Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
As mundane as it may sound, I really love the design of the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200 when it comes to the side panels. While most side panels are held on with thumbscrews, the MasterBox NR200 uses a pin and clip method. Each side panel has a couple of notched pins that slide into a clip on the steel skeleton. This makes these side panels completely tool-less, which is great to see. In fact, all of the panels can be held together without the need for screws, but Cooler Master has mounted the bottom one with screws since you probably will not need to remove it. I will say the panels are a bit too flexible, which was probably intentional to keep the case lighter, but I would have liked the panels to be a bit thicker for durability. This includes both the sides and the top and bottom.
Once you remove the side panels, you can get a bit better look at the interior. The frame without the panels on are still sturdy enough, but there is a bit of flex in the structure. Before we get to the motherboard area, there is one more bracket that will hide the rest of the case. This multipurpose side bracket can be used for various things, including mounting a 3.5" hard drive or a radiator. This includes radiators of up to 280mm in size or two 140mm fans. The bracket is held on with two screws while sliding into a slot on the opposite side.
After removing the side bracket, you can get a better look at the open interior. At the back, we have a large opening for where the motherboard can be mounted. As this is a small form factor case, the MasterBox NR200 can fit a mini ITX or the slightly larger mini DTX motherboard. A hole at the back of the motherboard tray is where users can get access to the back for installing their CPU cooling backplate and the M.2 drive slot. At the top, there are two distinct holes to mount a maximum of two 120mm fans or up to one 240mm radiator. Cooler Master includes a single SickleFlow 120 fan with a 4-pin PWM header. As you can tell from my original review of these SickleFlow fans, this fan rotates at speeds of up to 1800 RPM while producing 62CFM of airflow and static pressure of 2.5mmH2O. It does use rifle bearings, but it has a rated mean time to failure of 160,000 hours. They also include a metal fan grille to prevent cables or other components from interfering with the rotating blade. On the back, we have another SickleFlow fan, although this is a 92mm unit.
With the MasterBox NR200P, there would be a few more differences in this area. For one, the 92mm fan would be swapped out with another 120mm SickleFlow fan. This is because the back area would be replaced with the vertical expansion slots. Cooler Master also includes the necessary hardware like the riser and PCI Express cable needed to mount your graphics card vertically. In this vertical orientation, there is only space for a dual-slot card. Thus, if you have a triple-slot card, you will need to mount it horizontally.
Internally, near the front, you can see the mount for the power supply inside. Inside the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200, users can install an SFX or SFX-L power supply. The power supply bracket can either be mounted as displayed here or on the backside of the front panel. This will depend on your component selection and may be preferable if you want more airflow from the right side panel. This metal enclosure is also fitted with many holes so that users can mount an additional 3.5" hard drive for a maximum of two 3.5" drives internally. There are also mounting points for a 2.5" drive here if you so desire, as well as custom water-cooling pumps and brackets. I do like the different options Cooler Master provides for mounting different components.
Otherwise, you can also get a better look at the front panel cables. These include the typical HD audio plug, USB 3.1 header, and the front pins. All of the cables are black in color. Similar to NZXT, Cooler Master has grouped all of the front pins for various buttons and lights into a single plug for easy installation. However, this grouping is just a plastic bracket that can still be removed if users choose to reassign these pins for something else. This is common if users reassign their reset button to control internal lighting. The USB header is also slightly modified to make it clear to users which side is notched when plugging the header in. While these are creature comforts, I do appreciate these details.
From the back side of the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200, you can get a better picture of the exposed holes for the power supply intake fan and the motherboard. You can also see that the power supply bracket can be mounted higher or lower to position for the longer SFX-L or shorter SFX form factor, respectively. Underneath the bracket, there are two fabric Velcro straps. These are used to gather and manage the excess power cables, which is helpful considering we do not have any cable management at the back of the NR200. This should also keep cables clear of the expansion slot area or where your video card would extend into.
Finally, removing the front panel is as simple as pulling hard enough to release the pins from the clips. At the top, you can see the front connections and the necessary cables to plug in. Underneath, we have several mounting slots for more 2.5" drives to make for a maximum of three drives contained in the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200. Once again, users can also use one of these areas for mounting a pump in a custom liquid loop. Finally, at the bottom, there is a large cut-out. This is meant to let users have a bit more clearance space for longer graphics cards. As video cards are getting bigger, especially with the latest generation from NVIDIA and AMD, it is good to see Cooler Master accommodating for this.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
