• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Cooler Master MasterBox 500

Darksaber

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,090 (0.44/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Specs
System Name Meshlicious Monster
Processor Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software Windows 10 Home
The Cooler Master MasterBox 500 has all the fixings of a mainstream chassis, but also offers a removable top cover for easier assembly and built-in ARGB controller and fan hub. While it is squarely built on trusted and true engineering practices, the MasterBox 500 also offers a few visual highlights, like the embedded ARGB in the front cover.

Show full review
 
Chrispy_

Chrispy_

Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
8,280 (3.93/day)
System Specs
System Name Bragging Rights
Processor Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s) 10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case Veddha T2
Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
I think the chassis, layout, and cooling looks fine but I couldn't bring myself to spend >$100 on a case with a solid chunk of cheap plastic front and center. The sub $100 market has the plastic+mesh thing completely covered with some excellent options at $80 or less so there's absolutely no need for it at twice the price.

a) People spending that much want steel, glass, or aluminium.
b) People don't want their front fans blocked off like that.

I'm also not a fan of the tilted forward aesthetic CM has been using for several years, but I can't criticise them for that as it's a matter of personal taste thing and I'm sure loads of people like it.
 
InVasMani

InVasMani

Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
2,508 (0.79/day)
It's amazing just how much room is in modern PC cases w/o the mechanical drives really cluttering everything up. They occupied so much more space comparatively on top of being pretty hot and hindering airflow and a wiring mess.
 
wheresmycar

wheresmycar

Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
1,559 (0.73/day)
Location
London, UK
System Specs
System Name ❶ Oooh (2024) ❷ Aaaah (2021) ❸ Ahemm (2017)
Processor ❶ 5800X3D ❷ i7-9700K ❸ i7-7700K
Motherboard ❶ X570-F ❷ Z390-E ❸ Z270-E
Cooling ❶ ALFIII 360 ❷ X62 + X72 (GPU mod) ❸ X62
Memory ❶ 32-3600/16 ❷ 32-3200/16 ❸ 16-3200/16
Video Card(s) ❶ 3080 X Trio ❷ 2080TI (AIOmod) ❸ 1080TI
Storage ❶ NVME/SSD/HDD ❷ <SAME ❸ SSD/HDD
Display(s) ❶ 1440/165/IPS ❷ 1440/144/IPS ❸ 1080/144/IPS
Case ❶ BQ Silent 601 ❷ Cors 465X ❸ Frac Mesh C
Audio Device(s) ❶ HyperX C2 ❷ HyperX C2 ❸ Logi G432
Power Supply ❶ HX1200 Plat ❷ RM750X ❸ EVGA 650W G2
Mouse ❶ Logi G Pro ❷ Razer Bas V3 ❸ Logi G502
Keyboard ❶ Logi G915 TKL ❷ Anne P2 ❸ Logi G610
Software ❶ Win 11 ❷ 10 ❸ 10
Benchmark Scores I have wrestled bandwidths, Tussled with voltages, Handcuffed Overclocks, Thrown Gigahertz in Jail
Chrispy_ said:
I'm also not a fan of the tilted forward aesthetic CM has been using for several years, but I can't criticise them for that as it's a matter of personal taste thing and I'm sure loads of people like it.
Click to expand...

Me too!!

From the side view it looks like a wonky manufacturing mishap, more of a distraction for me. Maybe im just boring, i'm more of a MasterBox MB400L, although it would be nice to a see a variant with front mesh too.
 
80-watt Hamster

80-watt Hamster

Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
1,723 (0.51/day)
Location
North Dakota
System Specs
System Name Office
Processor Ryzen 5600G
Motherboard ASUS B450M-A II
Cooling be quiet! Shadow Rock LP
Memory 16GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RX 5600 XT
Storage PNY CS1030 250GB, Crucial MX500 2TB
Display(s) Dell S2719DGF
Case Fractal Define 7 Compact
Power Supply EVGA 550 G3
Mouse Logitech M705 Marthon
Keyboard Logitech G410
Software Windows 10 Pro 22H2
Kudos to CM for proper expansion slot configuration and covers, and for the HDD LED. It doesn't quite hit my personal 200mm width target, but basically nothing does these days, so it's hard to hold that against it. Shame about the price, though. I def had an, "It's how much?" moment on reaching the conclusion.
 
M

Meta

Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
10 (0.01/day)
wheresmycar said:
Me too!!

From the side view it looks like a wonky manufacturing mishap, more of a distraction for me. Maybe im just boring, i'm more of a MasterBox MB400L, although it would be nice to a see a variant with front mesh too.
Click to expand...
If you mean a front mesh version of the MB400L, CM has got you covered:
www.coolermaster.com

Cooler Master MasterBox NR400 without ODD Mini Tower PC Case

The MasterBox NR400 applies optimal cooling and expandability to a minimalistic, subtle design. With thermal capability at the forefront of features, the front panel and top panel are designed to signify airflow performance in its purest form.
www.coolermaster.com www.coolermaster.com

As for this one: Yeah, not worth the price. Then again, nothing with a mostly-solid front panel is.
 
