Cooler Master MasterCase H100 Review. What cooler master case do i have

An advanced I / O panel and extensive cable management system are also included in the chassis. The main difference is how it is designed and where it is located. The fan, cooler and liquid cooling support are still top notch.

Cooler Master introduces new cases and more at Summer Summit

Cooler Master is a famous brand when it comes to PC components and peripherals. The company is organizing a Cooler Master Summer Summit 2021 event this week and showcasing tons of new products. These include new housing and housing accessories, thermal solutions, power supplies, peripherals, gaming monitors, and more. Here’s everything the company has announced.

For those interested in building their own PC, Cooler Master has some new cases and accessories for Summer Summit. First, it introduced a new line of MAX systems. These enclosures are designed to save users time by providing a streamlined building experience, the first being the NR200P MAX.

It is a small form factor case (approximately 18.3 liters) and includes an 850W power supply, 280mm radiator, two 140mm fans, and smooth CPU cooler out of the box. You can add up to two additional fans, there is one 3.5 inch HDD slot, two 2.5 inch SSD slots, and one combo slot that you can use for any size.

Cooler Master also introduced new colors for the regular NR200P case, such as Flamingo Pink, Nightshade Purple, Sunset Orange, and Caribbean Blue. These are just cases, but little else is included.

Flamingo Pink Carbbean Blue Sunset Orange Nightshade Purple

Cooler Master also announced that it is bringing back the HAF series of enclosures, starting with the HAF500. This case has two massive 200mm fans on the front, a smaller 120mm fan on the back, and an internal 120mm fan mounted next to the GPU at an adjustable angle. The front and rear fans also feature RGB lighting. The company says it is also working on the flagship HAF product, but details are unknown.

Cooler Master presented two other cases at the Summer Summit, the MasterBox 500 and the MasterBox TD300 Mesh. The first has a cleaner design with “circuit vector” designs with RGB lighting on the front and an RGB fan below it. The MasterBox TD300 Mesh uses a three-dimensional mesh on the front with two 120mm fans installed behind it out of the box. Of course, you can always adapt them to more fans.

MasterBox 500 MasterBox TD300 Grid

Complementing this category, Cooler Master has upgraded its PCIe riser cables to PCIe Gen 4. These cables offer faster data transmission and are available in lengths of 200mm and 300mm. The Cooler Master vertical bracket is now equipped with PCIe Gen 4 cables.

Cooler Master power supplies

Cooler Master also unveiled some new PSUs at the Summer Summit, starting with the XG Platinum Series. These power supplies feature 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, modular cabling, 135mm fan and intelligent thermal control mode to improve performance and lifespan. Cooler Master claims to also use 100% Japanese capacitors to increase efficiency and reduce ripple noise. You can also go further with XG Plus Platinum Series PSUs that add a display to monitor ARGB performance and lighting effects. These power supplies range from 650 W to 850 W.

If you need a lot more power, Cooler Master also introduced the M1600 and M2000 Platinum which offer 1600W and 2000W of power respectively. They are designed for specialist projects but retain the performance of the 80 Plus Platinum.

If you like the design but don’t feel like a price tag then check out the H500P, at least with this model you get a better price / performance ratio. When it comes to performance, let’s clear one thing: it’s great for temperatures, but I don’t see where the extra costs come from.

Cooler Master MasterCase H100 Specs

Supported motherboard formats	Mini-ITX, Mini-DTX
5.25 inch outer pockets	0
3.5 inch internal pockets	1
3.5 inch external pockets	0
2.5 inch internal recesses	4
Front panel ports	USB 3.0 (2), headphones, microphone, RGB button
Side windows)?	No
PCI expansion slot positions	2
120mm or 140mm fan positions	1
120mm / 140mm / 200mm fans included	1
Fan controller included?	Yes
Maximum GPU Length	210 mm
Maximum height of the CPU cooler	83mm
Maximum length of the power supply	210 mm
The supported form factor of the power supply	ATX
Place of installation of the power supply	Peak
Color of the internal lighting of the housing	Thread
Fan illumination color included	RGB
Dimensions (HWD)	11.9 by 8.5 by 12.3 inches
Libra	5.9 lb

Compact to the maximum, the mini-ITX PC case is unbeatable at what it does best. These systems allow for case designs to be much smaller than that of the ATX or MicroATX competition. Many mini-ITX models in slightly larger form factors can support a graphics card, while the smallest ones expect you to rely on the CPU’s integrated graphics. (See our In Win B1 review, for example.) One thing that these PC cases don’t always do well is cooling and cable management, as packing a lot of cabling and hot components into a tight space can obstruct airflow. There’s not much you can do about it (that’s the nature of mini-ITX), but the Cooler Master tried to alleviate this problem with the MasterCase H100, which has a giant, glowing RGB 200mm fan. Pretty affordablefor mini-ITX cases ($ 69.99), this makes for a cheap and nice case option for a compact gaming PC design.

