Have you ever wanted a case with giant, RGB turbine-like fans blasting insane airflow through your rig at suspiciously quiet volumes? Your answer should answer yes because it’s awesome. When CoolerMaster rolled out the MasterCase H500M at Computex this year it was love at first sight for me with those giant front-facing RGB fans but does the rest of the case live up to the $200 price tag? Let's take a closer look in the full review.
The MasterCase H500M adds to the MasterCase H500 lineup with the already existing H500P and the soon to be reviewed (by yours truly) H500 that I have sitting under my desk as the most expensive and feature rich option. The H500 lineup is known for the giant 200mm fans features in the front for intake and the H500M adds to that with some yummy addressable RGB. So is the H500M right for you? Let's get into some specifics and see if you’d like to join me in the group of people that have this gorgeous chassis on display.
Specifications
- MSRP: $199
- Interchangeable Front Panels
- Adjustable Graphics Card Support Arm
- Cable Management Covers
- Custom Loop Pump/Reservoir Support
- Available Color: Iron Grey
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Materials:
- Front Panel: Steel Mesh or Glass
- Body: Steel
- Side Panels: Tempered Glass
- Dimensions (LxWxH): 21.4 x 9.8 x 21.5 inch
- Mainboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX (support up to 12” x 10.7”)
- Expansion Slots: 7 + 2 (Support for vertical GPU installation)
- 5.25” Drive Bays: ZERO
- 2.5” / 3.5” Drive Bays: 2
- 2.5” SSD DRive Bays: 6
- I/O Port: USB 3.1 Type-C x 1; USB 3.0 Type-A x 4; Audio In/Out
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Pre-installed Fans:
- Front: 2900mm ARGB Fan x 2 (Speed: 800RPM / Connector: 3pin + ARGB 3pin)
- Read: 140mm Fan x 1 (Speed: 1200RPM / Connector: 3pin)
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Fan Support:
- Top: 120mm x 3 or 140mm/200mm fan x 2
- Front: 120/140mm fan x 3 or 200mm fan x 2
- Rear: 120/140mm x 1
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Liquid Cooling Support:
- Top: 120, 140, 240, 280, 360mm (max thickness 43mm)
- Front: 120,140,200,240,280,360 (max clearance w/ radiator lid & M.port removed 70mm)
- Rear: 120/140mm
- CPU Cooler Clearance: 190mm
- GPU Clearance: 412mm
- PSU Clearance: 200mm
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Top and side glass removed. Cable Management panels removed.
Unboxing & Construction
For a long while now, I’ve had a Corsair Air 540 sitting on my desk to my right. Yes, that wonderful little (mostly plastic) cube with my NZXT fans and lazy cable management. So when the box for the H500M finally showed up at my doorstep the first thing that hit me was the size. One thing I really loved was upon opening the box the entirety of the contents were in a tote bag of sorts that made it incredibly easy to remove everything from the box. Gone were the days of turning the whole thing upside-down and praying nothing broke as your shimmied the box off your precious cargo.
Once all the packaging was cleared out of the way, I could safely say that despite this being a “mid tower,” the chassis was quite large… and heavy. Having never really hulked around a case with this much tempered glass before that was the feature I was least prepared for - the sheer weight when it was empty.
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Tempered glass panels lean out when unlatched without falling and are then lifted out to be removed.
As with all things glass, all the panels came with the lovely plastic film to protect against nasty finger prints. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people immediately peel it off (and why not, it’s so satisfying) then smudge their builds up as they install everything. I opted to remove everything post build completion. The side panels depart from the normal methods of being fastened to the chassis that I’m used to seeing with Cooler Master opting to use one solitary latch in the top center of the panel. The side panels will then lean out - but not fall off - and have to be lifted off to be removed. I really like this design decision as it takes a step to avoid accidental shattering.
One problem with a case that has tempered glass on all side is that your cable management side can look a bit messy - especially if you aren’t that good at cable management. The MasterCase H500M comes with some panels to help hide the mess you’re sure to make of your cables and also features about an inch of clearance behind the motherboard for cable management. That’s not a lot and I’ve definitely seen more in other areas. However, closer to the front of the case, behind where a water reservoir would be mounted you have closer to two inches, and seeing this is where you’re routing your main PSU cables it’s good to have the extra clearance here.
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About an inch of clearance for cable management behind the motherboard, almost two inches as you move towards the front of the case.
