By: Jonathan Kwan and Jadon Lee
April 26, 2024
What is the most well-known Boeing airplane in the world? For many decades, it is probably the 747, often referred to as the Jumbo Jet and affectionately nicknamed the "Queen of the Skies". According to Wikipedia, the 747 has appeared in over 300 film productions, and is the "one of the most widely depicted civilian aircraft and is considered by many as one of the most iconic in film history". Many songs have referenced it as well, including "I Lost My Heart On A 747" by Tom Paxton, "747 (Strangers in the Night)" by Saxon, and my personal favorite, "It Never Rains In Southern California" by Albert Hammond. However, if you ask someone to name a Boeing product nowadays, I would not be surprised to hear 737 MAX in more than a few conversations. This is because of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in October 2018 and March 2019, respectively, due to a malfunctioning MCAS control system that led to the death of everyone onboard both flights. The negative publicity and resulting grounding were not the end of its woes, however. Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered an uncontrolled decompression where a door plug blew out due to Boeing's poor quality control. So when I first saw the Cooler Master MAX series of cases, I could not help but also think of Boeing's MAX series planes. However, unlike Boeing's MAX series that highlighted not only the problems with the design, engineering, and manufacturing of the 737 MAX series, but also the cultural problems of the company as a whole, Cooler Master's MAX series has proved quite successful here at APH Networks with the NR200P MAX we reviewed last year. Cooler Master's MAX series is the company's designation for a complete chassis solution that features an integrated all-in-one liquid cooler and power supply to streamline the build process and user experience. Today, we have another MAX series in our labs, the TD500 MAX. As its name suggests, it is based off the TD500 Mesh V2, and adds a thicker MasterLiquid 360 Atmos cooler and GX II Gold 850W power supply. Is this solution package any good, and is it worth its whopping $400 MSRP? Read on to find out!
The Cooler Master TD500 MAX arrived via FedEx International Ground from the company's American headquarters in Claremont, California to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in its retail box, plastic wrapped with hard cardboard along the corners to protect them from scuffs. The box arrived in a relatively decent condition, having minimal marks, dents, or scratches. There were no marks prevalent enough for me to be worried about the product. The package arrived in one piece, so FedEx did a good job in keeping this package secure. I was happy with the shipping and have no complaints.
As you can see in our photo above, Cooler Master's retail box design for the TD500 MAX is very similar to all the rest of the TD500 lineup. The environmentally and economically friendly brown corrugated cardboard box with classic black ink has Cooler Master's branding around the edges with an outline of the case occupying the majority of the real estate. The remaining sides of the box have the product specifications, product description, and feature highlights, where the latter is printed in various languages as well.
Before we continue, here are the specification for the Cooler Master TD500 MAX, as obtained from the manufacturer’s site:
Product Number: TD500V2-MGNN85-SL0 / TD500V2-MGNN85-SL1
Exterior Color: Gun metal
Materials - Exterior: Steel, Plastic, Tempered Glass
Materials - Left Side Panel: Tempered Glass
Dimensions (L x W x H): 499 x 210 x 500mm (incl. Protrusions), 482 x 210 x 477mm (excl. Protrusions)
Volume: 48L
Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX
Expansion Slots: 7
Drive Bays - 5.25" ODD: 0
Drive Bays - 3.5" HDD: 2
Drive Bays - 2.5" SSD: 3
I/O Panel: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0), 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Type C, 1x Audio Combo (Audio In / Out 3.5mm)
Included Accessories: ARGB Hub
Pre-installed Radiator: ML360 Atmos MAX ver.
Pre-installed Power Supply Unit: GX II Gold 850W ATX3.0 MAX ver., *1x extra PCI-e 6+2 Pin cable could be requested for free from local Customer Service
Pre-installed Fan(s) - Front: 3 x 120mm (AIO Mobius 120P ARGB fan)
Pre-installed Fan(s) - Top: N/A
Pre-installed Fan(s) - Rear: 1 x CF120 ARGB fan
Fan Support - Front: 3 x 120mm / 2 x 140mm
Fan Support - Top: 3 x 120mm / 2 x 140mm
Fan Support - Rear: 1 x 120mm
Radiator Support - Front: 360mm / 240mm
Radiator Support - Top: 360mm / 240mm
Radiator Support - Rear: 120mm
Clearances - CPU Cooler: 165mm
Clearances - Power Supply: 200mm (Pre-installed PSU Length 160mm)
Clearances - Graphics Card: 380mm (with pre-installed AIO on front)
Cable Routing - Behind MB Tray: 19mm
Dust Filters: Top, Bottom
Warranty: 2 years (Case), 5 years (Thermal Solution), 5 years (Power Delivery)
Size: ATX
Cooler Master uses two large Styrofoam blocks on the front and back of the case to absorb any impact that may have occurred in transit. This is very common for most cases, but is especially important for cases with tempered glass panels. The TD500 MAX itself is wrapped in plastic to prevent scratches. There is another additional layer of plastic on the glass panels to prevent dust or prints that would dirty the glass.
Out of the box, you will receive the TD500 MAX itself and a product manual. The chassis screws are located inside a screw storage pad inside the case, which we will take a look at later. We also have installation accessories like screws and cable ties, HDD drive rails, and SSD dampening pads. For the liquid cooler, there is an Intel backplate, Intel/AMD brackets, water pipe clamp, 3-in-1 Y fan splitter, Cryofuze thermal paste, and any required hardware for installation. For the power supply, there are second stage cables and an AC power cord.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation
5. Cooling Test Results
6. Conclusion