The Design: Well, Aren’t You Cube?

The overall appearance of the MasterCase H100 housing is similar to several other housings in Cooler Master’s MasterCase product line. The case is available in black or multi-tone gray. Both versions have black metal mesh sections on the top and front. The chassis isn’t quite a cube, but the dimensions approach one, 11.9 by 8.5 by 12.3 inches (HWD). The depth is increased by the PSU protruding from the back (more on that later). Excluding the protrusion, it is 10.9 inches deep.

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At the top of the case, in the recess, there is a very useful feature that we often don’t see with every size: the integrated handle! This makes carrying the case extremely easy, although the small size and balanced dimensions make it easy to carry even without it. Meanwhile, said oversized 200mm fan is pre-installed on the front of the case. Its RGB lighting can be controlled using the included RGB controller. Optionally, you can connect a case reset button to control the fan lights if your motherboard is not working with the controller.

Given this large 200mm fan, the case seems like a candidate for perfect cooling, but in fact, it may not be any better than many competing cases, depending on what you’re installing. Oddly enough, the MasterCase H100 only has one place to mount a fan – the front surface – which is already filled with a 200mm fan. (Can replace a 120mm or 140mm fan, although it can make it look weird through the front mesh that’s designed for a 200mm spinner.) You can’t add fans anywhere else on the front, top and rear or sides. A 200mm fan alone will push more air out than most smaller fans, but many other mini-ITX cases support multiple fans, so the question arises,Can this single 200mm slow speed fan beat many fans in the competition closer to the heat sources.

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This design also discourages adding to the liquid cooling system. Technically, you can install a single fan radiator in the front of the case in place of the 200mm fan. (The Cooler Master notes that 120mm, 140mm, and 200mm heatsinks are supported here.) But then you won’t have as much air flowing into the case to cool other components down. It doesn’t make sense either. The 200mm fan is the biggest advantage of this case, and if you’re going to remove it, you might as well just pick a different case to start with.

The front I / O panel is diagonally positioned between the top and front of the case. It has a pair of USB 3.0 Type A ports, as well as microphone and headphone jacks. Also here is a reset button that can act as an RGB backlight cycler.

This is the heaviest case on the list, weighing around 52.5 pounds or 23.81 kilograms. Building with it is challenging and you should always do it carefully.

H500 Review Closer Look

Time to inspect the chassis and see all the features. Here’s what Cooler Master says about its chassis: “Two front panels, two 200mm ARGB fans, and a grip to hold on to when adrenaline takes its toll.

Cooler Master Mastercase H500 review has been recognized as the entry-level enclosure for high-efficiency airflow. Now, with 200mm ARGB fans, its legacy has been enriched with high-quality lighting. Each choice of front panels determines whether the structure will be distinguished by absolute airflow efficiency or eye-catching aesthetics. Of course, the mesh is the perfect choice for supplying factory-installed fans with plenty of fresh air.

The transparent panel, on the other hand, presents these fans in a crystal clear view. The iconic addressable RGB fans are the core of the H series in terms of design and features that, due to their size, can operate quietly while moving large amounts of air.

The pre-installed ARGB fans can be managed via the motherboard or the included controller, connected via the included splitter to create a comprehensive ARGB lighting system. Gaming hardware, cooling components and the sheer pride of the designer are shown in a panoramic view through the edge-to-edge tempered glass side panel.”

The MasterCase H500 ARGB case is made of steel, plastic, mesh and tempered glass. It is 525L x 228W x 502H mm (including panels). The chassis is Ivory Gray and weighs 9.22 kg.

H500 Review Exterior

Let’s start by looking at the exterior of the chassis.

Cooler Master Mastercase H500 review comes pre-installed with a mesh panel. At the front you can see two pre-installed 200mm ARGB fans. We have the same design legacy as we saw with the original H-series chassis. The Cooler Master brand logo is located at the bottom.

Mesh construction feels dense. Note that you cannot remove the entire front panel by simply pulling it out of the case. There are 2 tabs or latches on each side of the panel. You have to open the side panel and press those latches / snaps.

