists of 4 rubberized feet in addition to some internal mounting points for a single 3.5” HDD and/or two 2.5” HDD/SDDs. If you are installing a 3.5” HDD, you will only have from for one additional 2.5” drive.

Pulling up the front panel and removing the pre-installed 200mm RGB fan reveal mounting point for a single 120/140/200mm fan and/or radiator.

A Closer Look: Interior

Upon opening up the H100 by taking off its left side panel, you’re greeted with a removable plate that is used to mount up to two 2.5” HDD/SSD drives. To be able to install your motherboard, this plate can easily be removed via the two screws at the top and bottom, securing it in place.

Now that the HDD/SSD plate has been removed, you have room to install your Mini-ITX motherboard on the 4 pre-installed standoffs.

Looking at the pre-installed 200mm RGB fan, we see that it’s an MF200R, which operates at 800RPM and is rated for 12V / 0.3A.

System Build & Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• MSI H310I Pro
• Intel i5-8600K
• Cooler Master i71C
• 2 x 8GB Team Group T1 Gaming DDR4
• Corsair HX750i
• Corsair Force 120GB SSD

The Cooler Master H100 now takes the crown for the smallest case I have built in with it being 8.5” wide, 12” inches long and 12” inches high. Even though it is a really small case to build in, it actually was quite painless since I accounted for all the possible clearances with the CPU cooler and GPU.

With the PSU covering the CPU entirely, I only had 83mm of clearance to work at the back of the PSU and CPU socket. Knowing this, I couldn’t use my normal air cooler: the Hyper 212 Evo, and opted for the much smaller i71C, measuring in at a height of only 60mm.

Since this build will be a dedicated media PC, the GPU clearance wasn’t an issue as it will use the onboard graphics of the 8600K. If we were building a portable gaming rig, you would have to grab a mini card as the H100 only has 210mm of clearance for a GPU. This clearance is even reduced more to 180mm if you choose to go with a front radiator.

The hardest part of the whole build was installing the last component which was the PSU. Attaching the PSU to the case was easy but managing the extra slack of the cables was a different story. Due to the H100 size, it leaves very little room to work in when trying to place cables. Finding places where the cables didn’t interfere with the front 200mm fan and the fan from the PSU cooler was quite the task. One saving grace with not installing a PSU, was that it did give us some extra space at the bottom and that was one less cable for us to manage.

Personally, I think the H100 has a well thought out design and with knowing the clearance limitations going into the build, it was a breeze to put together.

I’m a huge fan of Cooler Master’s 200mm RGB fan and it really makes the H100 pop.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

When it comes to small form factor cases, the H100 surely took the “small” part to heart (fruit added for scale). You would think for being so small that it would be a nightmare to work in, but that definitely wasn’t the case with the H100. Thanks to its well thought out design and knowing its limitations beforehand, my build in the H100 pretty much went without a hitch. The toughest part of the whole build was finding a place for all the slack of the PSU cables.

In the looks department, the H100 also does not disappoint with its classic black finish and 200mm front fan.  If I had to choose my favorite feature of the H100, it would be hands down the included MF200R RGB fan. I absolutely loved the 200mm fans from the other H series cases and I’m glad they continued this in the H100.

Overall, the H100 is a great sleek, yet portable case that would be at the top of my list to bring to any LAN party.

Amazing job, Cooler Master!

Introduction

Are you a fan of tempered glass? Are you also a fan of RGB? If you answered yes to both of those questions, NZXT’s newest addition the H510 Elite just might be for you. The H510 Elite features a tempered glass side panel, tempered glass front panel, two Aer 2 RGB fans, an RGB LED strip, and a Smart Device 2 controller. In addition to these, the H510 Elite also includes NZXT’s patented cable management system to provide you with a cleaner and easier build experience. With the new features and hardware, the H510 Elite has the same MSRP of $169.99 as its brother the H710.

We would like to thank NZXT for sending us the H510 Elite to review.

About NZXT

NZXT was founded in 2004 by Johnny Hou, and they have been building cases and accessories for PC gamers for over 13 years. Primarily known for their cases, they also develop many cooling accessories such as their Kraken line of GPU and CPU coolers and AER fans.  Just recently, NZXT also joined the list of motherboard manufacturers by releasing their first motherboard: the N7 Z370.

Features & Specifications

Notable features of the H700i include:

• All steel construction
• PSU shroud
• Unique cable routing kit
• RBG lighting controller
• Integrated RGB lighting
• A front tempered glass panel

Technical specifications are as follows:

Packaging & Unboxing

Like many other NZXT cases, the H510 Elite arrives in a white box with NZXT’s signature purple accents. On the front of the box, we see a profile view of the H510 Elite showcase, its tempered glass panels and included Aer 2 fans.

Turning the package to its side, it mentions that the included Aer 2 RGB fans and RGB LEDs are powered by NZXT’s CAM software. At the bottom, we have a few more shots of the H510 Elite with some of its notable features like the two tempered glass panels and front panel USB 3.1 Gen 2-compatible USB-C connector.

Moving to the back of the box, we have a completed build in the H510 Elite sporting an NZXT AIO and GPU cooler.

Going to the last remaining side, there is a list of more features of the H510 Elite that are written in 11 different languages. Also included is a completed breakdown of the case’s specifications like dimensions, cooling, clearances, and warranty.

The H510 Elite is packaged with two pieces of Styrofoam and covered with a clear plastic bag.

Once the rest of the packaging is removed we get our first glimpse of the H510 Elite. All that is left before we start building is to remove the protective film from the tempered glass.

Within the H510 Elite is a small accessory box that includes:

• User guide
• 3.5mm splitter
• Panel connector
• Various screws in labeled bags
• Extra standoff
• Zip ties

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the H510 Elite is fully unboxed, we see that our review sample is the white version of the case that is also available in black. Like all other NZXT H series cases, the H510 Elite includes a tempered glass side panel which is attached to the chassis via a thumbscrew at the back of the case. We are huge fans of the approach as the glass panel is free from obstructions when viewing your build.

One of the standout features of the H510 Elite over other NZXT H series cases is the addition of the front tempered glass front panel, showing off the included two Aer 2 RGB fans.

To get a closer look at the Aer 2 RGB, we removed the front tempered glass by unscrewing two screws located at each side of the case. The panel was also secured in place by two nubs at the top of the glass which required a little force to finally pull off the tempered glass.

In typical NZXT fashion, the H510 Elite only contains very subtle branding on the lower part of the front panel.

Moving to the backside panel it has an all-white finish with some ventilation included near the front of the case. The panel, like in most cases, is attached to the H510 Elite using two thumbscrews at the back of the case.

Going to the back of the case, the H510 Elite has your normal I/O and PSU cutouts as well as a total of 9 expansion slots. With two of these expansion slots being in a vertical orientation, using a riser card you can vertically mount your GPU.

We see the white finish is carried to the top of the H510 Elite, which features front I/O as well as a mounting point for a 120/140mm fan. Having only room for a single fan on the top, you are forced to install your AIO or radiator at the front of the case. This shouldn’t be too much of an issue as it’s usually recommended to configure your AIO/radiator as an intake for optimal cooling performance.

Note: Since this review has been published NZXT has notified us that the H510 Elite will now include a top exhaust fan out of the box. If you have already purchased an H510 Elite that didn't include this fan you can contact NZXT support and get one set to you free of charge.

Taking a closer look at the I/O, we have a single 3.5 audio/microphone jack, USB-C port, USB 3.0 port, and a power button with a LED illumination ring around it. It’s nice to see the inclusion of the USB-C port on the H510 Elite which has been becoming more common in new cases.

The H510 Elite contains four large rubberized feet along with a filtered PSU intake.

A Closer Look: Interior

Getting to the interior of the H510 Elite was a little bit of work due to the tempered glass being secured very well to the chassis. Even after unscrewing the thumbscrew, it took more force to get it off than I was used to which was due to the same nubs found on the top of the front panel. Once the panel was removed, we found the interior of the H510 Elite color palette reversed, with black now being prominent and white as the accent. It’s nice to see that the H510 Elite takes after its fellow H series family and also includes a vertical cable management bar. I was a huge fan of this bar in other NZXT builds as it always helped keep my builds as clean as possible.

Looking down at the PSU shroud, it's covered with a mesh surface with cable routing options at the back as well as a GPU cable cutout beside the cable management bar. One feature missing from the H510 Elite is the mountable toolless SSD brackets to install on the PSU shroud. The PSU mesh looks to be the same as other H series cases which did include these brackets.

Looking toward the front of the case, we have the Aer 2 RGB mounted to a removable radiator bracket. It's nice to see NZXT take this approach as it makes it easy to install fans or an AIO without removing the front tempered glass panel. To remove the radiator bracket, all you need to do is loosen the two thumbscrews on the right-hand side and gently remove it from the case.

Looking to the back of the case, is a preinstalled Aer F120 fan configured as exhaust.

The black interior continues to the backside of the motherboard tray with the only white accents being at the back of the cable management bar and the back of the PSU shroud.

Taking a closer look, the H510 Elite includes NZXT patented cable management channels throughout the backside. These make it extremely easy to route your cables through and keep even the backside of your PC tidy.

Below the motherboard tray, we have two removable SSD brackets which are attached to the back of the motherboard tray by a single screw. I would have liked to see NZXT include their toolless SSD trays here as it would just make installing your SSD that much similar.

Controlling the LED strip and two Aer 2 RGB fans is NZXT’s Smart Device 2, which comes pre-installed with the fans and LED strip already wired up. As you can see from the photo below, a few of the fan wires are a little loose, so it’s best to make sure they are plugged all the way before booting your system.

