Page 2 - Assembly and Installation, Part I
As we have mentioned already, we received the white edition of the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack, so nearly every component here is white in color. The first step starts with the motherboard backing plate, where users can mount their motherboard to. Out of the box, a set of silver standoffs are installed for the typical ATX motherboard form factor. However, users can install anything from mini ITX to extended ATX. On the larger end, the motherboard is limited to 273mm in width with an ATX power supply or 296mm with an SFX power supply. This is because the power supply sits on the right side of the motherboard. Otherwise, at the back, we have a large cutout for users to have access to the back of the motherboard. This is helpful when you are changing your cooling options, as you will often require access to the backside to change the backplate. Some motherboards also have M.2 sockets on the back for you to expand storage. Around this plate are many different cutouts for routing cables around. None of them are lined with rubber grommets, but they are rounded over to prevent users from accidentally getting cables or fingers cut by the edges.
In my case, I attached my ASUS Prime X470-Pro with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and a set of Patriot Viper RGB DDR4-3600 2x16GB sticks onboard. On top of the processor, I have a DeepCool ASSASSIN IV WH, which has a height of 164mm. With the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack fully assembled, we have a maximum clearance of 164mm to 172mm for the CPU cooler, depending on some other components, as you will see later.
The next step is to mount and install the power supply. As mentioned, the power supply sits to the right of the motherboard. It attaches to a separate metal plate and slots in place. An internal white cable sits here to route the power connection from the unit to the back of the QUBE 500 Flatpack. As the bracket is pretty flexible, you can install either SFX or ATX power supplies with mounting holes for both.
For my own build, I first plugged in all of the necessary cables before mounting the power supply here. The unit here in question is the DeepCool PX1000G 1000W, which is 16cm in length. Cooler Master specifies two maximum lengths for the power supply. The first is 173mm, which is the length before the first expansion slot. This is important, since there could be a graphics card that would go into the power supply area. The next number is 216mm, which is the maximum space provided in the indentation at the front. Of course, you can also reroute the internal extension cable and mount the power supply at the bottom of the case. This is only possible if you are using an mATX motherboard or smaller, so do bear this in mind if you need to take this route. This change will provide a total of 332mm of space at the bottom for the power supply and cable management. These limitations are understandable, given the fact we are dealing with a smaller enclosure overall. Otherwise, once the power supply was mounted, I routed some of the cables where they needed to go, while also connecting the ones I could on the motherboard. It is important to do this as soon as possible, especially as you will have less space to work with later on in the build.
The next step was to mount the back of the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack to the motherboard tray. One thing I should note is the fact the QUBE 500 uses the same screws for putting everything structurally together in the case, which is really handy in avoiding mismatching screws. Otherwise, at the back, we have a handle at the top and seven expansion slots at the back for a typical mid-tower enclosure. Interestingly, Cooler Master actually omitted two of the expansion slots covers, presumably because any modern graphics card will take up at least two of the slots. These slots are bridgeless, which is important, as Cooler Master also supports a vertically mounted GPU. You will need to take out all of the other slots as well as bring your own riser cable. However, this solution is simple but effective.
At the back, we also have a single Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm fan in white. It is a retail-grade fan, although Cooler Master only sells a black variant of their SickleFlow fans without lighting. From what we can see, it does have a 4-pin header, which means it is PWM-controlled. Other specifications of the SickleFlow 120 includes a 1800 RPM maximum speed, with maximum airflow and air pressure of 62CFM and 2.5mmH2O, respectively. Otherwise, it has a rifle bearing internally for a lengthy 160,000 hour lifetime, which is quite a long time. Its specified noise level maxes out at 27dBA.
As for my graphics card, I mounted an EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING here. Measuring 300mm long, the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack has a maximum supported length of 365mm. Of course, this also depends on how much space you need with your power supply. For my own case, you can see the cables are somewhat close to the graphics card, but thankfully there is more than enough room here. Otherwise, this accounts for all of the main components installed here, so the next steps are to install the other panels and storage at the back.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Assembly and Installation, Part I
3. Assembly and Installation, Part II
4. Physical Look - Outside and Conclusion
