Cooler Master MasterCase MC500P Quick Review

[UsandThem]

I needed more airflow than my R5 was giving me (with quiet fans), so even though this series of cases are new without really any reviews out there, I decided to give it a try.

Thoughts:

PROS:

-Very roomy, good airflow (with mesh front).
-Plenty of room on the back side for cable management (even for lazy efforts like mine ).
-Easy to build with (experienced builders).
-Good build materials, and solid.
-Ability to install 6x 140mm fans (3 front, 2 top, 1 back).
-Fully modular (included solid front piece included).
-Thick piece of tempered glass.
-Purchased on sale for $109.

CONS:

-The 3 included fans are very mediocre (http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2404075/cosmos-cooling-maximized-advice.html) CFM: 44 / dBA: 19.8 / RPM: 1200

-Not enough stand-offs provided (and one was defective on top of that). Luckily I am stockpiled on extra case parts (a new builder would not be). Only 7 included stand-offs Cooler Master? Really?

-Stand-offs could not be installed by hand. Luckily I had a tool that was included with my Fractal Design R5 case. Otherwise I would have had to use pliers on all of them, which always causes little shards of metal.

-No included fan hub (I bought a Deep Cool FH-10).

-If a person wants to use the solid front piece instead of the mesh front, there will be no filter in the front (filter is integrated into the mesh panel).

Update 4/27/2018

The front USB 3.0 ports are wonky. It works fine if I plug my USB mouse's receptor in there, but if I plug in a USB 3.0 thumb drive or my external hard drive (both which worked fine with my Fractal Design R5's front USB ports), it causes my PC to start stuttering, and the external hard drive isn't recognized by Windows. So either I have defective front ports, or there is an issue with the cable they supplied. Both devices work fine in my other PCs, so this issue is related to this case. I don't feel like removing everything again, so I will just buy a USB hub and plug it into the back of my motherboard.

Update 5/13/2018

I've haven't had to clean the front and top filters once since owning this case. They have good airflow, but really don't stop any dust from entering the PC.

Update 5/14/2018

I decided to go back to my Fractal Design R5 case. In just two weeks of use, I had more dust in my PC than I did for a whole year with the R5. With two dogs, I need the intakes to actually have a dust filter that captures the dust, The Cooler Master case pretty much allowed everything to enter into the case, and there is still no dust in the filter at all.


PICS: NSFPWHNAMFC (Not Safe For People Who Hate Noctua And Mismatched Fan Colors)

Spoiler

 

[UsandThem]

I also should add the lone green fan is a Nanoxia Deep Silence NDS140-1800. After coming across them (and their claimed specs), I ordered two of them to test them against my Noctua fans. They come with a 7v speed reducer, so my plan was to run them at that which would get me 65 CFM at only 12 dBA (more air and less noise than the Noctua NF-A14 FLX).

When they arrived (purchased at Amazon), they didn't feel as good in the hand as a Noctua does, and are much lighter. I manually spun the blades with my hands, and one was absolutely silent, and the other one made an odd noise. I made note of which was which, and installed them. The first fan was dead silent and moved some serious air. The second one continued to make an odd noise, but it wasn't very loud. I decided to let it run for a few hours, and when I went back into my home office the second fan was making a very loud clicking noise by this point, so I removed it.

So after that, I decided to just stay with my tried-and-true Noctua fans instead of ordering any more of the Nanoxia fans because there are quite a few reviews that talk about this ticking noise (some right out of the box like me, but many others after a few months). I guess it's true that you get what you pay for.

 

[mdram]

thanks, i have been looking at this case, but couldnt find any reviews

 

[aigomorla]

i honestly think you should go custom water.

Going though your threads and comments i think you reached a point in curiosity + critical point in which water would benefit you.
I also believe you are capable of doing the standard maintenance required for a custom water setup.

You can get parts really cheap @ aliexpress which have quality.
Barrow products are just as good as eK + Bitspower from my testing, and wont break your wallet.

Let me know if you decide to take the plunge as i can help you piece out parts for you to go into our hobby.

I can tell you this tho, its very rewarding and fun when you do get your first h2o setup done correctly, and it gets very addictive, in the customization it allows.

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks for the suggestion aigomorla, that might be my next PC project to try out.

I will add for anyone who comes across this quick review, the front and top filters of this case aren't any good at catching anything. I've had this case over 2 weeks now, and I have not had to clean the filters once. While these filters are good with airflow, they pretty much allow all dust to enter into the case.

 

[diquidan]

just curious, is the airflow terrible with the solid front panel?

 

[UsandThem]

just curious, is the airflow terrible with the solid front panel?

I never even used it because from owning many different kinds of cases over the years that feature a solid front panel, it really cuts down on the airflow (such as the Corsair Obsidian series).

Additionally, with the solid panel on, the air gaps are rather small (much smaller than my Be Quiet Dark Base 900 or Fractal Design R5 and Define C).