Looking to the basement of the case, there is a removable drive base that supports up to two 3.5” HDDs. To remove the drive bay, you must remove the 4 screws holding it in place from the bottom of the case. If your build doesn’t include any 3.5” drives, removing this cage will give you plenty of room to store slack from your PSU cables.

System Build & Installation

The hardware included in this build is:

• Gigabyte x570 AORUS PRO WIFI Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 3900X Processor
• 2 x 8 GB TeamGroup T1 Gaming DDR4 Memory
• MSI RX480 X Gaming 8GB GPU
• Crucial P1 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
• Seasonic SnowSlient Platinum 750W

Building in the H510 Elite was painless and the final result is a nice clean build. Like included in all the refreshed H series cases, the cable management bar does an excellent job of hiding my cables and there was enough room to even route my bulky 24 pin cable with ease. In addition to the cutouts covered by the cable management bar, NZXT has included ample cutouts at both the top and bottom of the motherboard tray. This cutout was key in routing all the I/O cables of the H510 Elite as well as the CPU cables powering my x570 board. Even though I left the stock fans installed it’s nice to see that NZXT included a mounting bracket which would make installing a radiator or AIO a breeze.

The cleanliness of the build continues to the back of the motherboard tray thanks to the patented cable management system. These routing channels allowed me to easily run my PSU cables where they needed to go with plenty of room to spare if you required additional cables. Since I had no 3.5” drives for this build, it was nice to be able to remove the included HDD case. This gave me more room to plug any cables I needed into the PSU as well as more space to store any slack from the cables.

Once my build was complete, I went ahead and installed NZXT’s Cam software to configure the LED strip and two Aer 2 RGB fans. I went with a white LED strip to showcase my components and “Spectrum Wave” on the Aer 2 fans to give the build a little pop.

Software

To control the included LED strip and Aer 2 RGB fans, you must download NZXT’s CAM software from their website. This piece of software allows you to view and configure various aspects of your PC and it’s dashboard includes readouts for temperature, CPU/GPU load and your current clock speeds to name a few.  In this review, we will focus on the features that pertain to the pre-installed RGB hardware.

Under the lighting tab of the CAM software NXZT, it comes loaded with 10 presets which can apply a certain lighting pattern to each or all channels of the Smart Device 2 controller. By default, the LED strip is installed on channel one and the two Aer 2 fans on channel two. The lighting presets you can apply to the channels are:

• Fixed – Solid color
• Breathing – Colors fading in and out
• Fading – Fades colors in and out and blending them during the transition
• Marquee – LED chases around attached LED strips
• Covering Marquee – Like Marquee but the LED stays on when the color moves to the next LED
• Pulse – Pulse the color
• Spectrum Wave – RBG Wave going through all colors
• Alternating – Alternates colors each LED between 2 colors
• Wings – 2 chasing LED’s going in opposite directions and bounce off each other.
• Candle – Add a flame effect to the LEDs

Under the “Smart” tab, you can have the LED’s change base on CPU/ GPU temperature as well as your current FPS.

The “Custom” tab allows you to create a custom version of the Fixed, Breathing and Wave presets.

On the “Audio” tab, it allows you to change the LEDs based on various sound presets such as Level, Bass, and Gain.

On the last tab, “Game”, you can configure your LEDs to react to various attributes in games. Each game can be configured individually and the software will change the present based on what game you are playing.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

The H510 Elite is a worthy addition to the NZXT’s H series family and with the addition of the front tempered glass panel with the two Aer 2 RGB fan, it really sets it apart from the rest. The H510 Elite is also packed with other features I appreciate such as the vertical cable management bar, fully covered PSU shroud, vertical GPU mount option, RGB controller, and the cable management channels. These features were paramount in me achieving an exceptionally clean and great looking build on both sides of the motherboard tray.

My favorite feature of the H510 Elite has to be the front tempered glass panel, it just looks stunning with the included Aer 2 RGB fans. The only drawback to this panel is the limited intake ventilation on the back panel. This may be somewhat constricting for the airflow, so it would have been nice to see a mesh panel included. This wasn’t an issue for me because I normally go for the better aesthetic look but it’s always nice to have the option.

Like other NZXT cases I have reviewed, I really enjoyed building in the H510 Elite. It was effortless to achieve a super clean build and with the addition of the two Aer 2 RGB fans, it also looked great the moment I turned it on. Anyone who is a fan of RGB or just looking for a solid case, make sure to check out the H510 Elite.

Introduction

There are many factors that go into picking the perfect case such as aesthetics, motherboard support, water cooling support, and overall flexibility to handle anything you want to put in it. Many cases will check a few of those boxes and concessions would have to be made for the others. Well, be quiet! hopes to change that with its flagship full tower case: the Dark Base Pro 900 rev 2. In the aesthetics department, the Dark Base Pro comes with a sleek black brushed aluminum finish from top to bottom and is available with either orange, black, or silver accents to complete the look. It also has support for larger motherboards such as XL-ATX/E-ATX and plenty of room for water cooling with the ability to install up to 420mm radiators. Lastly, the Dark Base Pro 900 has extensive flexibly with removable drive bays, the ability to adjust the motherboard locations, and even the option to totally invert the case.  With an MSRP of $269.00, it may be out of reach for some but for people looking for ultimate modularity and compatibility, it just might be the perfect case. Let’s dive in and see what the Dark Base Pro has to offer.

We would like to thank be quiet! for sending us the Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2 to review.

be quiet’s Take on the Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2

be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Orange rev. 2 is the perfect case for all who expect the highest standards when it comes to modularity, compatibility, and design.

Notable features include:

• Three Silent Wings 3 PWM fans 
• Stepless dual-rail fan controller is switchable between Silence and Performance modes
• Ready for radiators up to 420mm
• PSU shroud and HDD slot covers provide a neat interior
• Side panel made of tempered glass
• Eye-catching RGB LED illumination 
• Three years manufacturer’s warranty 
• German product conception, design and quality control 

Features & Specifications

Technical specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The Dark Base Pro 900 is packaged in a full black box which contains various shots of the case as well as its features and specifications printed on it. On the front, we have a profile shot of the Dark Base Pro 900’s all-black exterior with orange accents on its side. In the upper right-hand corner are some bullet points highlighting such features as silent wings fans, airflow control, noise insulation, and RGB LEDs. Below the image of the Dark Base Pro 900 is the tagline “Outstanding Flexibility and Silence” and the text “Orange rev. 2” which means this is the second revision of this case design and is the orange variant. At the very bottom, we also have an expanded feature list which is written in three different languages.

Turning the box to its side, included is a little write up about be quiet! and some technical details about the Dark Base Pro 900. To the right of the technical data, we see that the Dark Base Pro 900 is also available in both black and silver.

Moving to the back of the packaging are various shots showcasing many of the Dark Base Pro 900 features as well as a full build on the right side. Some of the features mentioned include:

• Super flexibility
• Optimized cooling
• Eye-catching LEDs
• State-of-the-art technology

Taking the Dark Base Pro 900 out of the box we see has been securely packed between 2 pieces of Styrofoam and also stored in a black fabric bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed, we get our first in-person look at the Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2. And we must say, photos really don’t do this case justice.

Packed away in the case are two boxes of accessories which include the following:

• 3.5” HDD cages
• HDD bracket covers
• Water pump bracket
• Front fan bracket
• Velcro straps
• PSU shroud SSD bracket
• Various mounting hardware and screws
• Two RGB LED strips

You may notice that there is no manual included but it can be downloaded from their website: (https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/1472).

A Closer Look: Exterior

With the Dark Base Pro 900 now unboxed, we can finally get our hands on the case and check out all it has to offer. The first thing that really caught our eye was the gorgeous black brushed aluminum finish throughout most of the case. It's hard to capture on camera, but out of all the cases I have reviewed, this finish is hands down the best aesthetically.

Looking to the business side of the case, the Dark Base Pro 900 has a tempered glass panel which is attached to the case via four thumbscrews, one at each corner. Following the parameter of the glass is an orange accent strip which really adds a punch of color to the black case. Personally, we really love the contrast of the orange on the black and hope it’s continued throughout the case.

Taking a closer look at the side, we find some mesh ventilation which also follows the glass giving airflow to the top, front and bottom of the case.

The front of the Dark Base Pro 900 consists of a solid brushed aluminum hinged door with a silver be quiet! emblem at the bottom.

Opening the front panel reveals a fan speed slider, two 5.25” expansion bays, and a filtered intake. Beneath the filter are two preinstalled 140mm Silent Wings 3 fans with the be quiet! name displayed in the center. If you wished to install a third 140mm fan, you can remove the two drive bays and use the included fan bracket.

Taking a peek at the back of the door we find some sound dampening foam, which helps prevent the sound of the fans from escaping the front of the case.

Going to the backside of the case, we see the same orange accent strip and mesh ventilation that was on the other side. One difference is instead of a tempered glass window is a matte black steel panel that is attached by two thumbscrews located at the back of the case. Toward the front of the panel is a black plastic insert with be quiet! embossed on it.

At the top of the case is the Dark Base Pro’s I/O, which consists of two USB 3.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio/microphone jack, square LED-lit power button, lighting cycle button, HDD LED, a USB 3.1 Type C Gen. 2 port, and a USB quick charging port. With the beveled portion below the I/O, you get a better look of the brushed aluminum finish.

