Cooler Master MasterBox 520 Mesh Case Review

A Closer Look – Exterior

It’s fair to say that most PC cases look pretty much the same these days, but hey, we’ve got a winning formula these days and it works well. Cooler Master’s MasterBox MB520 doesn’t really break from that tradition though, but it’s still a very attractive-looking case. There’s a large tempered glass window mounted tool-free on the left side. As you can see, the edges are blacked out, hiding the interior frame and keeping things looking nice and smart.

The front panel has quite a bit of depth to it, allowing for some additional side ventilation and some cool shapes cut into the plastic there too. There’s obviously a large mesh front section too, which is fine enough to keep dust and other debris out of the case, will allowing plenty of airflow to the fans behind it. It’s hard to see here, but the fans are mounted between the mesh and the case, rather than inside the main frame of the case.

The right side panel is pretty standard stuff, but it feels pretty robust, looks neat and tidy, and doesn’t require any tools to remove.

At the back, you can see all of the case and its components are blacked out, and it even comes with metal and reusable expansion slot covers, which I certainly appreciate. There’s good ventilation for the rear fan, and elongated screw holes allow for some height adjustment; very handy for AIO/radiators.

Lower down, there’s some additional ventilation next to the expansion slots, and finally, an ATX PSU mount, which also comes with a slide-out dust filter.

The top of the case has an absolutely massive dust filter. It’s magnetic too, so you can just lift it out of the way and clean it. What I like is that it’s symmetrical, making it pleasing to the eye. Many dust filters are more towards the left/glass side, but this is definitely larger than most.

The front I/O is pretty simple, with a pair of USB 3 ports, an audio jack (4-pole), a power button in the shape of the Cooler Master logo, and a small reset button.