By: Ben Joubert
April 12, 2019
I really do enjoy going to the cinema and watching a good movie. Unfortunately, it has become so expensive I need to select the few movies I want to watch and then wait for others. I am sure many other people do this as well. On the other hand, there are many plays I have gone to watch and I have enjoyed each of them immensely. This past weekend, the theater department at the university I attend put on a show named Sever, which was meditations on C.S. Lewis' book, The Great Divorce. The university I attend is small, but the theater department was able to accomplish an outstanding amount with little. The play is about a bus of people from hell going to heaven. C.S. Lewis describes hell as dreary and gray and heaven is full of color. As the people board the bus and travel to heaven, they start to be able to see more color. They are even offered colorful clothes. In my opinion, the book is excellent for anyone interested in a thoughtful but extremely metaphorical exploration of the two themes. The idea of people gaining color as they go somewhere good is common. We associate a place full of color as good, while we associate the duller colors with a sadder disposition. I think computer manufacturers are trying to bring some life into our lives with the amount of RGB products they make. The RGB and ARGB (addressable RGB) movement only seeks to bring some more joy, not make us pay inordinate amounts of money for fancy lights. But seriously, there is something mesmerizing watching ARGB fans spin in all sorts of colors. The FSP CMT520 Plus updates the CMT520 by making the fans have ARGB, which means each of the LED's light can be adjusted individually. Do the ARGB LEDs bring some more life to my computer? Read on to find out!
The FSP CMT520 Plus arrived in its retail box being the shipping box like all computer cases. It traveled far; all the way from Chino, California, arriving to us here in Calgary, Alberta via FedEx Ground. Overall, the box was barely damaged with just a couple of dents and the corners being a bit beat up. The retail box of the FSP CMT520 Plus is the exact same as the CMT520. There is a woman with some intense hair on the front just next to a picture of the case itself. There is a black bar on the left side of the box indicating the model. The rest of the box has all the technical specifications concerning the case, which will be detailed later in this page.
FSP has taken typical procedures to keep the case safe, which is especially important for a case that has tempered glass on more than one side. Two large Styrofoam blocks on the bottom and on top of the case are used to absorb any impact that might occur during transportation. There is a plastic bag to cover the rest of the case to prevent any surface scratches or dust from settling and making the glass dirty. Inside of the case are all the screws necessary for installation. There was no instruction manual included in the FSP CMT520 Plus, which, according to FSP, is supposed to be an isolated issue. We found the PDF version on their website. Overall, the packaging is sufficient to keep the case safe, as there was no damage done to the tempered glass or anything else.
Before we move on, here are the specifications as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Specifications
Model Name: CMT520
Type: ATX Mid Tower
Color: Black
Materials: SPCC, Tempered glass x 2
Weight: 8.5KG
Dimension DxWxH (mm) / (inch): 495 x 215 x 510mm 19.49 x 8.46 x 20.08inch
Maximum CPU Cooler Height: 163mm
VGA Card Length: 423mm
Expansion Slots: 8
MotherBoard Support: E-ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, ITX
External I/O port: USB3.0 x 2, USB2.0 x 2,Audio
Power Supply Type: 200mm ATX
3.5“ HDD: 2
2.5" SSD: 4
Fans Included(pre-install) Front: 120mm RGB Fan x 3
Rear: 120mm RGB Fan x 1
Fan&Water Cooler Support Front: 120mm/140mm x 3, or 360mm Radiator x 1
Top: 120mm x 3/140mm x 2 or 360mm Radiator x 1
Rear: 120mm x1
Max Radiator Support: 360mm x 2
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
