Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Chassis Review

A Closer Look – Exterior

Out of the box, the H500P makes one hell of a first impression. This is a big chassis, and it looks freaking awesome. The angled trim on the edges looks almost industrial, sure, it’s only plastic, but it looks robust. Adorning the left side, a huge slab of tinted glass gives it that premium vibe, and even comes with a locking mechanism.

Moving up to the top panel, you’ll find plenty of ventilation on the side and a massive window on the top. However, that top window is plastic, so I think it’s a poor match with the glass panel, and it’s going to be more prone to dust and scratching. However, for aesthetics, it does look cool and it’ll give you a nice peep into the workings of the system.

The top panel lifts away very quickly, giving you access to a huge bank of 120/140mm fan and radiator rails.

Front I/O

There’s plenty of control here, with four USB ports, and the master power switch. I love that the switch is in the shape of the modern Cooler Master logo background too, a tiny detail, but I noticed.

The front panel design is certainly bold. Subtlety is not a word it knows, but it does look epic.k There’s a huge amount of ventilation down the left and right sides, as well as another plastic window. The plastic has noticeably different visual characteristics to the glass. I wonder if Cooler Master should have done a stock version with all perspex, and a pro with all glass; food for thought.

Go Big or Go Home

Cooler Master went all out here, with two massive 200mm RGB LED fans in the front panel. That’s a monstrous amount of airflow achievable at very low RPM. Of course, low RPM also means low noise. Forget that horrid black dot on the centre of the fans, they’ve ditched that for the retail models.

Getting access to the fans for installations and maintenance is super easy. Just pull at the top edge, and the whole thing rocks forward. If you want to remove it, simply lift it out once it’s pulled open like this.

As I said, massive, and I have big hands.

Around The Back

The right side panel is just a big chunk of metal. That’s no bad thing, as it helps cut down noise, adds strength, and counterbalances that huge slab of glass on the left side.

There’s a 140mm fan pre-installed in the back, although the mount also supports 120mm and height adjustment. All the expansion slots come with reusable ventilated metal covers, and the PSU mount is, well it’s a PSU mount.

The chassis is big, and to keep it stable it features four huge feet. These feet also provide plenty of ground clearance, allowing lots of airflow to the PSU air filter.