I’m a kind of individuals who simply likes to construct issues, whether or not it’s a brand new engine for one in all my vehicles, an RC mannequin, a brand new studio or an extension on the home, I simply like to get caught in so my favorite a part of PC possession is the preliminary system construct. Naturally, after I heard that Cooler Master had a brand new PC case that comes flat pack and the customers construct it themselves I couldn’t wait to have a look. In this assessment, I get my palms on the brand new Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack PC case, piece all of it collectively and discover out simply how good it’s.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:51 Some particulars
04:19 Unboxing the components
07:40 Assembling the case for the primary time
18:15 James ideas thus far
22:44 Build full
23:54 Thermal testing / some considerations
26:14 CoolerMaster Statement
27:06 Closing Thoughts
Let’s dive straight into the main points, the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack does precisely what’s says on the tin (or field). It is a flat-pack PC case that may be configured to go well with the person’s fashion, with a number of layouts and orientations doable. It additionally gives the person with an ecosystem of customized equipment that may be 3D printed with designs obtainable to obtain from printables.com so not solely are you able to construct the case your self, however you possibly can add personalisation to make it distinctive too.
The QUBE 500 Flat Pack is out there in a number of variations with customary black and white editions priced at £69.99, which features a non-RGB 120mm rear fan, handlebar and Gem mini accent. A vibrant Macaron Limited Edition is out there for a short while after launch priced at £99.99 and features a 120mm ARGB rear fan, two handlebars (one gray, one mint color), one gray Gem mini, two accent hooks and filter panels in mint, cream and pink for customers to personalise the look of the case.
Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack Features:
- A flat-pack case that’s a part of Cooler Masters’ eco-friendly initiative, the design improves storage and delivery effectivity in addition to requiring 45% much less packaging in contrast regualr to a pre-assembled case.
- Production prices stay the identical as an everyday pre-assembled case since elevated materials rigidity is utilized in manufacturing because the flat pack case panels require greater power than pre-assembled case panels.
- Next-level customisation is feasible with swappable colors, a customisable system structure, plus a big accent eco-system with 3D printable equipment obtainable from printables.com.
- Compact design with a complete quantity of 33 litres however there’s area for as much as 8 followers, three radiators, 4 3.5-inch HDDs and three 2.5-inch SSDs plus 365mm area for graphics playing cards. Also, an E-ATX motherboard is suitable for those who used it with an SFX energy provide.
Specifications:
- Case Type: Compact Mid-Tower
- Dimensions: 416mm x 231mm x 415mm (L x W X H)
- Colour: Black / White / 3x Set Mint, Pink, Cream
- Material: Steel, Plastic, Tempered Glass
- Motherboard Support: ATX / Micro-ATX / Mini-ITX / E-ATX (as much as 296mm with SFX PSU / as much as 273mm With ATX PSU)
- Expansion Slots: 7
- Storage: 3 x 2.5″ SSD max, 4 x 3.5″ HDD max
- Max GPU Length: 365mm
- Max CPU Cooler Height: 172mm max
- Fan Support: 2 x 120/140mm (Front) 2 x 120/140mm (Top) 2 x 120/140mm (Left Side) 2 x 120/140mm (Bottom) as much as 1 x 120mm (Rear)
- Radiator Support: 280mm Max (Front w/PSU in Bottom) 120/140/240/280mm (Top, Bottom, Left Side) 120mm (Rear)
- I/O Ports: 1 x Power Button, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio
- Dust Filters: Top / Front / Bottom / Right
Thermal Performance Testing
To simulate thermal demand we run the Cinebench R23 multi-thread benchmark and 3DMark Speed Way stress take a look at concurrently in a loop for 60 minutes to completely load the system. This offers the CPU and GPU sufficient time to achieve fixed steady-state temperature. With this information, we will evaluate how the system handles the thermal demand and measure peak noise ranges.
Thermal efficiency is measured with the case in numerous configurations, such because the default, with the tempered glass left-hand facet panel eliminated and with the entrance panel eliminated to see how these configurations have an effect on the CPU and GPU temperature. During testing, solely inventory case followers are used until in any other case specified. All water pumps are set to most RPM and followers are set to a customized RPM curve by the Motherboard software program/BIOS.
All temperature measurements are offered as Deltas – that means the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU temperature giving us a Delta. Data proven within the charts symbolize the common element temperature over the size of the take a look at as measured by HWiNFO after which the final quarter-hour of the information are calculated to get the common. The ambient temperature throughout thermal checks is between 19-21⁰C.
Test System Specification:
- CPU – Intel Core i7-12700K
- Motherboard – MSI MEG Z690 Unify
- Graphics Card – INNO3D RTX 4080 iCHILL
- Memory – 32GB ( 2 x 16GB Modules) GSKILL Trident Z5 DDR5-6400
- Storage – 2TB WD_Black SN850 PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD
- CPU Cooler – Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos
- Power Supply – Cooler Master GX III 850 Gold
- Case followers – Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax.Black.Swap
- Chassis – Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack
- Operating System – Windows 11
Thermal Performance/Noise Overview:
Thermal Performance:
Thermal efficiency is an fascinating one with the QUBE 500 Flat Pack. Testing the case in its default configuration with all panels and filters put in, GPU temperature appears OK with a mean delta of 43°C. But the CPU runs scorching with a top-mounted AIO, the common delta was measured at 66°C which implies the precise peak CPU temperature was within the mid-high 90s which isn’t nice for this CPU.
