Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 review

[ianho]

The Coolermaster Cosmos has landed! I’ve taken quite a long time to write this review. Though I received the case from Coolermaster last month, I’m only writing the review now. I took it slow and easy so I can have more time to play around and really check out all the details of this case and take a whole lot of pictures for you guys.
Before I start on the review, I’d like to say thank you to Coolermaster Taiwan and also Ban Leong Technology Sdn Bhd for providing me with this case for review.


Okay, here we go with the review. It comes in an extremely big box. The packaging is really good. In fact the unit that I received from Coolermaster had a big gash on the side of the box. I really thought I was going to be greeted with a damaged side panel. I opened the box expecting to see a damaged side panel but was pleasantly surprised that eveything inside was in perfect condition. Here’s how the packaging looks like.
















If you look carefully at the red circle in the picture, you can see a big gash in the box. It actually looks like it made it through to the side panel. A worrying sight indeed. This side of the box also shows all the special features of the Cosmos.














This side shows the specifications of the case.















Here’s the specifications sheet from Coolermaster’s site. The picture above may be too small to see the details.















The case is also protected inside the box by a plastic bag and stick on plastic sheets to prevent scratches on the black acrylic parts.



















Let’s get on to the case outlook. I’ve tried my best to show you guys how it looks like from as many different angles as possible. I understand what most guys think when they say this case looks a bit boring. I was of the same opinion when I first saw the case in pictures. However, when you actually see it in real life, it’s a whole different story. It’s a nice case and I really like the way it looks. That’s why I’ve taken so many pictures from different angles to try and show how the case actually looks like rather than just a boring shot of the side panel which doesn’t even have a side window. There’s a very good reason for that big flat side panel. We’ll get to that later in the review.

Here’s a whole bunch of pictures of the case from all the different angles I could think of.

























This is my favorite part of the case. The rear view of the top exhaust. This part of the design is just brilliant in my opinion. It just looks so awesome. It’s like a jet vent or something. Just imagine how it would look with some red LED fans under that vent. That would really make it look like a jet vent.






















This is the switch panel on top. It comes with 4x USB, audio ports, 1x Firewire and even an E-SATA port. The usual power and reset buttons, power and HDD LEDS are on the front part of the switch panel. The E-SATA port is especially useful as many people have external HDDs with E-SATA. There’s no more need to stretch all the way behind the case and fumble around for the E-SATA port.
















OK. Let’s move on to the internals. The Cosmos was designed with 1 objective from the very beginning. That objective is silence. Coolermaster went all out to design this case to accommodate a high end rig with an emphasis on silence. They’ve designed a silent case with easy maintenance in mind. This case is perfect for the lazy enthusiast who doesn’t like cleaning out the PC often. You’ll see why it’s perfect for lazy people further on in the review.

Here’s the bottom of the case. That intake fan has a louver grill that can be rotated to direct air in any direction you wish. It intakes air from the bottom of the case for nice cool air. There’s a 120x38mm fan included in the louver. I’ve included 2 pictures to show you the different positions of the louver.


















Next up is the tool free mechanism. The Cosmos is completely tool free. I’ve always prefered cases with the usual screw mountings as they’re more secure and always results in a better build in the end. However, the Cosmos has totally changed my perception of tool free cases. That’s only if they’re well implemented like in the Cosmos. OK, let’s take a look at the tool free mechanisms now.

Here’s a shot of the DVD drive n HDD section.
















This is the DVD drive tool free mechanism. See that big blue button?















To mount a DVD drive, all you need to do is to remove the front slot cover like this.















Slide in the DVD drive.















Now, all you need to do is press the big blue button and you’re done. This has got to be the best tool free design around. Everything works nicely and the DVD drive sits securely locked in there.















Moving on to the HDD tool free mount. There are 6 aluminum “drawers” for HDDS. Looks really neat and nice. Here’s a close up view of the drawer.















To install a HDD, just lift the handle, unscrew the thumscrew and pull the drawer out.















Here’s the HDD drawer.















It comes with 6 thermal pads. You need to install them at the bottom so that the HDD sits on top of it. This will transfer the heat into the aluminum drawer and dissipate the heat through the steel chassis. In effect, the whole HDD mounting area acts as a big heatsink for the HDDs.


















The Cosmos even comes with a nice little surprise that’s contained in front of the HDD drawers. I was wondering what this bubble wrapped thing was at first.
















Here it is out of the case.














It’s a nice solid aluminum box with plastic end caps. It contains the mini screwdrivers(flat n phillips heads included), thermal pads for the HDDs and all the screws. It’s nice to know that Coolermaster has gone the extra mile with this box of goodies after spending rm799 on the case.



