The entire top of the case carries on the brushed look we seen on the front of the case with some ventilation toward the back. At the front, be quiet! has included a Qi wireless charging pad which is quite convenient for anyone that has a wireless charging device such as a newer iPhone.

Flipping the case over to its back, it includes your common I/O cut, expansion slots (8 in total) and exhaust fan mount but you may notice it lacks a cutout for the PSU. In its place, we find a plug and switch which you would normally see on a PSU. This was done to keep the Dark Base Pro as configurable as possible which we will provide details about later in the review. Like on the top of the case, there is also more some ventilation slits on the upper portion of the back of the case.

Moving to the bottom of the case, the black brushed finish we saw on the front/top continues on the bottom. Even though you don’t see the bottom of the case much, it's nice to see be quiet! take a little extra effort to make the unseen even look great. Looking at the corners of the Dark Base Pro, we see 4 large rubberized feet. One thing not on the bottom of this case is a mesh area for a PSU intake. This leads us to believe that the PSU will be installed with the intake fan facing up.

A Closer Look: Interior

Removing the tempered glass side panel of the Dark Base Pro 900, we are glad to see that the black and orange color palette on the exterior is continued on the interior of the case. The interior is mostly black with the rubber components such as grommets and rubber washers being orange.

The motherboard tray supports a wide range of motherboard sizes that including small form factor boards like Mini-ITX/M-ATX all the way up larger once such as E-ATX/XL-ATX. The Dark Base Pro also has plenty of cable routing cutout around the motherboard with two at the top and bottom as well as three grommets on the right side of the tray.

Moving toward the front of the case there is a removable 5.25” drive bay in the upper section of the case. If you are going to be water cooling your case by removing this cage would give you enough move for 420mm radiators on the top and front of the case. Looking below the installed drive bay are 5 mounting points for the included two 3.5” drive cages in the accessory package. If you did want more than just the two drives you can purchase additional cages on be quiet’s website.

At the front of the case, we see the two installed Silent Wing 3 140mm high-speed fans which have a maximum operating speed of 1600 RPM. Even at max speed, the noise level is quite low at 28.1 dB, which is lowered even further with the sound damping material on the front door.

Looking at the back of the case, we have another preinstalled Silent Wings 3 140mm high-speed fan.

The Dark Base Pro 900 comes with a fully covered PSU shroud that also can be configured to suit your needs. By removing the plastic covers on the shroud, you configure it to add space at the front/back of the case for your radiator(s), install a 120mm fan, or mount an SSD with the included SSD mounting bracket.

Taking a look at the steel panel on the other side of the case we find more sound damping foam installed which is near the of the back of the panel.

The plastic insert on the panel can be totally removed if you are in the need for more ventilation or can be slightly raised providing some airflow while maintaining the case’s silent profile.

Attached behind the motherboard tray is be quiet’s dual-rail fan controller as well as a single SSD mounting bracket. Below the tray is a large area where your PSU gets installed that is attached to the case via a mounting bracket that locks into place on the bottom of the case. Since the Dark Base Pro has its own plug at the back, you will need to make sure to plug in the cable to provide power to your PSU.

The included fan controller can have a total of 8 fans attached to it being split up into 2 channels of 4 fans. Each of the channels can be set independently into silence or performance mode using the front panel switch. The controller also contains connections for up to two 12v LED strips and can be synced with your motherboard using the RGB header or controlled using the LED switch on the I/O panel.

In the lower-left corner is a removable HDD cage with more room for an additional two 3.5” drives.

A Closer Look: Configuring the Case

As mentioned in the introduction, the Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2 is a highly customizable case. Do you need more room for a radiator up top? No problem, you can easily position your motherboard lower like in the photo below. This is done by moving around various small plates at the back of the case and adjusting the motherboard to the new height. That isn’t the only trick up its sleeve as the Deep Base Pro 900 can also be fully inverted. 

Before I started the journey of inverting the case, I went on be quiet’s website and download the instruction manual. After taking a look at it, I found that the diagrams were quite hard to follow so I decided just to proceed to try and figure it out myself. After I completed the transformation of the Dark Base Pro 900 myself, I did find a video on their website that did a great job going through the process step-by-step: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNP3R1LZqQo).

The first step to inverting the Dark Base Pro 900 is pretty much removing all the internals one-by-one. We start the process with completely detaching the motherboard tray from the system by taking out the 9 screws holding it in position.

With the motherboard tray out of the way proceed removing the following items in order: bottom filter, front panel, PSU shroud, and the HDD cage mounting bracket.

With all those items removed, you now pretty much have an empty shell with the exception of the top panel. Even though it's not required to remove the top panel, I would highly recommend you do it. I personally didn’t take it off and it was a little bit of a hassle managing the cables while inverting the rest of the components.

Next up is taking the PSU plug bracket from the back of the case and reattaching it flipped so the plug is on the opposite side of the case. You also need to remove the PSU bracket that is attached to the bottom of the case and we will be moving it to the opposite side.

Before reattaching the PSU bracket, you must swap the small attach plate and move it to the other side of the bracket.

Looking at the back of the PSU shroud, we need to swap the support arm’s position to the other side of the shroud.

Something I overlooked during the process of inverting the case was the tempered glass mounting points. These need to swap to the opposite side of the case and can be done using a flat-head screwdriver.

The last items on the main case that needed to be switched were the orange pads for the motherboard tray.

Now that all the interior components have been adjusted, the last component that needs to be switched is the direction in which the hinged door opens. This can be done by swapping the sides hinge/magnet attachments on the front panel and doing the same process on the door itself.

Once all the modifications that needed to be done were completed, I proceeded to put the case back together in reverse order of its disassembly. After a total of 55 screws, the Dark Base Pro 900 has been successfully inverted. This was quite the process and took approximately 2 hours start to finish but the end result is simply amazing. Personally, I have always wanted to do an inverted build, but it will take some getting used to having the tempered glass panel on the right side of the case.

The door of the Dark Base Pro now swings to the left instead of the right.

After installing the back panel of the case, I realized I also must flip the plastic be quiet! insert.

Moving to the back of the case, the I/O cutout and exhaust fan have been moved to the bottom.

System Build & Installation

The hardware pieces included in this build are the following:

• ASRock Z370 Tachi Motherboard
• Intel 8700K Processor
• 4 x 4GB Team Group T-Force Delta RGB Ram
• ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2060 8GB GPU
• Cooler Master 212 Hyper Evo Cooler
• EVGA 750W P2 PSU

Since I have wanted to do an inverted build for quite some time, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to accomplish this with the Dark Base Pro 900. I was also inspired by the black/orange color scheme of the case and used my modding skills to create a custom set of black/orange extensions for the build. I found that the cables brought just a little extra pop that matched the case perfectly.

Moving on to the build itself, working in the Dark Base Pro 900 was a lot of fun but it did require a lot of time and planning. Because the case is so customizable, you first must plan out what configuration you would like to go with before even installing any components. If you don’t do this, you would find yourself installing/uninstalling your components as you readjust the case. Aside from taking longer than expected to complete, the only issue I ran into during the build was working with cables at the top of the motherboard. Since the motherboard is closer to the PSU shroud when inverted, it was a little bit of work trying to plug in some things like the EPS and CPU cooler fan cables.

Once the build was complete, I really loved how clean it looked thanks to rubber grommets and cutouts around the motherboard tray. The included RGB LED bars (which I installed on the left side and top of the case) do an excellent job of illuminating my components and overall, I really love how unique the build looks with its inverted configuration. One thing to note is that even though the finish of the Dark Base Pro looks beautiful, it is a fingerprint magnet. It’s not a huge issue but you just have to make sure you have a microfiber cloth on standby so you can have your build look its best.

Going to the back of the case, I kept things tidy using the various tiedown points in the center of the case and secured the cables using the included Velcro strips. I really like when case manufacturers provide Velcro strips over zip ties as during many of my builds, I find myself constantly adding/removing wires which you can’t do with zip ties. In addition to the ample tiedown points in the Dark Base Pro, you also have plenty of space in the bottom of the case to hide your cables. Even though the Dark Base Pro is a rather large case, I still found I had plenty of slack in my PSU cables, which I was able to tuck away neatly under the PSU shroud.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Personally, I have built in over 30+ cases over my time as a PC builder and to date, I have never worked with a case as configurable or flexible as the Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2. In the end, I was able to create an incredibly clean build and thanks to the modularity of the case, I was even able to change its configuration to completely invert it. I’ve wanted to do an inverted build for quite some time and I could not be happier with the result In the Dark Base Pro.

From the moment I got the Dark Base Pro out of the box, I was blown away by its build quality. From the exterior to interior of the case, everything has a premium feel to it. Not only was the quality of craftsmanship superb, they also added a lot of value by including hardware like three Silent Wings 3 fans, Qi wireless charging pad, two RGB LED strips and a controller that supports up to 8 fans. The single point I think could be improved would be the documentation around the configuration options of the case. I personally was able to invert the case myself, but probably would have gone a little faster with better diagrams. To be quiet’s credit, after I had already inverted the case, I did find an excellent video on their website that walks you through the step-by-step process.

Overall, be quiet’s Dark Base Pro 900 rev. 2 is truly an amazing case and it's quality/design/flexibly just blew me away. Out of all the cases I have built in, the Dark Base Pro has easily been my favorite and I can’t think of any better case to give the Editor’s Choice award to.

Amazing job, be quiet!.