This will release the panel and you can remove it. This is troublesome as we have to open the side panel and access the opening mechanism from inside the case.

The image above shows the dual option that has been given to the user. We have a mesh panel as well as a fully transparent panel. It is up to the user to choose which panel is to be used as required. I appreciate the flexibility offered by Cooler Master.

Switching panels is an easier task. There are 8 screws on the inside of the main frame. Remove them. Slide the mesh panel a little bit and then take it out. Place the transparent panel and secure it with the same 8x screws. It is the other way around. There is a sufficient gap between the front mounted fans and the front cover.

The photo above shows the front side with a transparent front cover made of plastic. The transparent front cover, in my opinion, adds more aesthetics to the case, but restricts airflow.

The photo of the entire front panel will show 2 MF200R ARGB 200mm fans. These fans are designed for a speed of 800 rpm. In my personal experience I didn’t feel any good airflow placing my hands behind these fans as they turned.

Each fan holder has small cutouts in the upper-right corner for routing the cables. The ARGB LEDs are placed in the center and the white translucent blades help to evenly diffuse giving a nice AURA light effect.

Here are the options for cooling the front side:

• Up to 3 120 mm fans
• For 2 140 mm fans
• Up to 2 200 mm fans (154 × 154 mounting hole spacing with a thickness of up to 30 mm)
• cooler 120/140/200/240/280 / 360mm

The I / O panel is on the top in front of the chassis handle. Includes:

• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (USB 3.0
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x 3.5mm audio jack
• 1x 3.5mm microphone jack
• 1x power button designed in Cooler Master branding
• 1x reset button
• 1x LED indicator

The cover is then attached with a thumbscrew (for obvious reasons elusive) to the back of the case. The total area under the cover of the power supply is approximately 240 mm, which is enough for the power supply and its cables. A power supply with a width of up to 180 mm can be installed in the housing.

Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L

This is one of Cooler Master’s MasterBox Mini-ATX cases. It may be small, but airflow still has top priority. Installing liquid cooling can be difficult due to its size, but it is not impossible.

The whole thing has an elegant black look. It gives a minimalist atmosphere compared to other MasterBox enclosures. It is perfect for home and even office use.

Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L

• Material: acrylic, steel, plastic
• Cooling type: air and / or liquid
• Motherboard: Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 15.2 x 9.1 x 14.9 inches
• Housing type: Mini-tower
• Fans (front-top-back-bottom): 2 x 120/140 mm, 2 x 120 mm, 1 x 120 mm, 1 x 120 mm PSU bracket: bottom mounting, ATX PS2
• Other: Magnetic Dust Filter

It weighs only around 1.1 pounds or around 0.5 kg. It is impressively light and efficient for a PC case. Its I / O or I / O panel is adjustable and can be placed in 6 different places on the case. You can even place the case vertically or horizontally. It has an acrylic clear side panel that also exposes your build from edge to edge.

Given its size, there is surprisingly plenty of room for cable management, particularly about 28mm of open space behind the motherboard tray. It can also house a normal ATX power supply and a graphics processor approximately 360mm long. It can get a little crowded inside, but this doesn’t affect the overall performance.

Most importantly, the airflow quality remains at the highest level. Magnetic dust filters with open
perforated front, top and bottom help keep dust away and provide excellent thermal performance and airflow.

Cooler Master MasterCase H500 ARGB

The black ATX Mid-Tower PC case from Cooler Master with a unique and futuristic design, MasterCase H500 ARGB provides excellent airflow quality.

It has a hidden pouch handle on the top panel. It comes pre-installed with two ARGB 200mm fans on the front panel, as well as a controller and splitter. It also comes with a mesh and transparent front panel for your choice.

Cooler Master MasterCase H500 ARGB

• Material: tempered glass, steel, plastic, mesh
• Cooling type: air and / or liquid
• Motherboard: Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, ATX, E-ATX
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 22.4 x 12.2 x 23.9 inches
• Central tower
• Fans (front-top-back): 2 x 200 mm ARGB, 2 x 120/140 mm, 1 x 120 mm
• PSU support: bottom mount, ATX
• Others: hidden handle, mesh and transparent front panel, ARGB controller and splitter

It weighs approximately 20.3 pounds or 9.21 kilograms. The built-in handle makes it easy to carry the case, despite its weight.

The mesh front panel maximizes airflow efficiency, while the transparent panel contributes to the overall aesthetic appeal of the case. Whatever style you prefer, you’re still guaranteed an optimized airflow system with additional 200mm ARGB fans and filtered ventilation on the top panel.