Let’s take a look at the front door mechanism now. It’s reversible and it uses a very simple n quick solution too. It uses spring loaded attachments that you slide off and install into the other side of the hinge.

Just remove those white plastic attachments.



















Install them on the other side like this.

















The door now opens the other way. It only takes about 2 minutes to do this.















The side panels have a really unique and superb mechanism. It works really well and seals the door tightly against the chassis. There’s a rubber ring like the O-rings on water proof watches on the chassis and the mechanism locks the side panel tightly against it. To open the side panel, you need to lift the lever on the back panel like this.















The locking bar on the inside then slides to the open position and the side panel pops off from the top. Then you just lift the panel up and away from the chassis.















The interesting bits of the case are now starting to appear. Just look at that side panel, it’s got proper acoustic foam on it. This is how it looks like on the inside of the side panel.















Here's a closer, more detailed look at the acoustic foam on the side panel.















This is the sight that greets you after popping off the side panel. See that big black bar across the middle of the case? That’s the graphics card windtunnel as Coolermaster calls it.















Let’s remove the windtunnel to see how it works. Just push the tab on the front like this.















Swivel it out on the hinge like this and just pull it out.















The windtunnel removed from case. It has a nice brushed aluminum plate with the Coolermaster logo on it. I haven’t peeled the protective plastic sheet from it. The scratches that can be seen near the Coolermaster logo is actually just the plastic sheet. After peeling it off, it’s a pristine brushed aluminum surface.















The back of the windtunnel. It doesn’t come with a fan. This is a big minus point. An intake fan would be appreciated in a case being sold at this price point.















Here’s the windtunnel with a 120mm fan installed in it. This is the proper orientation for the windtunnel fan. It’s meant to draw air in from the back of the case and blow it out directly on to the graphics cards. This should be really good for SLI set ups.

















I’ll get back to the part where I said this case is really good for lazy enthusiasts.  The Cosmos’ ventilation system is totally filtered. There’s not a single intake that sucks in unfiltered n dusty air. The intake of this case is right at the bottom. That’s why the Cosmos sits off the table on those rails. It’s so that nice cool, clean air can go through the bottom and into the case.

This is the bottom of the case. See those nylon mesh filters?















All you need to do for maintenance is to slide these filters off like this.















Filters off. You can now see where the intake areas are. On the left side is the intake for the PSU, the middle is for the directional louver intake fan I showed earlier and the right side is for the HDD area.















This is how it works when the case is in it’s normal position when sitting on your desktop. Just put your hand under the front and back panels and pull the filters out.


















All you have to do then is to wash these filters. They’re actually the same exact material that’s being used in our home air conditioners. Just flush it with water, fling off the water, put it in front of a fan for about 30 minutes and you should be good to go. Since all the intake air is filtered, you will not be cleaning the internals often like in normal PC cases. That’s why I love this ventilation system so much. I live in a very dusty environment caused by contruction around my housing area so this is a rather brilliant system for people living in dusty places. I wont have to clean out all my fans and internals every month with a filtration system like this.















View from the top to show the intake vents for the PSU and the louvered fan.














The front intake vent can be seen under the HDDs section after removing all the drawers.















There’s also an intake vent above the HDD cages.















You can purchase an optional louvered fan just like the one on the floor of the case and install it here to make sure the HDDs get enough fresh air through the intakes at the bottom of the case. Again, it’s a tool free design. All you have to do is pop it into the slots and it’s done.















The 2x120mm exhaust on the top panel. It exhausts air out through the louvered vents on the top, this results in quieter operation as the louvers act as an additional buffer and directs the air and sound towards the back of the case. People who use water cooling will be able to mount radiators up there too. The case comes with only 1 fan at the top though. In my opinion this is a minus point. A very big minus point in fact.














Finally, let’s get to the aesthetics. Wire management will be superb with this case. Just take a look at this picture and you’ll see why. All wires can be hidden behind the mobo tray and HDD drawers. There are 4 holes in the mobo tray(2 vertical slots and 2 horizontal slots) for wires going to and from the mobo to ensure there are no surplus wires hanging around inside the mobo area. :thumbs: I will experiment with wire management in detail once I get to installing all the parts in the case.















I’ll end the aesthetics part of the review with this shot again. It’s just so nice I cant resist posting it again. This is the defining part of the Cosmos’ design in my opinion. I’ll be sure to install some red lights there later, to make it look like a rocket exhaust with flames.