Introduction

When looking for a case to house your new build, a few of the main considerations include size, aesthetics, and airflow. Corsair hopes to check all of these boxes with its new chassis: the iCUE 220T RGB. This case contains a stylized vented steel front panel designed for high airflow, three SP120 RGB PRO fans, and includes a Lighting Node Core controller. All these features are packed into a compact mid-tower chassis which includes all-steel construction and an edge-to-edge tempered glass side panel. Keeping competitive with other mid-tower cases, the iCUE 220T RGB comes in at an MSRP of $109.99.

We would like to thank Corsair for providing us with the iCUE 220T RGB Airflow to review. 

About Corsair

Founded in 1994, Corsair started by making Level 2 cache modules for OEMs. After Intel incorporated the L2 cache into the processor, Corsair refocused and started making DRAM modules. Fast forward to 2018, and they have become one of the leading names in the high-end PC industry. Over the years, with their groundbreaking technology and innovation, they have expanded their line of products to include high-performance memory, ultra-efficient PSU’s, cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, SSD’s, keyboards, mice and headsets.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• High airflow layout
• Full-length PSU shroud
• Solid steel construction
• Tempered glass side panel

Technical Specifications Case:

Technical Specifications Fans:

Packaging & Unboxing

The Corsair 220T RGB comes packed in a brown cardboard box with black graphics and writing. On the front, we have a line drawing of the 220T sporting its stylized grill and tempered glass side panel sitting on top of an enlarged corsair logo. Looking to the bottom, the 220T is an addition to Corsair’s graphic series of cases and is labeled as a “Mid-tower Gaming Case”.

Both sides of the box contain a technical specifications table outlining many aspects of the case which is written in 4 languages. Below, there a few more wireframes of the 220T RGB showing the width, length, and height of the case.

Moving to the back of the package, there is an exploded view of the iCUE 220T RGB case with various pieces labeled with a letter. In the lower section, we have a legend provided in many languages to let us know what each piece/feature is. These include:

• Tempered glass side panel
• Dust filters
• SSD tray
• HDD tray
• Solid side panel
• Front bezel
• 3 x 120mm RGB fans
• Lighting Node CORE

The 220T is packaged between two pieces of Styrofoam with the case itself wrapped with a clear plastic bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed, all that is left before we start our build is removing the plastic film from the tempered glass side panel.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Upon unboxing the iCUE 220T RGB, the first thing that really caught our eye was the stylized front panel. The front panel is comprised of steel and features many parallelogram-shaped cutouts giving it airflow for the included three SP120 RGB Pro fans. Like the rest of the case, it sports an all-black finish with a centered grey Corsair logo accented on its lower portion.

The business side of the 220T contains a full-sized clear tempered glass side panel that is attached to the case via four thumbscrews in the corner. The glass itself contains a 1” black bezel which is slightly widened in its corners.

Flipping to the opposite side of the case, is a solid black steel panel which is locked into place with 2 thumbscrews at the back of the case.

Moving to the back of the 220T is your common I/O and PSU cutouts as well as mounting rails for a 120mm exhaust fan. Looking down to the 220T’s expansion slots, even with its compact design, it fits your standard 7 expansion slots seen in most ATX mid-tower cases.

The top of the 220T includes mounting points for up to two 120mm/140mm fans and has room for a 240mm radiator. Also included, is a removable magnetic dust filter that covers the majority of the top of the case.

Taking a look at the 220T’s I/O which is also located on the top of the case, it includes:

• LED-lit power button
• Two USB 3.0 ports
• 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack
• Reset button

Flipping the case to its bottom reveals 4 fairly large feet with a rubberized center to prevent the case from slipping and a removable PSU intake filter.

A Closer Look: Interior

Taking off the tempered glass to get a look at the interior, we can see that the matte black exterior finish is echoed into the inside of the 220T. The motherboard tray includes a large CPU cutout and supports Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX and ATX motherboard. Around the motherboard tray, the iCUE 220T RGB contains many cable routing options with cutouts both above/below the tray as well as three larger grommeted sections to the right.

Looking down at the full PSU shroud, there is ventilation around the PSU area and somewhat in the center another grommet which is often used for your GPU cables. At the front of the shroud, we have a nice sized cutout if you wished to put an AIO or radiator upfront. You may notice that visible through the cutout is the HDD cage installed in the basement, so it looks like this would have to be removed if you wished to go this route.

Toward the front of the case, we find the three pre-installed SP120 RGB PRO fans which are non-PWM and run at 1400 RPMs.

At the back, you may notice that there is no preinstalled exhaust fan, we do find this a little odd and it would have been nice for Corsair to include one in the 220T out of the box.

Rotating the case to its back, again we have an all-black finish with a variety of tiedown points around the motherboard tray and around the grommets.

Just below the large CPU cutout, there are two 2.5” SSD mounting brackets with each one held in place via a single screw.

At the lower left-hand corner of the CPU out, is the preinstalled Lighting Node CORE with support for up to 6 RGB fans. The three installed SP120 RGB PRO’s are ready to go as they are already prewired into the controller. The Lighting Node CORE itself receives power using a single SATA power connection from the PSU.

In the basement on the 220T, is a removable HDD cage that has support for up to two 3.5” drives. Due to the length of this case, it seems to not leave much room for the PSU and its cables. We will have to see if we run into a clearance issue once we start our build.

Software

Since the included Lighting Node Core and SP120 RGB PRO fans are iCUE compatible, you can control them using Corsair’s iCUE software. The latest version of the iCUE software can be downloaded from Corsair’s website. For this review, we will focus on the elements of the software that pertain to the Lighting Node Core and SP120 RGB PRO fans.

Once you install and run the software, it will automatically detect all your iCUE compatible devices. When we first launched, it didn’t detect our Lighting Node Core so we verified our connections and then checked to see if the software was up-to-date. As it turns out, our software was one version behind and once iCUE was updated we saw the Lighting Node Core in the list. If for some reason you don’t see your device even after an update, just shut down and restart the application. We have had this happen in another Corsair review, and a simple restart of the software resolved the problem.

After selecting the Lighting Node Core from the device list, you get an additional navigation bar on the right to configure the device as well as the lighting for any attached fans. In the left pane, you will notice a photo of the Lighting Node Core as well as its current configuration below the image. For the 220T, it comes with three SP120 RGB PRO fans so we go ahead and adjust the configuration to reflect this.

Now that the Light Node Core has been configured, we can adjust the lighting effects using the left navigation pane.

The iCUE comes with a lot of predefined lighting effects that you can additionally configure settings for, such as speed, color, and direction.

Predefined/Lighting Link:

• Rainbow Wave – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow going left to right
• Spiral Rainbow – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow in a circular motion
• Color Shift –  Shifting between random/alternating colors
• Color Pulse – Fading random/alternating colors in and out
• Color Wave – Like visor except it doesn’t bounce when hitting the end of the LEDs
• Sequential – Coloring each LED one by one and then starting over with a different color when reaching the end
• Strobing – Blinking LEDs on/off and changing the color each time
• Rain – Rain-like effect across all LEDs with random/alternating colors
• Visor – Random/alternating colors moving across the LEDs then bouncing off the last one and returning to the start
• Marquee – Flashing somewhat like a marquee sign
• Temperature – Have your key change color based on various temperature sensors
• Color Warp – Changing colors up and down the color spectrum
• Rotary Stack – Like a rotary phone stacking colors as it hits the end
• Infinity – LEDs traveling an in infinity pattern changing colors each rotation
• Rainbow – Fading colors through the color spectrum

Custom:

• Static Color – Solid static color that is always on
• Solid – Solid color that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Gradient – Gradient of 2 colors that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Ripple – A ripple effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time
• Wave – A wave effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time

Once you have selected your desired lighting effect, you can see how it will look in the upper right pane. If you which to change attributes such as the speed, direction, and colors, you can do this on the lower portion of the screen.

System Build and Installation

The following hardware is included in this build:

• Gigabyte x570 AORUS Pro Wifi Motherboard
• AMD 3900X Processor
• 2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz Ram
• MSI RX480 Gaming X 8GB GPU
• AMD Wraith Cooler Cooler
• Corsair HXi 750W PSU

The iCUE 220T RGB has been the one of the most compact mid-towers I have ever built-in. It had no problems fitting my new AMD build, but before you venture into building into the 220T verify that you have enough clearances. Pay special attention to your GPU length as without a front radiator you only have 300mm of clearance.

Getting our components into the 220T was a breeze and even with its compact size, there were no issues installing components or routing cables. I was able to maintain a nice clean look thanks mainly to the ample amount of cabling options around the motherboard and the flat stock cables of the Corsair HXi 750W PSU.

Once booted up I really like the look of the front grill with the three SP120 RGB fans running the “Rainbow Wave” profile. The case does seem to have great airflow with our temps being a few degrees lower than our previous case. I believe the thermals would probably even be a little bit better if we were to install a 120mm exhaust fan.

At the back of the 220T, I was able to tie down my cables with the ties down at the left of the cable. I did have to end up running my CPU cables on the left side as well as I didn’t have enough length to cleanly run them on the right. This did make the left side a little congested with cables and putting on the back panel did take a little effort. Unless you have custom cables created, I would find it extremely difficult to use the included HDD cage. Since I wasn’t using any 3.5” drives, it wasn’t an issue for me but I did require the space to store the slack of my PSU cables.

Overall, the build was fairly painless but I did wish I had a little more room between the back of the motherboard tray and the side panel. So if you have bulky PSU cables, you might have to get a little creative to re-attach the panel.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

The iCUE 220T impressed me with its build quality and the amount of value it brings to the table. For a chassis that includes a tempered glass side panel, three RGB fans, and a controller for an MSRP of $109.99 is great for anyone looking to do an RGB build. I also really liked that Corsair included a full PSU shroud and the front stylized grill looks great with the included RGB fans. The only oversight in the value department is the lack of an included exhaust fan. Even a generic non-RGB fan would have been a nice addition.