Removing the tempered glass facet panel reduces CPU temperature, nonetheless, we discovered that eradicating all of the mud filters from the case gave a big drop in CPU temperature by nearly 10°C which is sort of alarming.
When you look nearer on the mud filters you quickly realise that the perforations within the filters are tiny at roughly 0.8 – 1mm which implies the airflow is severely restricted and the followers battle to push warmth out of the highest of the case or pull cool air in.
Closing Thoughts
As an idea, I like the concept of the Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack, beginning the construct course of by assembling the case will actually attraction to somebody like me who loves constructing and modding their PC. The customisation facet, selecting the configuration you need out of your case and the ecosystem for equipment shall be a bonus for the modding neighborhood. Cooler Master has carried out an important job with the method and constructing the case up requires little instruments or information because the meeting video collection covers every thing intimately.
Building the case is simple, and as soon as constructed up the system inside seems very neat. Due to the compact measurement of the QUBE 500, constructing an everyday system with an AIO or air cooler for the CPU will fill the case properly, theres no gaping areas within the {hardware} so the system doesn’t look misplaced inside as it could possibly do in some bigger circumstances. Hardware help is beneficiant with huge graphics playing cards, tall air coolers and a number of radiators all supported. However, I want to see 360mm radiators supported however hopefully Cooler Master can refine the design in future to accommodate this.
As anticipated there are some compromises because of the measurement of the chassis. If you wish to set up a entrance radiator/followers the facility provide have to be put in on the ground which implies both a smaller graphics card shall be wanted or an SFX energy provide, possibly even each. If you put in the facility provide on the ground then you definitely lose area for backside followers that are helpful for GPU airflow. With the facility provide put in on the entrance of the case, it could possibly limit high radiator set up too.
The included left-side radiator/fan bracket looks as if a pointless accent to be included with the usual black/white model of the case as any followers put in on the bracket can be slammed proper as much as a tempered glass facet panel, which might fully block any airflow. Maybe on the Macaron Edition, the facet bracket could possibly be used together with a metal vented facet panel so it isn’t fully ineffective, it simply looks as if an odd resolution to incorporate it with the usual case however no optionally available vented facet panel is included.
But the primary situation we discovered with the case is the airflow, or lack of it to be extra particular. The filters connected to the highest, entrance, and backside panels of the case are simply too restrictive. As we present in our thermal testing, eradicating all these mud filters improved CPU temperature by nearly 10°C which is a big drop in CPU temperature. You can take away the mud filters however you’ll have to clear your system extra usually and it additionally ruins the aesthetics of the case as you possibly can see internal panels with the filters eliminated and it simply seems a large number.
The purpose that the filters are so restrictive is because of the measurement of the perforations within the metal filter ingredient. The perforated holes are simply 0.8 – 1.0mm in diameter most which is extraordinarily restrictive. The perforations must be small to filter mud however at this measurement they’re so restrictive that the followers battle to tug in cool air from exterior of the case and exhaust warmth out. We reached out to Cooler Master about this situation and so they responded with the next assertion:
“Thank you for bringing this level to our consideration. We have carried out inside testing with totally different configurations. We didn’t discover as huge of a distinction in temperature as you skilled from this testing, however we’ll do extra in depth testing making an attempt to copy your outcomes. If we will confirm the outcomes with these testing, we will change the filter design as you might have instructed.”
This feels like a constructive response from Cooler Master so hopefully they may discover the issue of their extra testing and make a revision to enhance thermal efficiency.
I just like the self-build case idea and hope that Cooler Master continues with this concept in future circumstances because it provides one other dimension to the construct course of and I’m positive there are others on the market like myself that may take pleasure in assembling the case as a part of the PC construct. Even with the problems talked about the QUBE 500 Flat Pack is a case I might think about using sooner or later as the price of the case is comparatively low cost however I must discover a strategy to optimise airflow because the inventory filter system is simply too restrictive and will even have an effect on CPU efficiency.
The Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flat Pack shall be obtainable to pre-order from OCUK (hyperlink is coming quickly). The customary Black / White Edition is priced at £69.99 and the Macaron Limited Edition is £99.99.
Pros:
- The fascinating self-build idea provides one other dimension to PC constructing.
- Customizations shall be a bonus for customers who wish to personalise and mod programs.
- Several structure choices together with inverted builds.
- Decent cooling choices for a compact ATX case.
- Good cable administration options.
Cons:
- Some flex within the chassis even with all panels and optionally available screws put in
- Missed alternative with airflow and filter restriction.
- The energy button sticks in typically.
- Radiator/fan set up is compromised by the facility provide.
- The lack of 360mm radiator help is an issue for high-power CPUs.
KitGuru says: The flat pack PC case idea is an concept that I actually like however Cooler Master wants to enhance airflow for customers who wish to hold trendy high-power CPUs cool utilizing this case.
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