CoolerMaster H500P is out.... And it's... disappointing

[TVwazhere]

This isnt really a review, just a conclusion I'm making based off of Paul's Hardware, Hardware Canucks and Gamers Nexus's reviews (as well as Bitwit's input in the comments section, I'm sure his video will be out soon if he does one)on this case

 

Alright well first just let me say.....

Spoiler

FUCK ME THIS CASE IS SEXY AF

This case gets 10/10 marks from me personally. Back when I started looking for cases in 2014, 200mm fans were some of my highest "want on a case" check boxes (one of the reasons why i was an inch away from buying one of the HAF series cases, but ended up with the Level 10 GT, dunno is the story is the same for @dual290x) Since late millennia/early 2010's, 200mm fans have fallen off. Gamers nexus mentions part of the reason why in his review, but it's to the point of I dont know many cases that aernt re-skins that support 200mm fans (Enthoo Luxe comes to mind but again, just a reused interior) and this case (and I'm not alone) was to many of us, the return of that large quiet fan greatness, now with RGB and a super sexy clear front view that did not disappoint, lets be fair. The looks of this case IMO are hard to rival, and while I've matured from my more gamery taste to more minimalist (ala Fractal Design) this case is just like those concept cars you see at auto shows that just look so damn good. Cable management is also really good. The new panels are actually pretty good, even though there's probably too many screws that are neccesary, I cant fault them for it. The Front I/o is solid for the most part. No USB type c but whatever. VERTICAL GPU SLOT YAY*

 

So why the OP title? Why this post at all?

 

Because Goddammit CM, you did the one thing I was hoping wasnt the case. The fans sit mostly forward of the mesh grill on the sides...

 

Thats not to say thermals aernt bad (GN does a good job of comparison, as well as different configurations) but even though it's not officially HAF series, it's still marketed as "air flow" which disappointing me more than the lack of real dust filters for the front, more than the REALLY CHEAP panels (every reviewer noted it as a weak point, a very bad sign) a really nice TG mount method but poorly implemented (InWins is far better) and a bunch of little things, like the fact that *an air cooler cant be used with an aftermarket Tall PCB GPU in the "vertical GPU" mount, which really sucks because i dont expect many people to water cool in this case too much (though the top brackets are very nice actually). There's no RGB controller in the case what-so-ever, so anyone not using a newer mobo will probably have to get a 4pin rgb header controller to get that sexy fan glow like the one that came with the Cooler Paul used. As Dmitri points out, the front cable panel could have been used for some sort of modular hole system, something literally every case this length supports at this point (Define S, most Phanteks cases, be quiet!, etc.)

 

If i had to quickly make up a Tier list (I'm really considering that)with FD's Define series and Phanteks Enthoo pro M TG at Tier 1, and S340/P400 at tier 2, this would probably sit at tier 3 with the In Win 300 and 100 series. They Look really good, and the TG mounts are awesome, but they have airflow problems that could be easily solved in many ways, and for $150, unless you only care about looks and are okay with meh-decent airflow (for a case thats supposed to be all about that), and you dont mind the cheap build quality, And you dont mind the issues with specific configuration clearance and QC, AND you dont mind the fact that you're overspending for looks over performance (cough Evolv ATX cough) then this case is actually really good.

 

Personally, I'll wait until corsair get this case right. Until then, I'm still eyeing the mid tower market for my potential next build.

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honestly i believe an exhaust is more important that an intake. i dont really get the hype around how good airflow is in a case. as long as air can get in and out usually temps are around 5c~ in differences.

 

case looks like it came from the action figure section of walmart though

[STRMfrmXMN]

2 minutes ago, Reece Leu said:

honestly i believe an exhaust is more important that an intake. i dont really get the hype around how good airflow is in a case. as long as air can get in and out usually temps are around 5c~ in differences.

Compare a Mastercase Pro 5 to a Phanteks Evolv and you'll see the tremendous difference open airflow can make.

[,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Just now, STRMfrmXMN said:

Compare a Mastercase Pro 5 to a Phanteks Evolv and you'll see what I mean.

 

phanteks evolv has a super restrictive airflow probably the worst ive seen although modmymods has a fix for that

[Damascus]

I'm currently running my 1700/290x passive/full loop hybrid.

 

Nh-d14 on cpu, external loop on gpu.  Only one fan is on and running at 1100rpm, externally (all of this in a 301)

[STRMfrmXMN]

15 minutes ago, Reece Leu said:

 

phanteks evolv has a super restrictive airflow probably the worst ive seen although modmymods has a fix for that

For $80 on a case that costs a ton.

[Den-Fi]

I wanted to stick my current main rig in there, but the 2 3.5 drive bays killed that dream before any of the other flaws did.

I know I can just setup a 10G NAS (and plan to) but that won't be for a while.

[Hiitchy]

25 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Compare a Mastercase Pro 5 to a Phanteks Evolv and you'll see the tremendous difference open airflow can make.

Literally this. I own the master case Pro 5 and was happy because cable management was amazing, and radiator support is phenomenal for what I need. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

6 minutes ago, Hiitchy said:

Literally this. I own the master case Pro 5 and was happy because cable management was amazing, and radiator support is phenomenal for what I need. 

I built a neighbor's PC in one and was shocked by how low the temps were on his SC 1070. My regular old EVGA ACX 970 gets like 15 C hotter in my NZXT S340. 