Building in the 220T was a fairly painless experience and I had no issues fitting my chosen components in the chassis. I did make sure prior to the build that all my components wouldn’t run into any clearance issues, especially with the GPU since there is room for a 300mm long graphics card. Running cable in the 220T was also a breeze with the ample amount of cutouts and grommets around the motherboard tray. The only issue I ran into with the build was the amount of space in the back for your cables. After everything was securely tied down, it still took a little bit of effort to reattach the back panel. This is to be expected with a small case and just takes some extra effort when planning your cable runs.

Overall, my experience with the iCUE 220T was great and if you’re in the market for a compact mid-tower, Corsair’s iCUE 220T RGB just might be what you are looking for.

Introduction

With ever-shrinking hardware, small chassis have been gaining popularity with PC builders over the past few years. Not only do mini ITX cases take up a minimal amount of room on your desk, they are also highly portable for adjusting your workspace or bringing to LAN parties. Lian Li’s newest addition to small form factor cases is the TU150. The TU150 features a tool-less removable panel, a brushed aluminum finish, a retractable handle, and shaded tempered glass side panel. The chassis isn’t the only thing that is small about the TU150, as it also has a very affordable MSRP of $109.99.

We would like to thanks Lian Li for sending us the TU150 to review.

Lian Li’s Take on the TU150

Features & Specifications

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

Lian Li’s TU150 arrives in a small black and brown box with both the front and back showcase a wireframed illustration of the case. The first drawing features the outside of the case with the handle recessed on the top. The other wireframe gives you a look of the TU150’s internal layout and is ready for transport with the handle in its upright position.

Turn the box to its side, and we see various TU150 SKU’s with ours being the Black TU150WX.

Removing the TU150 from its box we see it packed with your standard protective foam pieces as well as wrapped in a plastic bag.

After removing all of the packaging material from the TU150, all that is left before we build is peeling off the plastic from the tempered glass side panel.

Also stored away in the box is a small accessory kit of mounting hardware as well as a TU150 user guide. The accessory kit includes:

• 8 x Motherboard screws
• 12 x Anti-vibration rings for SSD/HHD mount
• 4 x PSU mounting screws
• 8 x SSD screws
• 4 x HDD screws
• 2 x Thumbscrews

A Closer Look: Exterior

Once the TU150 was all unpacked, the first thing that caught our eye was its beautiful brushed aluminum chassis. The chassis itself is completely black with the exception of a little accent of silver with the LIAN LI branding on the lower part of the front panel. The front panel maintains the Tu150’s clean look with black brushed aluminum and also contains a meshed vent on each side for airflow. Taking a look at the tempered glass side panel, it features a ½” inch black border on all sides with additional silk-screening at the top to help hide the PSU/cables.

When you turn the case to its other side, there is a brushed aluminum panel that has some ventilation in the upper left corner for the PSU. You may notice that this ventilation is smaller than your traditional PSU cut out and that’s because the TU150 only supports smaller form factor PSU’s such as the SFX.

Looking to the back of the TU150, you have your standard I/O cutout, 3 expansion slots, and mounting points for a 120mm fan/radiator. Lian Li h has opted to relocate the PSU to the interior of the case and they have included  a PSU in the upper left corner. I do wish they would have also included a PSU switch so that you can easily turn off power to the system without needing to access the PSU inside the case.

Moving to the top of the case, the brush aluminum look is continued and toward the front of the case is the TU150’s I/O. In the center of the panel is an extremely solid carrying handle that can support a system up to 15 KG. Out of the cases I have reviewed with handles, this one is by far the best and would have 0 issues using its handle to lug around my rig.

Taking a closer look at the I/O, the TU150 includes a power button, USB Type-C port, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm microphone/audio jacks, and a reset button.

Popping off the front panel reveals a single filtered mounting point for a 120mm intake fan that can be installed on the inside of the case.

Taking a look at the bottom of the case, the TU150 has four rubberized feet with one being placed in each corner. It also has some additional mounting points for two more 120mm fans or offers some ventilation for your GPU.

A Closer Look: Interior

The interior of the TU150 has a black gloss finish with a motherboard tray that supports both MITX and mDTX motherboards. The TU150 has many cable-routing options with ample cutouts surrounding the motherboard tray as well as on the roof of the chassis. Toward the front of the case, we have an SFX PSU mount at the top with a 2.5” SSD mount below it.

The TU150 employs tool-less panels on both sides. The top and front of the case are easily popped off by gently pulling on them. Putting them back on is just as easy. All you have to do is line up the poles with the securing mechanism on the case and push them in.

At the front of the case, is a single mount point for a 120mm intake fan.

Looking to the roof, Lian Li has included mounting options for either a 2.5” SSD or a 3.5” HDD. There are also various cable cutouts to run/hide cables in the top of the case.

By popping off the top panel of the case, a hidden compartment for running or hiding your cables is uncovered. We personally think that this is a great design because in most mITX cases, hiding cables is extremely difficult.

Taking the back panel off, we see that the TU150 has a fair bit of room for cables on the left side due to it being more indented than the motherboard tray. We did notice that there weren’t that many tiedown points and it would have been nice to include a few more for better cable management.

System Build and Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• MSI H310I Pro
• Intel i5-8600K
• Cooler Master i71C
• 2 x 8GB Team Group T1 Gaming DDR4
• Corsair Force 120GB SSD
• Corsair ML120 Intake Fan

Despite the TU150 small form factor, it was surprisingly roomy to work in and I had no issues installing all of my components. The build quality throughout the case was exceptional and the tool-less design made it a breeze to work with. One thing I did run into during the build is that it is only compatible with an STF or SFX-L PSU. Personally, I think with minimal effort the TU150 could have been designed to accommodate an ATX PSU and still maintain its form-factor and aesthetic. Though I will say this, the SFX is crazy small and that made it easy to work around in the TU150. I also really liked the placement of the cable cutouts in the TU150 and that enabled me to easily achieve a nice clean build.

One of the really stand out features of the TU150 I found during my build, is its built-in handle. I was extremely impressed with the rigidness of it and I found myself using it constantly to rotate the case. If I were to use this during a LAN party, I would have no issues using it to carry around my build.

One thing that surprised me was the exclusion of fans with the TU150. I would have liked to see at least one intake fan included just to provide some airflow out of the box and add a little more value to the chassis.

I really love the look of the TU150s black brushed aluminum but it does require some maintenance as it’s a print magnet. During my build, I found myself constantly taking a microfiber cloth to the panels and even the interior finish of the case had the same issue. Once my build was complete, I had some difficulty cleaning up the interior and even with rotating the case for photos, I added some more without noticing.  

Moving to the back, I really liked the indent of the left side as it provided me with a good amount of room to run my cables. I do wish it had a tiedown to spread out the cables a little more but it was easy enough to manage.

The top of the case was a lifesaver as I was able to neatly tuck my RGB controller and unused USB Type-C connector into it.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Even though I’m a fan of large cases, I thoroughly enjoyed building in the TU150. It was surprisingly roomy for a mini-ITX case and I had ample room for all of my components. Some of the features that really stood out over other mini-ITX cases were its tool-less design, the cable compartment in the top of the case, and its well-built handle. One thing wasn’t mentioned in the manual is that the TU150 only supports SFX/SPX-L. So just be aware when ordering PSU’s, that  this case will not fit a normal ATX power supply.

The minute I got the TU150 out of its package, I was drawn to its brushed black aluminum finish. It gives the case a nice sleek look and should easily match many themed builds. One thing I did notice about both the interior/exterior finish is that it attracts fingerprints. Both during its photoshoot and during my build I found myself wiping it down with a microfiber cloth.

Overall, the TU150 is an exceptional mini-ITX case with its unique feature set and amazing build quality. Whether you’re looking to downsize your PC or build a LAN party rig, the TU150 should be at the top of your list.

Amazing job, Lian Li!

Introduction

There has been two popular case features PC builders have been flocking to over the past two years: tempered glass panels and RGB. Corsair’s newest addition, the iCUE 465X RGB, checks off both of these boxes with 4mm side/front tempered glass side panels and the inclusion of three LL120 RGB fans. In addition to features, the 465X also includes durable steel chassis, removable dust filters, and an iCUE Lighting Node CORE controller. Even with the inclusion of the lighting controller and fans, the 465X RGB still remains affordable at an MSRP of $149.99.

We would like to thank Corsair for providing us with the iCUE 465X RGB to review. 

About Corsair

Founded in 1994, Corsair started by making Level 2 cache modules for OEMs. After Intel incorporated the L2 cache into the processor, Corsair refocused and started making DRAM modules. Fast forward to 2018, and they have become one of the leading names in the high-end PC industry. Over the years, with their groundbreaking technology and innovation, they have expanded their line of products to include high-performance memory, ultra-efficient PSU’s, cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, SSD’s, keyboards, mice and headsets.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Included iCUE Lighting Node CORE
• Three LL120 RGB fans
• Two 4mm tempered glass side panels

Technical Specifications Case:

Technical Specifications Fans:

Packaging & Unboxing

The iCUE 465X RGB is packaged in a brown cardboard box which has a wireframe profile of the case that is sitting on an enlarged Corsair logo. Looking at the bottom, the iCUE 465X RGB is being marketed as a “Mid-Tower Smart Case” that is also iCUE compatible.