Conclusion

This case is brilliant. It looks great in my opinion. However, this is a contentious point in many forums because many people have not actually seen the case in real life. They take a look at it in the pictures and just dismiss it as boring. I understand that as I too dismissed it as a boring looking design. That was until I saw it in real life at a shop. It kind of jumped out at me saying “Hey! Look at me”. I actually did a double take and turned back around because I walked past it without realising it was the Cosmos. I then took a closer look at and really liked it. Ever since then I have been waiting impatiently to review the Cosmos. I’ve finally got my hands on it and I’m in love.

The build quality is really good and solid. This is to be expected seeing as it’s made with a steel chassis. Only the handles, side panels and front door are made of aluminum to give it an exclusive look. The heavy steel chassis may be a minus point in some people’s point of view. I like it though. A good solid steel chassis keeps everything nice and sturdy. It also cuts out a lot of vibrations. Those of you who remember the good old Stacker STC-T01 will know just how good a solid steel chassis can be.

Sound insulation is absolutely fantastic. Those side panels are not just there to look good. They actually work to kill noise. The acoustic foam must be doing a good job of it. I actually tested the sound insulation property of this case. Problem is there’s no way to put that in writing so I’ll just try and describe how good the sound insulation is. I put a 90mm Delta screamer fan inside the case to test it. As you know, a Delta screamer sounds like a vacuum cleaner at 12V. So I reckoned that was the best way to check it out. As it turns out, the sound of the Delta screamer was about half of what it sounds like in free air, outside the case. This was tested by turning on the fan with the side panel open. Then I closed the side panel and the sound level dropped by half I reckon. There’s no hard facts to quantify this unless I use a sound meter but I can assure you, the Delta fan no longer sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

Finally, the tool free mechanisms are just brilliant. I’ve never liked tool free cases until I got this case. They work really well and keep everything nice and tight after installation. No rickety, crickety noises and vibrations from the cheap tool free designs in all the tool free designs I’ve seen to date. This is the first time I’m actually endorsing tool free mechanisms.

After all that glowing praise, I do have one major gripe about this case. The lack of fans. For a case at this price point, Coolermaster should provide 2x120mm fans for the top exhaust, rear exhaust, windtunnel and also include another louvered fan for the top of the HDD cage. Other than that, it’s just perfect.

I will be installing the hardware later to test the thermal characteristics and wire management results. Will update then.

[Mac Daddy]

Nice looking case and nicely written review. Noted the insulation points which are important to me I like things as quiet as possible. Roomy and some smart ideas in the layout as well

[Chai]

I saw a few flaws of the casing.

The water tubing outlet is way too small for custom setup, especially 1/2" tubings. The HDD cage has blue rubber spacer for vibration reduction (I think), but the cage is designed to transmit heat to the chassis, which is not good for noise reduction. And there's no vents on those cage, meaning no air flow across the HDD cage.

[PsYkHoTiK]

Good point Chai. The rubber grommets would not really serve a purpose. And I quite frankly like airflow over the hard drives (especially my raptor).

[ianho]

The bottom of the HDD where the motor is, that sits right on the thermal pad. That's how it's supposed to transfer heat to the drawer. It doesnt rely on the mounting points like the grommets for heat transfer. I wudnt worry much about the Raptor150. Based on experience with mine, it actually runs cooler than a normal WD Caviar 250GB. I'll be sure to check out the temps once the hardware is in. Then I'll know if the HDD cage actually works to cool the drives.

Bout the water tubing holes at the back. They're more than enuf for 1/2 tubes. I can only see a use for the tubing holes if a person wanted to use a 3x120 rad externally mounted on the back. A120mm or 2x120mm rad would fit nicely under the top panel.

[Chai]

I think you missed the point. The purpose of the rubber grommets are to reduce HDD vibrations. But since the HDD is directly touching the HDD cage, and hence the whole casing, it will create more noise, making the rubber grommets useless. It seems like we don't have a choice other than sticking the thermal pad because it won't have any airflow (no vents on the HDD cage).

I would try to mount the radiator externally because I don't want additional heat in the case.

[ianho]

The HDDs do get air in between the drawers. There's a gap of about 1cm between the drawers. So u get 1cm on top and 1cm below the HDD. That gap goes from the bottom all the way to the top. If the optional louvered fan is mounted up above the HDD cage, it shud be drawing just enuf air tru the gaps.


here's a pic of the gaps I'm talking about. That is the gap between the drawers all the way to the top vent.








U can just about make out the gap between HDDs in this pic.

[Chai]

Just a small gap...hmm...

[rafaeldb]

Great overview of the case ianho but I have a question, I want one so bad, but my table is to small for a case so high, its possible to remove the carrying bars and feet?

[ZuePhok]

i think this case is designed by a malaysian company, like the previous stacker..

so yeah, it's DUhh..