T

timta2

Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Messages
1,349 (0.22/day)
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
System Specs
Processor i7-3770K
Motherboard Biostar Hi-Fi Z77
Cooling Swiftech H20 (w/Custom External Rad Enclosure)
Memory 16GB DDR3-2400Mhz
Video Card(s) Alienware GTX 1070
Storage 1TB Samsung 850 EVO
Display(s) 32" LG 1440p
Case Cooler Master 690 (w/Mods)
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply Corsair 750-TX
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard G. Skill Mechanical
Software Windows 10 (X64)
InVasMani said:
It's amazing just how much room is in modern PC cases w/o the mechanical drives really cluttering everything up. They occupied so much more space comparatively on top of being pretty hot and hindering airflow and a wiring mess.
Click to expand...
Some of us need those drives in our systems and x2 3.5" drive bays is pathetic. Modern hard drives also aren't "pretty hot". So much so that they can safely be shoved in plastic enclosures without any kind of active cooling and be fine.
 
wheresmycar

wheresmycar

Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
1,559 (0.73/day)
Location
London, UK
System Specs
System Name ❶ Oooh (2024) ❷ Aaaah (2021) ❸ Ahemm (2017)
Processor ❶ 5800X3D ❷ i7-9700K ❸ i7-7700K
Motherboard ❶ X570-F ❷ Z390-E ❸ Z270-E
Cooling ❶ ALFIII 360 ❷ X62 + X72 (GPU mod) ❸ X62
Memory ❶ 32-3600/16 ❷ 32-3200/16 ❸ 16-3200/16
Video Card(s) ❶ 3080 X Trio ❷ 2080TI (AIOmod) ❸ 1080TI
Storage ❶ NVME/SSD/HDD ❷ <SAME ❸ SSD/HDD
Display(s) ❶ 1440/165/IPS ❷ 1440/144/IPS ❸ 1080/144/IPS
Case ❶ BQ Silent 601 ❷ Cors 465X ❸ Frac Mesh C
Audio Device(s) ❶ HyperX C2 ❷ HyperX C2 ❸ Logi G432
Power Supply ❶ HX1200 Plat ❷ RM750X ❸ EVGA 650W G2
Mouse ❶ Logi G Pro ❷ Razer Bas V3 ❸ Logi G502
Keyboard ❶ Logi G915 TKL ❷ Anne P2 ❸ Logi G610
Software ❶ Win 11 ❷ 10 ❸ 10
Benchmark Scores I have wrestled bandwidths, Tussled with voltages, Handcuffed Overclocks, Thrown Gigahertz in Jail
Meta said:
If you mean a front mesh version of the MB400L, CM has got you covered:
www.coolermaster.com

Cooler Master MasterBox NR400 without ODD Mini Tower PC Case

The MasterBox NR400 applies optimal cooling and expandability to a minimalistic, subtle design. With thermal capability at the forefront of features, the front panel and top panel are designed to signify airflow performance in its purest form.
www.coolermaster.com www.coolermaster.com

As for this one: Yeah, not worth the price. Then again, nothing with a mostly-solid front panel is.
Click to expand...

Excellent... forgot this one. I've been too busy lately eyeing up a mini-ITX transformation... i'm still cycling between a CM NR200P or a not-so "Nano" torrent. Have to admit, i'm not usually excited about CM cases but the NR200P is just pure magic....excels in every conceivable way (for me its always either intake from the front mesh or in the NR200P's bottom-up)
 
Chrispy_

Chrispy_

Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
8,280 (3.93/day)
System Specs
System Name Bragging Rights
Processor Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s) 10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case Veddha T2
Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
wheresmycar said:
Me too!!

From the side view it looks like a wonky manufacturing mishap, more of a distraction for me. Maybe im just boring, i'm more of a MasterBox MB400L, although it would be nice to a see a variant with front mesh too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can't fault CM for offering different styles for different tastes though - they do have things covering the whole spectrum of understated simplicity to in-your-face styling.