Turning the box to the side is a list of case specifications written in 9 different languages.

Moving to the back, we have an exploded view of the iCUE 465X RGB, labeling its notable features which is described in the legend below.

On the remaining side, we have some more wireframes on the 465X, denoting various dimensions and included accessories.

Like most cases, the 465X RGB is securely packed in between two pieces of foam with the case enclosed in a plastic bag.

After removing all the packaging from the iCUE 465X RGB, all we have left is to peel the film from the tempered glass.

Also included in the box is an iCUE 465X RGB user guide, zip ties, and various mounting screws.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Our iCUE 465X RGB features an all-black steel frame with two tempered glass panels: one being on the side and the other at the front. If black isn’t your style, the 465X is also available in a white version of the case. Each of the tempered glass side panels is secured to the chassis via four thumbscrews located at each corner. On each side of the front frame is about a one inch game between the frame and the glass to provide airflow for the installed front fans.

After removing the four thumb screws from the front, we were surprised to see the whole panel came off. The tempered glass is adhered to the frame itself and was a nice touch as we preferred panels that are screw-on rather than having push tabs. Once the panel was removed, it revealed a magnetic removable dust filter with three preinstalled LL120 RGB fans installed behind it.

On the other side of the iCUE 465X is a black steel side panel that is attached to the chassis using two thumbscrews at the back of the case.

Turning to the back of the 465X, you have your stand features such as your motherboard I/O cutout, 7 expansion slots, PSU cutout, and a mounting point for a 120mm exhaust fan. To the right of the case, it looks to be a vertical GPU, but the slot covers would have to be punched out.

Looking to the top of the iCUE 465X RGB, we have a removable magnetic dust filter with hexagon cutouts and mounting points for two 120mm or one 140mm fan. Toward the front of the case is also the 465X’s I/O panel.

Taking a closer look at the I/O panel, it consists of a power button, two USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio/microphone jack, and a reset button.

Flipping the 465X chassis to its bottom, we see the case sits on four rubberized feet and has a removable dust filter for the PSU intake.

A Closer Look: Interior

The all-black exterior of the 465X has been continued to the inside with only a hint of gold on the lighting controller at the back of the case. The 465X’s motherboard tray supports Mini-ATX, Micro-ATX, or ATX motherboard and is surrounded by various grommets and cutouts to help keep your cables tidy. To further keep your build looking clean, the chassis also sports a full-length PSU shroud to keep your PSU well hidden.

Toward the front of the case, we see the three preinstalled LL120 RGB fans and two 2.5” SSD mounting points to the right of the grommets.

To the back of the chassis is a mounting point for a 120mm single exhaust fan. It would have been nice to see Corsair include one with the case even if it wasn’t an LL120, as most users will likely purchase an additional fan.

Taking a look at the PSU shroud, is has a large cutout at the front allowing up to a 360mm radiator installed to the front of 465X. It also provides some cable management options with a grommet in the center and a small cutout in the upper-left corner.

Moving to the back of the 465X, we find the preinstalled iCUE Light Node CORE controller with the 3 RGB fans already plugged in. For cable management, there is a plethora of tie-downs near the grommets and some more leading up to the CPU cable cutout in the upper-right corner.

If you wish to add more fans to the iCUE 465X RGB, the Lighting Node CORE has room for 3 more RGB fans on the left-hand side. You may notice that the Lighting Node CORE only has room for the RGB cable of the fan which means you either need to install the fans into a hub or plug them directly into your motherboard.

Below the motherboard tray cutout are two 2.5” SSD mounting plates that are secure using a single thumbscrew.

Looking to the bottom under the PSU shroud is a removable drive cage that has room for two 3.5” or two 2.5” drives.

Software

Since the included Lighting Node CORE and the three LL120 RGB fans are iCUE compatible, you can control them using Corsair’s iCUE software. The latest version of the iCUE software can be downloaded from Corsair’s website. For this review, we will focus on the elements of the software that pertain to the Lighting Node CORE and LL120 RGB fans.

Once you install and run the software, it will automatically detect all your iCUE compatible devices. If for some reason you don’t see your device even after an update, just shut down and restart the application. We have had this happen in another Corsair review, and a simple restart of the software resolved the problem.

After selecting the Lighting Node CORE from the device list, you get an additional navigation bar on the right to configure the device as well as the lighting for any attached fans. In the left pane, you will notice a photo of the Lighting Node CORE as well as its current configuration below the image. For the iCUE 465X RGB, it comes with three LL120 RGB fans so we go ahead and adjust the configuration to reflect this.

Now that the Light Node CORE has been configured, we can adjust the lighting effects using the left navigation pane.

The iCUE comes with a lot of predefined lighting effects that you can additionally configure settings for, such as speed, color, and direction.

Predefined/Lighting Link:

• Rainbow Wave – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow going left to right
• Spiral Rainbow – Cycling through all the colors of the rainbow in a circular motion
• Color Shift –  Shifting between random/alternating colors
• Color Pulse – Fading random/alternating colors in and out
• Color Wave – Like visor except it doesn’t bounce when hitting the end of the LEDs
• Sequential – Coloring each LED one by one and then starting over with a different color when reaching the end
• Strobing – Blinking LEDs on/off and changing the color each time
• Rain – Rain-like effect across all LEDs with random/alternating colors
• Visor – Random/alternating colors moving across the LEDs then bouncing off the last one and returning to the start
• Marquee – Flashing like a marquee sign
• Temperature – Have your keys change color based on various temperature sensors
• Color Warp – Changing colors up and down the color spectrum
• Rotary Stack – Like a rotary phone stacking colors as it hits the end
• Infinity – LEDs traveling an in infinity pattern changing colors each rotation
• Rainbow – Fading colors through the color spectrum

Custom:

• Static Color – Solid static color that is always on
• Solid – Solid color that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Gradient – Gradient of 2 colors that can have the occupancy and lighting time configured
• Ripple – A ripple effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time
• Wave – A wave effect with a configured color, occupancy, and lighting time

Once you have selected your desired lighting effect, you can see how it will look in the upper right pane. If you which to change attributes such as the speed, direction, and colors, you can do this on the lower portion of the screen.

System Build & Installation

The following hardware is included in this build:

• MSI x570 MEG ACE Motherboard
• AMD 3900X Processor
• 2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz Ram
• MSI RTX 2060 Super Gaming X GPU
• AMD Wraith Prism Cooler
• Corsair HXi 750W PSU

Building in the iCUE 465X was a breeze with its fairly roomy interior and excellent cable management options. I have zero issues with any of my chosen components and had plenty of room for a taller CPU cooler and a much longer GPU. Keeping the cable runs were fairly effortless to run all around the motherboard using the grommets/cutouts. Though adding one more cutout in the middle at the top and bottom of the motherboard tray would have been nice for cables that run to the center of the motherboard. The final result was a nice clean build; it had just enough pop of RGB both inside and outside the case.

Turning out lights you can really get a sense of how vibrant the LL120 RGB fans are.

Thanks to the good amount of tiedown around the grommet/cutouts, I was able to keep the back fairly clean as well. I was also pleased with the amount of space between the motherboard tray and panel which man it really easy to close up the case.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

Start to finish, building in Corsair’s new iCUE 465X RGB was a breeze and the final result was a great looking clean build. Some of the stand out features to me were the front tempered glass with LL120 fans, the included lighting controller, full-length PSU shroud, and the amazing amount of tiedown points in the back. With all of these features, I think the iCUE 465X RGB is priced extremely well at the MSRP of $149.99.

From an aesthetics point of view, I think Corsair hit it out of the park with the 4mm tempered glass, all-steel frame, and including the vibrant LL120 RGB fans. My MSI builds matched the case perfectly which is showcased through the fully tempered glass side panel. Regardless of the theme of your build, you should have no issues making it look great in this chassis.

Overall, I was impressed with the 465X’s quality of craftsmanship/materials, well thought-out design, and its great value with the inclusion of three LL120 RGB fans with a Lighting Node CORE controller. If you’re a fan of RGB or just looking for a great mid-tower case, be sure to check out Corsair’s iCUE 465X RGB.

Great Job Corsair!

Introduction

Many people don’t have the luxury of having a dedicated office or games room and their PC usually ends up in the living/media room. This could make gaming a little more difficult as you may annoy the person watching TV while your PC’s fans are revving up during your Call of Duty match. If the above scenario matches your situation, you’re going to want to look for a chassis that is built to be as silent as possible. This is exactly what Cooler Master’s Silencio S600 hopes to solve, which has been designed with silence in mind. The S600 sports minimalistic Silencio design, sound dampening material, the option of tempered glass or sound-dampened steel side panel, a reversible steel door, and includes two Silencio fans. With an MSRP of $99.99, it just might be the silent case you have been looking for.

We would like to thanks Cooler Master for sending us the Silencio S600 to review.

About Cooler Master

Back in 1992, when the internet was in its early stages and CPU’s were measured in MHz rather than GHz, a company called ORYX was born. ORYX later became Cooler Master, which we know the company as today. Started by a rogue product manager who had no funding and no support except a single administrative secretary, he set out to create, innovate and improve products for the PC industry. Starting with its first product, a Socket 7 CPU heat sink in 1993, their product line has since grown to Cases, Peripherals, Fans, and much more. Over the past 25+ years they brought many advancements and firsts to the PC industry (such as the first all copper heat sink) and today, they continue to innovate by bringing new and exciting products to market.