The factory-installed fan lighting system is easily managed with the motherboard or the controller that comes with it, an absolute breakthrough in terms of aesthetics. The side panel made of tempered glass allows you to emphasize the interior.

1. Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 – Mid-Tower / ATX, pre-installed 3x120mm ARGB fans, fan support up to 7x120mm, 2x360mm radiator support, tempered glass, E-ATX 10.5 “, ARGB lighting system Check the price

Case Front and Rear

The front panel of the HAF 500 is removable and has no connection to the rest of the case. There are three tabs on each side that need to be pressed inward to release the panel, and it seems best to do this from bottom to top as the top I / O ports protrude from the panel. The panel is a bit hard to remove the first time, and replacing it requires aligning the I / O ports, but considering how well the ports are positioned, the design is functional.

The front panel provides a spacious recess for two 200mm fans, and when the panel is turned off, these fans are completely exposed. For those looking to move or replace these fans, the Cooler Master design seems very DIY friendly.

One example of such flexibility would be to place the 360mm AIO on the front of the case and move the two 200mm fans to the top as an exhaust, and the reverse will work as well.

Regarding cooling, we would also like to note that the 200mm fans seem to be quite limited in terms of the internal steel panel. While 200mm fans are still able to pump in a lot of air, and they do so without generating undesirable noise levels, it would be nice if the front of the case was less restricted. The size and placement of the cutouts appear to be more optimized for the three 120mm fans.

The PSU shroud, CPU cutout shroud, and cable shrouds add a cleaner look to the roomy interior of this chassis. The additional vertical PCI slot for the graphics card is also a key highlight in this case as it gives you the ability to show off your graphics card design.

The Inside

The interior of the H500M is very similar to its predecessor, spacious. This is on the greater side of the middle towers and you will definitely notice it in the middle. It was obviously very easy to build in, and even those crazy people who install GPU and AIO before plugging anything in should have no difficulty here.

The chassis has rubber grommets on the back, but they’re not as user-friendly as Fractal Design’s Define series, and I find it a bit of a pain to pass thick cables through them. Obviously there’s a lot of clearance up there as this will be the prime spot to mount a cooler for an AIO or water cooling radium, so glory there. The case can house three 120mm fans or two 140/200mm fans on top and can house a 360mm radiator.

The CoolerMaster H500M has room for motherboards up to and including E-ATX. The E-ATX plate will limit the use of cutting holes, but the tank mounting bracket also holds cables great. You can install the board all the way to mini-ITX, but ATX is definitely optimal so that the interior looks clean.

The rear plate inside comprises a reservoir support as mentioned above. This bracket has other uses, of course, and can be used to mount some additional 2.5 inch SSDs. There is also a GPU support arm in the holder which I used and I’m still not convinced he did something, but it’s better to be sure than to regret it.

At the bottom we see one of those PSU / HDD covers which are very ugly looking pieces of plastic. Regardless, it’s better than no shield, and here we see two more mounting slots for 2.5 inch SSDs. The best thing about the shell is the dedicated water pump bracket which further enhances the water cooling potential of this case. There is also a radiator cover on the cover to accommodate larger radiators.

The biggest problem with the interior is the access to the HDD cage under the cover. You’ll need to play around a bit to remove the cover to install HDDs, so keep that in mind if you decide to go with the H500M.

The Back Panel

There is usually nothing to talk about in relation to the rear panel of a computer case, but CoolerMaster has managed to counter this trend. The back is solid with two additional mounting points for the 2.5-inch SSD and enough mounting points for cable management. Unfortunately they attached these steel plates to cover the cables afterwards. If you’re wondering why this is a big deal, it’s not true, but remember there’s a glass panel on top, so why bother?

You can of course skip these after unscrewing everything and let the cable management shine through the glass panel, but in my opinion these are just messy design choices. There’s plenty of room for cables when you’re ditching the steel covers, if not, things get a little tight there.

At the bottom we can see the attached ARGB controller where the reset button has been changed and directed. I don’t mind it lying awkwardly on the back of one of those steel panels, but why the one that disturbs the most? Has CoolerMaster built this in before production? Regardless of which way you have that setup, it looks great, but feels just plain silly.

Our Verdict

If you like the design but don’t feel like a price tag then check out the H500P, at least with this model you get a better price / performance ratio. When it comes to performance, let’s clear one thing: it’s great for temperatures, but I don’t see where the extra costs come from.