The NR200 range and the entire Silencio S400/S600 range all suit my tastes just fine, as well as some of the V2 masterbox stuff. Hopefully the tilted forward thing is old tooling and they're phasing it out because it just looks dated to me. The MB600LV2 looks much more modern to me:
 

Attachments

  • 1650366272239.png
    1650366272239.png
    53 KB · Views: 59
Tsukiyomi91

Tsukiyomi91

Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Messages
2,182 (0.51/day)
Location
Deez Nutz, bozo!
System Specs
System Name Rainbow Puke Machine :D
Processor Intel Core i5-11400 (MCE enabled, PL removed)
Motherboard ASUS STRIX B560-G GAMING WIFI mATX
Cooling Corsair H60i RGB PRO XT AIO + HD120 RGB (x3) + SP120 RGB PRO (x3) + Commander PRO
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 2 x 8GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX2060 Twin Fan 6GB GDDR6 (Stock)
Storage Corsair MP600 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
Display(s) LG 29WK600-W Ultrawide 1080p IPS Monitor (primary display)
Case Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow (White) w/Lighting Node CORE + Lighting Node PRO RGB LED Strips (x4).
Audio Device(s) ASUS ROG Supreme FX S1220A w/ Savitech SV3H712 AMP + Sonic Studio 3 suite
Power Supply Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular
Mouse Corsair M65 RGB FPS Gaming (White)
Keyboard Corsair K60 PRO RGB Mechanical w/ Cherry VIOLA Switches
Software Windows 11 Professional x64 (Update 23H2)
not the best looking, not the worst performing. Price could be on the affordable side but eh.
 
K

kapqa

Joined
May 6, 2019
Messages
84 (0.04/day)
Location
Alps (Bozen,Italia)
System Specs
System Name Generic
Processor Ryzen5-3200G
Motherboard A300
Cooling Noctua
Memory 16GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) APU
Storage NVME PM981
Display(s) Eizo, HP, NEC
Software Mac, Windows 7+Ubuntu22.04
good numbers, but i like my bluray driver internally.
 
Assimilator

Assimilator

Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
5,847 (0.81/day)
Location
Ikenai borderline!
System Specs
System Name Firelance.
Processor Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory 8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage 2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s) 3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Razer Pro Type Ultra
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
$160 and no USB-C? WTF is CM smoking?
 
bonehead123

bonehead123

Supporter
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
6,186 (1.53/day)
Location
Over here, right where you least expect me to be !
System Specs
System Name The Little One
Processor i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard AZW SEI
Cooling Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s) Iris XE
Storage WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
Assimilator said:
$160 and no USB-C? WTF is CM smoking?
Click to expand...
^^THIS^^

probably some high-grade dogfood, either Alpo or Cycle 4 mastablend...
can I getz me sumodat ? :roll:
 
720p low

720p low

Joined
Jun 16, 2021
Messages
53 (0.04/day)
System Specs
System Name 2rd-hand Hand-me-down V2.0, Mk. 3
Processor Ryzen R5-5500
Motherboard ASRock X370
Cooling Wraith Spire
Memory 2 x 16Gb G.Skill @ 3200Mhz
Video Card(s) Power Color RX 5700 XT
Storage 500 Gb Crucial MX500, 2Tb WD SA510
Display(s) Acer 24.0" CB2 1080p
Case (early) DeepCool
Audio Device(s) Ubiquitous Realtek
Power Supply 650W FSP
Mouse Logitech
Keyboard Logitech
VR HMD What?
Software Yes
Benchmark Scores [REDACTED]
This will probably come across as simply mean-spirited but I must ask, does anybody on planet Earth know how to properly photograph a black PC case? (Hint: not against a white background, for openers...)

Buy this photographer some floods and scoops, for heavens sake. This is the same death-by-contrast mess you see most everywhere else. Like trying to peer into the depths of the Marianas Trench with a AAA-cell Maglite. If these are CM-supplied photos, light 'em up over their poor quality. I mean, in that first photo on Page 4, a facehugger could be lurking in that dark corner and you wouldn't know it.

As to the case, I might consider it at about $80 USD, for use with power-efficient components.
 
80-watt Hamster

80-watt Hamster

Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
1,723 (0.51/day)
Location
North Dakota
System Specs
System Name Office
Processor Ryzen 5600G
Motherboard ASUS B450M-A II
Cooling be quiet! Shadow Rock LP
Memory 16GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RX 5600 XT
Storage PNY CS1030 250GB, Crucial MX500 2TB
Display(s) Dell S2719DGF
Case Fractal Define 7 Compact
Power Supply EVGA 550 G3
Mouse Logitech M705 Marthon
Keyboard Logitech G410
Software Windows 10 Pro 22H2
720p low said:
This will probably come across as simply mean-spirited but I must ask, does anybody on planet Earth know how to properly photograph a black PC case?
Click to expand...

Short answer: No.
 
Chrispy_

Chrispy_

Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
8,280 (3.93/day)
System Specs
System Name Bragging Rights
Processor Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s) 10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case Veddha T2
Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
I bought a pixel phone so that I don't have to be a good photographer to take half-decent photos. I doubt even with a day's training on a DSLR that I'd be able to match the quality of photos that my Pixel takes on full-auto.

If the algorithm that handles white balance from the #1 phone camera on the market can't get it right, I think it's reasonably to expect humans to screw it up too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top