Features & Specifications

Notable Features:

• Swappable side panel
• Silencio design
• Sound dampening material

Technical Specifications:

Packaging & Unboxing

The Silencio S600 is packaged in a plain box with the front having a profile line drawing of the case. Looking to the bottom left you can see that we got the steel version of the S600 which is about $10 cheaper than the tempered glass model. For this review, Cooler Master also provided us with a tempered glass panel, which is the only difference being the side panel.

Turning to the side of the box, there is a list of specifications for the S600 as well as a link for Cooler Master’s website to get more information about the case.

Moving to the back, we have another profile drawing of the S600 showing the opposite side of the case. To the right of the drawing is a few written paragraphs about the S600 features which are also in a bulleted list below in 8 different languages.

On the last side is the final line drawing of the S600 which shows off its extremely clean front.

Removing the S600 from its box, we find it protected with 2 pieces of Styrofoam on each side and stored in a plastic bag.

Once all the packaging has been removed from the S600, we decided to remove the steel panel and put on the temper glassed panel one that Cooler Master supplied us with. Now, all we have to do is peel off the protective film to start our build in the S600.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Now that the S600 is fully unboxed, we get our first look at its gorgeous matte black finish. The S600 is black throughout and maintains an extremely clean look. After trying both the steel and tempered glass side panel, I much prefer the latter as I like to show off my components.

The front of the S600 is one of the cleanest I have seen out of the cases I have reviewed. It is pure matte black with no ventilation and only contains a gloss black Cooler Master logo in the lower part of the panel.

Since the front panel is solid with new vents, the S600 pulls its air from the sides thanks to a notched center.

Opening the door on the front reveals a removable filter as well as a 5.25” drive bay on top. Looking through the filter we can see one installed Cooler Master fan in the middle and another fan mount at the bottom. You will notice on the left side you have a spot to attach hinges and that is because the front door can be reversed to open the other day. This is a nice option for people that place their desktop on the left side of the desk.

Looking at the back of the door, Cooler Master has installed some sound dampening foam to keep sound from escaping through the front of the case.

Turning the case to its other side, is a black steel panel that is attached to the S600 via two thumbscrews at the back. This panel looks identical to the one on the other side that we replaced with a tempered glass side panel.

Moving to the back of the S600, there’s your usual I/O cutout, exhaust fan mount, PSU cutout, and 7 expansion slots. Covering the right side of the expansion slots is a steel cover that can be removed by taking out the two screws securing it in place.

Taking a peek at the top of the case we find a removable black panel that can be replaced with the included magnetic mesh panel. Toward the front of the case is the S600’s Cooler Master shaped power button and addition I/O.

Removing the top panel reveals a hexagon mesh, which has mounting points to install two 120mm or 140mm fans. Like the side panels of the S600, the back of the removable top panel also has sound dampening foam.

Taking a closer look at the S600 I/O, it includes an SD reader, 3.5 audio/microphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button, and a Cooler Master shaped power button. It is nice to see the addition of an SD reader and that isn’t something you commonly see included in cases.

Flipping the S600 to the bottom, it has four rubberized feet and a filtered PSU intake.

Packaged with the S600 were a magnetic top filter, user guide, mounting screws, and six tool-less drive mounts.

A Closer Look: Interior

The black exterior has been continued to the interior which is also completely black. Looking to the motherboard tray, it has mounting points for various sizes of motherboards that include Mini ITX, Micro ITX, and ATX. For cable management, there are plenty of routing options around the motherboard tray with two grommeted cutouts to the right, two cutouts at the top, and two cutouts below on the PSU shroud. Looking to the upper right corner, there is a removable 5.25” drive with toolless installation brackets.

The S600 includes a full PSU shroud with three mounting points for 2.5” drives and has a large cutout on the right if you wish to install 240/280mm radiator at the front of the case.

Toward the front of the case, we have a single installed Cooler Master Silencio FP 120mm fan with room to install another one below. It does look that at one point there was supposed to be a third mounting point for a fan at the top as there is a half cutout below the drive bay.

At the back is a second preinstalled Cooler Master 120mm fan as an exhaust.

Moving to the back of the S600, when removing the steel panel, we find another sheet of sound dampening foam, which has been adhered to the back of the panel.

Now that the panel has been removed, we see the S600 has various cable tie-downs all around the motherboard tray and included two 2.5” drive mounting point located below the motherboard CPU cutout. Looking below the PSU shroud is a non-removable 3.5” drive bay that has room to install up to 3 drives with the included toolless drive sleds. Looking to the PSU section, the S600 only has room for a 180mm long PSU since the included drive bay cannot be removed.

System Build & Installation

Below is a list of the hardware included in this build:

• MSI X570 MEG ACE
• Ryzen 3900X with Wraith Prism Cooler
• 2 x 8GB GeIL EVO X II 3600MHz DDR4 Memory
• MSI RTX 2060 Super Gaming X
• Corsair HX750i
• Crucial P1000 M.2 Drive

Installing my hardware into the S600 was fairly effortless and I had plenty of room to work when placing my components. Thanks to all the cutouts around the motherboard, running my cables was a breeze and I ended up with an extremely clean build. Out of the two panels I have with the S600, I really prefer the tempered glass so that I can see my build.

Once my build was completed, I did install the top and side steel panels so I could get a sense of how well the sound proofing was done on the S600. After putting my ear around the case, I was quite impressed at how silent the S600 was. With that said, I also did some load testing and found that both the CPU/ GPU became much hotter (around 10-15C) than in my previous build. If you are planning to run the S600 configuration it’s useable but I wouldn’t recommend overclocking the CPU or GPU. I would have to attribute this to the restricted airflow at the front of the case and only having a single intake fan. Even if a second fan was installing in the lower part, it still would provide great airflow and most of it would go under the PSU shroud.

I think if Cooler Master reworked the front of the case by either positioning the fan more inline with the components or remove the 5.25” drive bay and install three fans in the front, it would provide better airflow to lower temps. I did see a little improvement by installing the top mesh filter and would probably recommend this along with installing two more fans at the top of the case. Though by adding the mesh filter and fans, you’re no longer going to have a silent build that the S600 advertises.

Moving to the back of my build, I was able to keep it fairly clean thanks to all the included tie-downs and cutouts in the S600. The only issue I ran into was installing my HX750i PSU into the PSU bay. Since this PSU is on the edge of the maximum allowed length with the cables preinstalled, I really had to wiggle it in. This could have been easily fixed with the 3.5” drive bay was removable and not riveted to the case.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

My overall experience building in the S600 was quite positive and it went pretty much without a hitch. The S600 had plenty of space to work with and it was extremely easy to create a clean build thanks to the various cutouts/tie-downs. The only real issue I ran into was installing my PSU in the somewhat small PSU bay. This could have been a non-issue if I was able to remove the included 3.5” drive bay that is riveted to the case.

The overall aesthetic of the S600 is extremely clean and in my option looks amazing. I also like that the S600 has the option for either a tempered glass or steel side panel door depending on your preference. Personally, I prefer the tempered glass so that I can show off my components as well as the RGB on the hardware.

One of the big marketing points of the S600 is the effort into making the case as silent as can be. In my testing, the S600 did a great job at not making any noise and even with your ear up to the case it's barely audible. Though this silence comes at a price as with my build, all my components ran about 10c – 15c hotter than they did in its previous case. I attribute this to the poor airflow at the front of the case which has only a single intake fan. I think this could be mitigated if the front of the case had room for three fans or the current fan mounting points moved more in line with the hardware. Due to this issue, I wouldn’t recommend any overclocking unless you install the top mesh filter with 2 additional fans. Doing this would take away the silent feature of the case which is one of its main selling points.

Overall, the S600 looks great, was easy to build in, and is pretty much inaudible but falls short keeping your components cool. Even though I do love silent builds, the S600 wouldn’t work for me as I like to push my hardware to its limits. That said, if you’re not going to overclock your hardware and looking for a case designed for silence, the S600 is a viable option.

Introduction

FAST / MYSTERIOUS / UNBEATABLE

What happens when you combine the latest revision of a very popular case with a powerful gaming brand? You get the Phantom Gaming Edition of Cooler Master’s H500P Mesh. Featuring the same great mid-tower ATX case with support for massive 200mm cooling fans updated with ASRock’s Phantom Gaming aesthetics. From the hints of red and grey on the edges to the perfect paint job on the back panel as well as the dark tinted tempered glass door, the H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming is ready to build a system that is FAST/MYSTERIOUS/UNBEATABLE. Let’s take a closer look!

Pro Clockers would like to thank Cooler Master for sending the H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming Edition to us to check out!

About Cooler Master

“We're all about the things that make building a PC such a rewarding experience. The sense of achievement. The joy of making and creating something uniquely yours in form and function. The freedom that comes from complete control. And of course, the thrill of bringing your creation to life without melting your components”

Cooler Master is a computer hardware manufacturer from Taiwan. Founded in 1992, the company is an aftermarket brand for computer chassis, PSU, coolers, cooling pads, and other accessories. Aside from their own aftermarket cooling solutions, Cooler Master is also an OEM vendor for different brand names such as Nvidia, AMD, and EVGA. They produce GPU coolers, CPU coolers and Heatsinks for the various companies. In recent years, the company expanded its brand exposure into gaming communities by sponsoring major events such as KODE5 and a case modding competition. They have also won awards such as the iF product design award.

Features & Specifications

PHANTOM GAMING SIGNATURE AESTHETICS

The MasterCase H500P Mesh joins the Phantom Gaming line, carrying the design on the front panel and both of the side panels.

