Cooler Master MasterBox 500

Darksaber · Apr 18, 2022

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.

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Chrispy_ · Apr 18, 2022

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 · Apr 18, 2022

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 · Apr 19, 2022

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.

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 · Apr 19, 2022

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.

Meta · Apr 19, 2022

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.

If you mean a front mesh version of the MB400L, CM has got you covered:

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

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

timta2 · Apr 19, 2022

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.

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 · Apr 19, 2022

Meta said:
If you mean a front mesh version of the MB400L, CM has got you covered:

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

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

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)

Chaitanya · Apr 19, 2022

CM needs a big reset both HAF 500 and this Masterbox 500 are a joke at best.

Chrispy_ · Apr 19, 2022

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.

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:

Tsukiyomi91 · Apr 19, 2022

not the best looking, not the worst performing. Price could be on the affordable side but eh.

kapqa · Apr 19, 2022

good numbers, but i like my bluray driver internally.

Assimilator · Apr 19, 2022

$160 and no USB-C? WTF is CM smoking?

bonehead123 · Apr 19, 2022

Assimilator said:
$160 and no USB-C? WTF is CM smoking?

^^THIS^^

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

720p low · Apr 21, 2022

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 · Apr 21, 2022

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?

Short answer: No.

Chrispy_ · Apr 21, 2022

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.

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

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.

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
Benchmark Scores	I have wrestled bandwidths, Tussled with voltages, Handcuffed Overclocks, Thrown Gigahertz in Jail

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

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)

Cooler Master MasterBox 500

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

Chrispy_

InVasMani

wheresmycar

80-watt Hamster

Meta

Cooler Master MasterBox NR400 without ODD Mini Tower PC Case

timta2

wheresmycar

Cooler Master MasterBox NR400 without ODD Mini Tower PC Case

Chaitanya

Chrispy_

Attachments

Tsukiyomi91

kapqa

Assimilator

bonehead123

720p low

80-watt Hamster

Chrispy_

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)

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

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	Logitech G613
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

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

System Name	2rd-hand Hand-me-down V2.0
Processor	Ryzen R5-5500
Motherboard	ASRock X370
Cooling	Wraith Spire
Memory	2 x 8Gb G.Skill @ 2933Mhz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 5600 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]