[Stonefam28]

My biggest issue which caused me to cancel the order for this case is my dual gpu setup. It appears you cannot fit a rad fans and res in the front and still have horizontal gpus. I ended up going with a C700P instead for better rad support.

[Hybris5112]

I watched GN's review and honestly I can't say that I see why people are in love with this case design. Its a clear sided mid tower beyond that I can't say it has anything else interesting. Besides why the hell is it 2017 and we are still seeing USB 2.0 ports on things?

[dual290x]

2 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

This isnt really a review, just a conclusion I'm making based off of Paul's Hardware, Hardware Canucks and Gamers Nexus's reviews (as well as Bitwit's input in the comments section, I'm sure his video will be out soon if he does one)on this case

 

Alright well first just let me say.....

  Reveal hidden contents

FUCK ME THIS CASE IS SEXY AF

This case gets 10/10 marks from me personally. Back when I started looking for cases in 2014, 200mm fans were some of my highest "want on a case" check boxes (one of the reasons why i was an inch away from buying one of the HAF series cases, but ended up with the Level 10 GT, dunno is the story is the same for @dual290x) Since late millennia/early 2010's, 200mm fans have fallen off. Gamers nexus mentions part of the reason why in his review, but it's to the point of I dont know many cases that aernt re-skins that support 200mm fans (Enthoo Luxe comes to mind but again, just a reused interior) and this case (and I'm not alone) was to many of us, the return of that large quiet fan greatness, now with RGB and a super sexy clear front view that did not disappoint, lets be fair.

@TVwazhere,

This was a nice write-up. I actually went with my current case because it was free (except for the $50 worth of parts I had to order) some two or three years ago. Since then, I have modded this case and built three systems in this guy. It is becoming harder and harder to pull away from it as each day passes. I have only two 200mm fans now as I installed two 120mm fans in the front. I find 200mm fans to be a bit noisy (noctua has solved this issue, though I have yet to purchase any), unless you use a fan controller. I looked at this case via Hardware Canucks, I was utterly unimpressed with this case. Yeah it looks nice from afar but when you get closer to it, it looks as though they made a second drawing of it and ran with it. I will can not consider purchasing this case. Plus there are way too many windows to even think about it. It looks too gamery for me. That is my opinion. Take it or leave it, that is up to you. Thanks for mentioning me, bud.

[TVwazhere]

11 hours ago, Legendarypoet said:

I wanted to stick my current main rig in there, but the 2 3.5 drive bays killed that dream before any of the other flaws did.

This further strengthens Dmitri's point that theres a serious lack of utilization for the front cable panel, that could easily have brackets for more 3.5" drives, pump brackets or whatever else!

8 hours ago, dual290x said:

@TVwazhere,

This was a nice write-up. I actually went with my current case because it was free (except for the $50 worth of parts I had to order) some two or three years ago. Since then, I have modded this case and built three systems in this guy. It is becoming harder and harder to pull away from it as each day passes. I have only two 200mm fans now as I installed two 120mm fans in the front. I find 200mm fans to be a bit noisy (noctua has solved this issue, though I have yet to purchase any), unless you use a fan controller. I looked at this case via Hardware Canucks, I was utterly unimpressed with this case. Yeah it looks nice from afar but when you get closer to it, it looks as though they made a second drawing of it and ran with it. I will can not consider purchasing this case. Plus there are way too many windows to even think about it. It looks too gamery for me. That is my opinion. Take it or leave it, that is up to you. Thanks for mentioning me, bud.

No problem! Aesthetics are to the individual. I have my fans set to the lower 600rpm fan settings so theyre quiet, the 800 rpm is significantly louder for sure!

 

I wanted to love this case...  

[Den-Fi]

1 minute ago, TVwazhere said:

This further strengthens Dmitri's point that theres a serious lack of utilization for the front cable panel, that could easily have brackets for more 3.5" drives, pump brackets or whatever else!

Yup.. I just looked at it like SERIOUSLY???!!!!

 

[TVwazhere]

Just now, Legendarypoet said:

Yup.. I just looked at it like SERIOUSLY???!!!!

Hopefully future revisions improve, like an H550P or something

 

BTW congrats on reaching the only milestone that matters

[Den-Fi]

1 minute ago, TVwazhere said:

Hopefully future revisions improve, like an H550P or something

 

BTW congrats on reaching the only milestone that matters

Bwahahaha!

[Stonefam28]

I really do not understand how they missed the mark that bad. It was supposed to be a case built on the potential to have great cooling and it barely is middle of the pack. How hard would it have been to increase the size of the main compartment to recess those fans or allow for proper Res support.

[Bruman]

I'm actually thinking of buying one just to see if I can mod it enough that the 200mm fans are mounted on the inside of the case, because the airflow being THAT bad is probably the main reason I haven't got one yet. I mean, for a case that is marketed as a high airflow case the airflow is disappointing, to say the least.

[TVwazhere]

On 10/11/2017 at 6:00 PM, Bruman said:

I'm actually thinking of buying one just to see if I can mod it enough that the 200mm fans are mounted on the inside of the case, because the airflow being THAT bad is probably the main reason I haven't got one yet. I mean, for a case that is marketed as a high airflow case the airflow is disappointing, to say the least.

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