RGB LIGHTING EFFECTS

Optimized airflow is guaranteed with a complete mesh front panel providing plenty of air intake for the two pre-installed 200mm RGB fans. Use the RGB lighting to create a captivating build in your preferred color theme.

The included RGB controller can be connected to the reset switch to manage the lighting of the two 200mm RGB fans.

The RGB Connector, Splitter, and 4-pin male to male adapters are also included.

SHOW OFF YOUR BUILD

The MasterCase H500P Mesh has a light grey tinted tempered glass side panel, making it ideal for showcasing your build.

The two additional PCI slots at the rear enable you to show off one graphics card in the vertical position.

*Riser cable is not included.

COVERS FOR CLEAN BUILDING

A PSU shroud, CPU cut out cover, and additional cable covers take clean cable management to the next level. Assemble clean builds like a pro.

LIQUID COOLING SUPPORT

The MasterCase H500P Mesh accommodates up to 360mm radiators on the top and front.

• MODEL NUMBER
  
  • MCM-H500P-MGNN-ASR
• EXTERIOR COLOR
  
  • Gun Metal
• MATERIALS
  
  • Plastic, Steel mesh
• MATERIALS - BODY
  
  • Steel
• DIMENSIONS (LXWXH)
  
  • 544 x 242 x 542mm / 21.4 x 9.5 x 21.3 inch
• MATERIALS - SIDE PANEL
  
  • Tempered Glass, Steel
• EXPANSION SLOTS
  
  • 7+2
• 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
  
  • 0
• 2.5" / 3.5" DRIVE BAYS (COMBO)
  
  • 2
• 2.5" DRIVE BAYS
  
  • 2
• I/O PANEL
  
  • 2x USB 2.0, Audio In & Out (supports HD audio)
• MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT
  
  • Mini ITX, Micro ATX, E-ATX
• PRE-INSTALLED FANS - FRONT
  
  • 2x 200 x 25mm RGB Fan, 800RPM
• PRE-INSTALLED FANS - REAR
  
  • 1x 140 x 25mm fan, 1200RPM
• FAN SUPPORT - TOP
  
  • 2x 200mm, 3x 120/140mm
• FAN SUPPORT - FRONT
  
  • 3x 120/140mm, 2x 200mm Fan
• FAN SUPPORT - REAR
  
  • 1x 120/140mm
• LIQUID COOLING SUPPORT - FRONT
  
  • 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm
• LIQUID COOLING SUPPORT - REAR
  
  • 120mm, 140mm
• LIQUID COOLING SUPPORT - TOP
  
  • 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm (maximum thickness clearance 55mm)
• CLEARANCE - GFX
  
  • 412mm/16.2"
• POWER SUPPLY SUPPORT
  
  • Bottom mount, ATX PS2
• EAN CODE
  
  • 4719512077924
• CLEARANCE - CPU COOLER
  
  • 190mm
• UPC CODE
  
  • 884102050411
• SERIES
  
  • MasterCase Series
• SIZE
  
  • Mid Tower

Packaging & Unboxing

Like many of Cooler Master’s cases, they don’t waste money on fancy printing on the box you are likely only going to throw away. It comes in brown cardboard with black ink showing a render of the case, and the model number.

The back of the box has a short blurb about the case itself and some info in several languages.

Inside, the H500P Mesh is secured in two large blocks of Styrofoam. A bit of paperwork and a box of accessories sits on top of the foam.

Under the foam, the case is wrapped in a plastic bag, and also in a cloth tote.

The little black box on the outside of the Styrofoam holds some hardware.

You get a small cloth for removing fingerprints, a fan power adapter, a stand-alone RGB controller for your fans if needed, some brackets, zip ties and a bag of screws.

The case comes inside of a cloth tote bearing the Cooler Master logo.

The handles let you easily lift the case out of the cardboard box without having to resort to that awkward flip the box over and try to lift it off without something happening maneuver you end up with most of the time.

Even though you get the tote, Cooler Master still wraps the case in a plastic bag to keep dust and such off of the case.

A Closer Look: Exterior

Cooler Master’s H500P Mesh is already a nice looking case, but the Phantom Gaming edition just makes you say ‘wow!’.

Both main side panels have the same grey and red paint job, but the back panel includes the PG logo in the center.

The edges of the exterior have matching red and grey accents over the silver.

As this is the ‘mesh’ version, the entire front of the case is a large mesh panel allowing a ton of airflow for the included 200mm fans.

The Cooler Master badge sits about perfectly over the center hub of the lower 200mm fan.

The top has a clear plastic panel, but the edges feature large mesh-covered openings for airflow. The Phantom Gaming slogan FAST / MYSTERIOUS / UNBEATABLE is subtly marked in grey on both sides.

The clear panel on top gives you a great view into the interior by default, or a look at RGB fans if you choose to install extras later.

The rear of the case doesn’t have any trim over the black steel chassis but gives you easy access to everything you need.

The bottom has four large rubber feet and a removable air filter over the PSU inlet area.

A Closer Look: Interior

With the back door off, there isn’t much to see on Cooler Master’s H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming Edition case. That is by design though. Nearly all of your cables can be easily managed and hidden behind two large covers.

The cover over the rear of the motherboard area not only allows cable management but also a very large opening to work on coolers after installing your motherboard.

The front half of the case is covered in one large panel that can hide piles of cables with ease. Two screws hold it in place.

This cover has a design stamped into it to help with strength.

Under it by default are the fan cables for the twin 200mm RGB monsters in the front. You get an RGB splitter and 3-pin headers for the fans.

The front panel headers are also hidden under here. Besides the normal front panel I/O, you get cables for front USB 3.0 and Front USB 2.0

The power supply mounts to a removable rear bracket and slides in from the back. This bracket can be installed upside down if needed to make sure your power supply is oriented with the fan downward for fresh air intake through the filtered bottom.

The main tempered glass side panel is secured with a rotary latch. It is somewhat stiff and requires a coin or something to turn it.

Inside you have room for almost anything you want to install up to EATX. A non-RGB 140mm fan comes pre-installed on the rear exhaust area. Rubber grommets help with cables going to the front edge of the board.

The front power supply shroud part can be removed if you wish to install a front radiator, pump/res or other large devices.

The rear of the shroud is not readily removable but includes two 2.5” drive sleds.

If you don’t need or want them upfront, they can be moved to the rear of the motherboard tray if needed.

One thumbscrew holds the top cover in place. Under it is a large slotted bracket for mounting fans or radiators anywhere you need.

If you prefer to assemble your top cooling outside of the case, a couple of screws hold the bracket in place.

The front panel pops off easily without tools to reveal the included 200mm RGB fans.

The mesh on the front and side edges is metal and can be removed easily for painting or modding if you wanted.

The entire panel pops on and off with no tools.

The fans screw to the outside of the chassis, but the front is open mesh so they get plenty of air.

The included fans are Cooler Masters own MasterFan 200mm RGB that can move 90CFM each at a silent 800rpm.

There is enough space behind them to mount a slim radiator or more fans If you wanted to for some reason.

The case includes a spot to mount a 2-slot card vertically. You will need to supply your own flexible PCIe x16 riser though.

The card is entirely supported by the rear of the case.

System Build

Components

CPU – Intel Core i9-9900k

Motherboard – ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9

GPU – ASRock Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX580 8G OC

Ram – 32GB HyperX Fury RGB

PSU – Cooler Master MWE Gold Series 750W

SSD – 2x HyperX Fury RGB 240GB

CPU Cooling – Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Phantom Gaming Edition

Case – Cooler Master H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming

We would like to say thank you to ASRock and HyperX for helping with the rest of the hardware for this section of the review!

Honestly, there really isn’t much to say for this section. This is one of the easiest cases to build in. We’ll install ASRock’s Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 first.

Once you pop the cover off the backside, you have easy access to install the bracket for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Phantom Gaming Edition.

We ran the power supply cables up next to get them out of the way, and then installed the CPU and front hardware for the cooler.

There is plenty of room to work for even a tower air cooler like this.

We landed the front I/O cables and front fan cables and put the covers back on. You can see here there are almost no visible cables except the EPS 8-pin running up the back under the cover for CPU power. The area under the PSU shroud easily hides any extra cable slack as well.

We then installed our ASRock Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX580 8G OC GPU, and twin HyperX Fury RGB 240GB SSD’s under it, then the HyperX Fury RGB memory and called it done.

All said and done, it took less than 15 minutes to assemble this system, and we normally spend that long on cable management alone. The basement space and large cable management covers make having a clean system with perfect looking cables a snap.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

I think most builders would assume it requires an expensive ‘flagship’ case and a lot of work to get an easy build experience, good airflow, tempered glass, and clean looking cables, but that isn’t the case with Cooler Master’s MasterCase H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming Edition. While this case isn’t bargain-basement cheap, it’s also pretty affordable for its street price of $160. It has a lot of value-added features without all the expensive gimmicks and offers a very solid build platform that will be attractive to veteran modders as well as first time builders. Even if you aren’t doing a Phantom Gaming themed build, the red and grey accents over a black and silver case are elegant and should appeal to most. Cooler Master and ASRock have done a great job of setting this case apart aesthetically while simultaneously not beating you over the head with the Phantom Gaming branding. It’s a fine line to walk between being completely neutral and drinking the branding koolaide, and it has been done beautifully here. Throw in the fact that you get a couple of massive RGB fans, and the MasterCase H500P Mesh Phantom Gaming Edition should be right at the top of your list for your next build or upgrade

Great Job Cooler Master!