Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L: Review
Last year Cooler Master released one of the coolest cases for their MasterBox series, Q300L. Q300L has Mini-Tower design which supports Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards. The case was designed with a great concern for mobility, style, and customizability. In short, the release of Q300L was a huge success. This year, Cooler Master just released Q500L case which has the same characteristics as Q300L but with few internal changes. MasterBox Q500L is a Mini-Tower case with Acrylic window that supports Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX and ATX type of motherboards. Review Sample Provided by: Cooler Master Product Name: MasterBox Q500L Price at time of review: $ 59.99 USD Product was given in exchange for work done to produce this review. Technical Specifications Product Name MasterBox Q500L Product Number MCB-Q500L-KANN-S00 Exterior Color Black Materials - Body Steel, Plastic Materials - Windowed Side Panel Acrylic Dimensions 386(L) x 230(W) x 381(H) mm Motherboard Support Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX Expansion Slots 7 5.25" Drive Bays 0 Combo 3.5" / 2.5" Drive Bays 2 (each bay supports: 1 HDD or 2 SSDs) 2.5" SSD Drive Bays 0 I/O Panel - USB Ports USB 3.0 x 2 I/O Panel - Audio In / Out 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack, 1 x 3.5mm Mic Jack Pre-installed Fan(s) - Rear 120mm x 1 Fan Support - Top 120mm x 2 or 140mm x 2 Fan Support - Rear 120mm x 1 Fan Support - Bottom 120mm x 2 Radiator Support - Top 120 / 240mm (35mm max motherboard component height) Radiator Support - Rear 120mm Clearance - CPU Cooler 160mm / 6.29 inch Clearance - Power Supply 180mm / 7.08 inch Clearance - Graphics Card 360mm / 14.17 inch (270mm clearance with PSUs longer than 160mm) Cable Routing - Behind MB Tray 27~30mm Dust Filters Bottom Power Supply Support Top front mount, ATX PS2 EAN Code 4719512080580 UPC Code 884102053078 The shipping box of MasterBox Q500L is nearly identical to Q300L. This recycle friendly shipping box offers good structural support and also very light in weight. Entire package weight is about 12Lb. Some of the Q500L features are described in black and white on the box. Overall it is hard to say what color is the case or what kind of window is in this case because of the lack of the color. Internally the case was packaged in between of two plastic foam inserts which kept actual case snug in the box. The Q500L was covered with a protective plastic bag to help with any accidental scratches. The left side window is made from Acrylic and partially transparent. To keep this part of the case damage free Cooler Master applied thin plastic tape to the outer side of the Acrylic window.
The Q500L doesn’t have much of accessory pack. What I found in the case was MasterBox Q500L instruction manual, a small bag with miscellaneous screws and a warranty card. Closer Look Cooler Master Basterbox Q500L The dimensions of Q500L are 386(L) x 230(W) x 381(H) mm. The case has a left side Acrylic window with an I/O panel which could be moved around depending on preference. The right side of the case has a standard rolled steel panel that has four small rubber feet if you would like to keep this case on the side instead of upright. From the front of the case, you can see a stylish magnetic dust cover. The back of the case is 7 PCI slots which could be used with ATX motherboards. What is interesting here is the power cord extension cable that reaches deep inside of the case that connects to the power supply. On the bottom of the case is a removable dust cover along with four plastic/rubber legs. The legs are kind of thin and provide minimum support. The only logo I found on the entire case is on the front bezel. Here are the close-up shots of the power cord extender and rubber feet of Q500L. The acrylic window is 3mm thick and has a light smoke tint to it. Mounting holes in the acrylic are re-enforced with a rubber grommet. The right side door does not have any sound dampening materials on it. The frame of Q500L is rolled steel and has single rivets in each corner for support. Without any doors, the case feels very solid and does not have any flex to it. Cable management, in this case, is minimal but it does have some options to run and hide cables. The motherboard CPU cutout is small and in order to get access to the back of the motherboard, you would need to remove SSD/HDD top plate. Power Supply mounting bracket is already pre-mounted on the front side of the case. It can be removed and attached to the PSU prior to mounting. The Q500L has four removable side plates. If you are planning to mod this case you could customize this part of the case. I/O panel has a reset button, headphones and microphone jacks, power button HDD LED and two USB 3.0 connectors. The IO panel can be moved around the case so you do have some flexibility on where it mounts. Hardware Installation and Clearance Issues
Internal length: 368 mm. Internal height: 368 mm. Internal depth: 171 mm.
Front mounted:
Radiator support not available in the front.
Rear mounted:
Radiator support for 120mm. Fan Support 1 120mm. 1 Rear: 120mm Fan. (Included)
Top mounted:
Radiator support 120 / 240mm (35mm max motherboard component height). Fan Support 2 120mm or 140mm. 1 Rear: 140mm Corsair Fan. (Included)
Bottom mounted:
2 Bottom mounted 120mm.
Power Supply:
There is an internal removable plate for installing PSU. Maximum length PSU is supported is 180mm. (but could fit extended PSUs if needed)
Video Card clearance:
There is 368mm of clearance before reaching the front of the case. Suggested/Supported video card length 360mm.
CPU Tower coolers:
CPU heat-sink height clearance is about 171mm. (from the motherboard to the glass). However, recommended the height of the tower cooler is advised to be 160mm or less Small CPU backplate cutout. Just like Q300L this case is fun and challenging to put together. Getting everything fit in the case was definitely a challenge but it can be done. I am using a 1300W Evga G2 power supply and its definitely oversized for this case along with Radeon R9 290. The card basically sits up against the power supply but as I said, it could be done! Now to make things more interesting, I have Enermax FiqFusion 240 RBG radiator on top of the case which fits right against the motherboard/ram. Cable management is not bad in Q500L but I strongly recommend getting custom power supply cable to make your case as neat as possible. I had no problem with the side door and closing it with all of the PSU cables inside. There is roughly 30mm clearance between the motherboard tray and the case door.
Final Thoughts I like it! It’s different, it's small and it has potential. If you like a challenge then this case is definitely for you. Except for the largest components, (EATX motherboard and really long graphics cards), you can get pretty much anything into this case as far as components go. With full ATX motherboard support, this case really shows what it is capable of. Just like Q300L case, Q500L has some radiator support so chose your coolers wisely. The power supply mounting was moved from the bottom of the case to the front of the case. Interesting design choice if you ask me but it works and the included extension makes the installation less of a hassle.
Price of Q500L is highly affordable, $ 59.99 USD. There is really nothing on the market to compare this case with. The options of orientation, as well as a movable I/O panel, make it fairly unique. The only case that comes close to these features of being light, stylish and with numerous customization to "Make it Yours" is Q300L. I feel that the price is right at the sweet spot in the market for Mini-ATX cases. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "dewaynecarel-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B07Q8VJ17J"; amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "3df880141eab99a6fa83971019b6e195"; Read the full article