By: Preston Yuen
March 18, 2016
From a young age, I have always been interested in challenging myself at different tasks, whether it be playing a musical instrument like the piano, or learning how to type on the keyboard. For whatever reason, if a task requires learning with your hands, I am probably the first one on the scene. Although I knew academics is an important aspect in my educational growth, I hated going to school. Yes, I learned how to read, write, have fun and be sociable. However, soon enough, I found I was always bored when the teacher or professor was teaching theoretical knowledge. History? Boring. Calculus? Easy. Philosophy? Cool story, bro. This is not to say that I was particularly good (or not) in any one of those subjects, but because most of the concepts did not really stick in my head by reading it in the textbook or communicating it to me in person. My way of learning was to use the concept in real life application. Logically, this has propagated into many aspects of my life, and while attending CES earlier this year with my colleague Aaron Lai, a part of me had an idea that many of the companies will be coming out with the "bigger and better" product. As we met up with a representative from Cooler Master and had him walk us through all the new products they had to offer this year, I thought to myself, "Every product here looks the same as the last company we visited." However, rather than letting the negative thoughts ruin the rest of the conference, I told myself I would talk to Alfredo Barroso, our PR representative, and ask him for a Cooler Master MasterCase 5 unit to play around with. "No problem," he said. "I will get on it right away and have a unit sent over immediately." Great, I thought. Now I can get my hands on it to see if it is truly worth the money. Sitting down for the past month or so at APH Networks, we have put the MasterCase 5 to the test. Read on to see what we have found!
Our Cooler Master MasterCase 5 unit was shipped via UPS Standard to our Calgary, Alberta, Canada office. As you may have noticed from our floor coverage during CES 2016, Cooler Master has essentially revamped their company with the motto "Make It Yours". You also may have noticed they have completely redesigned their packaging, and made it consistent throughout all of their products. On any single product packaging, it will have a solid dark grey background with the chopped font. In my perspective, the font is consistent with their theme, emphasizing on the idea of modularity of components in their chassis. Features and specifications are printed around the sides, so customers can easily find out what features it has without having to rip everything apart. With that aside, I whipped out my knife, opened the box, and pulled out the MasterCase 5.
To further ensure the safety of MasterCase 5, Cooler Master packed it between two foam brackets with a plastic bag around the case to protect it from miscellaneous scratches. You will be happy to find the accessory box tucked away in one of the hard drive trays. This is great to see, as Cooler Master has put the effort to ensure the product gets into the customer's hands in tip-top shape.
Before we move on, let us take a look at the specifications, as obtained from the manufacturer's page:
Specifications (MasterCase 5; MasterCase Pro 5)
- Available Color: Dark metallic grey exterior with black interior
- Materials: SECC, Plastic
- Weight: 10.6 kg/23.4 lbs; 10.7 kg/23.6 lbs
- Size with all panels (LxWxH): 512 x 235 x 548 mm; 512 x 235 x 548 mm
- Size, Body Only (LxWxH): 460 x 235 x 460 mm; 460 x 235 x 460 mm
- Motherboard Support: ATX, m-ATX, M-ITX; ATX, m-ATX, M-ITX
- Expansion Slots: 7; 7
- Drive Bay: 2x 5.25" ODD; 2x 5.25" ODD
- HDD Trays: 2; 5
- SSD Trays: 2+2; 2+5
- I/O ports: U3 x2, Audio; U3 x2, Audio
- Pre-installed front fans: 140mm x1; 140mm x2
- Pre-installed top fans: N/A; N/A
- Pre-installed rear fans: 140mm x1; 140mm x1
- Front fan support: 120/140mm x3; 120/140mm x3
- Top fan support: 120/140mm x2; 120/140mm x2
- Rear fan support: 120/140mm x1; 120/140mm x1
- Front Water Cooling Support: 240/280mm radiator, up to 40mm thickness without fan; 240/280mm radiator, up to 40mm thickness without fan
- Top Water Cooling Support: N/A; 240mm radiator, up to 40mm thickness without fan
- Rear Water Cooling Support: 120/140mm; 120/140mm
- CPU Air Cooling Support: 190mm/7.5inches; 190mm/7.5inches
- VGA Card Support w/ 3.5" HDD Cage: 296mm/11.7inches; 296mm/11.7inches
- VGA Card Support w/o 3.5" HDD Cage: 412mm/16.2inches; 412mm/16.2inches
- Cable Management: 25mm; 25mm
- Dust Filters: Front/Top/Bottom; Front/Top/Bottom
- Power Supply Type: Bottom Mount, ATX PS2
- Remarks: no top cover, no front door; w/ top cover, top water bracket, side window
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