The H500M offers modern connectivity and plenty of it, enough features to please almost anyone, and it looks amazing, so why can’t I recommend it? Price. One more thing to note is it’s not the most user-friendly experience I’ve had, and with the more high-quality materials on the NZXT H Series, Phanteks P Series, and Fractal Design Define Series, you should probably spend elsewhere.

Aesthetics – it’s supposed to look fantastic and does it well. The materials may not be the best, but the mesh front and glass panels make whatever you put in this look visually epic.

Benchmarks

3DMark benchmarks

In synthetic testing, the older Alienware performs less well in CPU-focused areas as well as in physics and overall performance, as expected. Amazingly, these results are even lower with a MasterCase connected than under normal conditions. It is even more astonishing that Alienware not only makes the most of MasterCase in its graphical results, but often outperforms much newer models, reportedly even the new Aorus with an internal RTX 3070. The Cloud Gate test is the only exception here.

The situation is different for the Aorus 15G with RTX 2070. Whether the MasterCase with RTX 3070 is plugged in or not, the results are almost identical in all areas. The laptop has an advantage of about 4 to 5 percent on all tests without the MasterCase chassis. The exception is again the graphic result in the Time Spy test in WQHD resolution (2560×1440), where Aorus with MasterCase fares much better than “pure” Aorus. Thus, we can conclude that the MasterCase of the RTX 3070 is here on par with the RTX 2070. However, the results in the synthetic tests are not entirely consistent.

Cooler Master MasterCase EG200 RTX 3070 Alienware 13 R3 Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPUK

Cooler Master MasterCase EG200 RTX 3070 Aorus 15G Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ

Aorus 15G XB Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ

Gaming benchmarks

In hands-on game testing, results vary greatly from game to game. While the in-house RTX 2070 and RTX 3070 have distinct advantages over the MasterCase variant of the RTX 3070 in The Witcher 3, MasterCase can rival the RTX 3070 laptop in Dota 2 Reborn, and the eGPU even surpasses iGPU in the X-Plane 11.11.

The old Alienware is clearly superior to other gaming models, even with MasterCase. In Doom and The Witcher 3, Alienware’s MasterCase is clearly ahead of the original Alienware, and differences tend to increase in higher resolutions and details. In Dota 2 Reborn and X-Plane 11.11 Alienware with iGPU is in the lead again, MasterCase just behind it. Game test scores also vary from game to game.

Overall, all systems can run current games smoothly in Full HD and in maximum detail. However, even the older Alienware with the GTX 1060 does not clearly use the MasterCase chassis from the RTX 3070 in all games. However, the MasterCase with the RTX 3070 tends to outperform the internal GTX 1060 in high resolutions and detail.

Cooler Master MasterCase EG200 RTX 3070 Alienware 13 R3 Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPUK

Cooler Master MasterCase EG200 RTX 3070 Aorus 15G Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ

Aorus 15G XB Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ

Verdict

MasterCase EG200 housing provided by Cooler Master.

We compared the two designated gaming laptops to MasterCase, which perhaps isn’t quite fair. On the positive side, we were able to play fairly up-to-date games in Full HD in maximum detail on both eGPU laptops. Office machines with a Thunderbolt port should therefore greatly benefit from MasterCase, depending on the GPU used. Laptop owners with outdated GPUs can also train their non-gaming systems to become gamers with MasterCase.

Of course, the performance of the RTX 3070 in the MasterCase EG200 cannot be compared to that of a desktop computer via Thunderbolt. Overall, comparisons are extremely difficult; each game and application, of course, reacts differently to eGPU connected via Thunderbolt. In some cases, the RTX 3070 used in this way is not even able to beat the GTX 1060 Mobile, in others it even reaches the performance of the desktop RTX 3070 (X-Plane). However, office laptops or notebooks with older GPUs below the GTX 1000 series should clearly use MasterCase, depending on the GPU installed.

Last but not least, the venture is not entirely cheap. For the MasterCase EG200, you pay around 350 euros (~ $ 420) plus the price for a decent GPU. In our case, a used RTX 3070 costs 529 euros (~ $ 635, MSRP). However, you don’t get the fixed performance of the RTX 3070 for around 880 euros (~ $ 1,057) depending on the app, but very variable performance.

The MasterCase EG200 case is practical for laptops with a poor 3D appearance that are adapted to gaming. However, the design is very expensive due to large fluctuations in performance and the price-performance ratio is rather insufficient. MasterCase tries to mitigate this with additional features such as HDD / SSD hot-swap and more.