Cooler Master Cosmos SE Case Review

[Guest]

Cooler Master’s Cosmos gaming cases are well-known for their extravagant carrying handles. The Cosmos SE is the smallest member of this line-up, selling for as low as $150 online. It has room for lots of fans and three radiators, attracting enthusiasts.

Cooler Master Cosmos SE Case Review : Read more

 

[VVV850]

Why put "carrying handles" on a 10KG (when empty) case? IMHO they are useless and add to the total weight and from my experience, when you have finished assembling your new PC you add approximately 5KG to the weight of the case. 15Kgs with carrying handles...

 

[SessouXFX]

The handles, more or less adds to the look, and strangely enough, some guys take theirs to a Lan party. I once read a review where some guy complained about not having a way to carry his Corsair 800D around to Lan parties,and complained about the case feet breaking off. So there's some numbskulls out there that can't seem to figure it out for themselves...The way I see it, in the case you need to move your case around, at least you have them. You may not want to move it around all the time, but it's better to have them and not need them, than to need them and find your back thrown out of whack because of lifting it without them.

 

[blackmagnum]

$170 gaming god of a case. Nothing can beat it at this price. If only it would come in pink... for Valentine's...

 

[JOSHSKORN]

Was this case not available 3 months ago?

 

[cypeq]

Why put "carrying handles" on a 10KG (when empty) case? IMHO they are useless and add to the total weight and from my experience, when you have finished assembling your new PC you add approximately 5KG to the weight of the case. 15Kgs with carrying handles...

No one is forcing you to get this one with carry handles... CM and others provide you with plenty of choice. I for one would prefer to have them on quality case. Even if I have to move it only few times a year ( I have CM Storm Scout ).I say bless that handle it's so much easier to pick up and move around, and I have one hand free to open doors grab cables whatever. I is just very convenient.

P.S. 15 kg one handed should not be a problem for you, bro do you even lift ? ;-D

 

[pf12351]

I am actually quite glad this review is out, I bought this just last week. I got all my components in!

 

[pf12351]

Also, it is 10.8 KG. The handles do help a tonne.

 

[ubercake]

I never really got the point of putting front fans in a case whose airflow is immediately blocked by HDD bays or mounts turned sideways (even those not occupied due to design). I understand turning the mounts saves space in the depth direction, but completely blocks the intake's airflow. This is why I think it is key for any advanced case to be designed to allow you to remove the HDD bays that aren't in use. Why even bother with fans whose output has to pass through a bunch of obstacles? This renders the intake of airflow virtually ineffective.

 

[GoliathPtXs]

This case needs a REV.2 with that 3rd optical issue solved. waiting for it. either that or the new fantastic corsair graphite 760T...decisions... decisions...

 

[Au_equus]

"The screw holes for the radiator could have been a bit more toward the side of the case to avoid collisions between tall CPU coolers and thick radiators (or radiators with fans on both sides)."

Is it not the idea of using radiators is to avoid using tall CPU coolers? The biggest concern for watercooling in regards to the top radiator mount is clearing the tall memory heatsinks that some memory manufacturers use.

 

[ubercake]

"The screw holes for the radiator could have been a bit more toward the side of the case to avoid collisions between tall CPU coolers and thick radiators (or radiators with fans on both sides)."

Is it not the idea of using radiators is to avoid using tall CPU coolers? The biggest concern for watercooling in regards to the top radiator mount is clearing the tall memory heatsinks that some memory manufacturers use.

True. Also, the heatsinks over the power section of the motherboard need to be considered. This usually becomes an issue with a lot case designs. A case with a motherboard that mounts too close to the top of the case itself is definitely a design flaw in the age of radiators and low-cost self-contained liquid coolers.

 

[VVV850]

The reason I wrote that I don't find the point in putting handles on a heavy case (15Kgs built PC is not by any chance LAN party material even if you lift bro ) is because I would love to see handles on quality cases made of aluminum (Lian Li for example) from which a full ATX case weighs about 5-6 Kgs empty. Believe me: a 10kg full ATX PC (that I drag around at the end of the week) is significantly light than a PC built using this case.Another thing, cases made of plastic and steel are not quality cases (my opinion) even if they are properly built and properly designed.In the end, I agree that the handles may help some.

 

[ram1009]

I wish I could still buy an Enlight.

 

[burkhartmj]

I think the reason the handles don't necessarily make huge sense is because if you're looking to lug a desktop to LAN parties, it's becoming more and more feasible to get a mini-ITX or even micro-ATX case that is WAY smaller and WAY lighter than this. This is the route I'll be going for my next desktop build, either with a Cooler Master Elite 130 or a BitFenix Prodigy.

On the other hand extra features don't hurt, especially when they're executed well, and we all have to transport our desktop at some point, even if it's only once in a blue moon or when moving. On top of that, while smaller computers are getting feature parity fast, they can't quite measure up to something like this yet, and will never have the expandability of something this size.

 

[James Mason]

From my experience with the original Cosmos S, the handles on the bottom actually make the case super easy to push around on a carpeted floor, which is nice because when you have 4 hard drives 4 graphics cards and a 1000W psu in the thing it gets pretty freaking heavy, and the handles on top do make carrying it around a bit easier, the Cosmos S was freaking huge for a computer case, carrying it by like you would a mid tower or mini tower is a bit unfeasible because it's so big it blocks your vision.

 

[chumly]

Ugly!

 

[lp231]

Those who had this case says the motherboard tray isn't enough room to allow easy installation of SATA cables and other connectors that needs to be plugged along the edge.

 

[jimmysmitty]

The handles, more or less adds to the look, and strangely enough, some guys take theirs to a Lan party. I once read a review where some guy complained about not having a way to carry his Corsair 800D around to Lan parties,and complained about the case feet breaking off. So there's some numbskulls out there that can't seem to figure it out for themselves...The way I see it, in the case you need to move your case around, at least you have them. You may not want to move it around all the time, but it's better to have them and not need them, than to need them and find your back thrown out of whack because of lifting it without them.

In all honesty, I have lifted one of these filled with components and the handles do not help in lifting the case much in that case as it puts all the weight pulling down. It is still easier to properly lift it with your legs and arms around it. I honestly was never a fan of the Cosmos series, mainly as I don't know who would want to move such a large case around very often. If I got a case like this, or the Corsair 900D which I would over this, I wouldn't move that thing around much at all. Just too large and too heavy for that.

 

[ZippyPinhead]

Another cheap wannabe NERD case from CM, the king of the nerd case mfg's!

 

[toddybody]

170.00 for that? Oh gosh, its one ugly case. I hope the feature set provides value to folks though...

 

[qbsinfo]

8 expansion slots please.

 

[tupacalypse]

Man They need to make a windows for the Cosmos II !

 

[JohnMD1022]

It would be nice to see dimensions in English measurement as well as metric.I shouldn't have to hunt around for a calculator to read an article.

 

[RedJaron]

$170 gaming god of a case. Nothing can beat it at this price. If only it would come in pink... for Valentine's...

Sarcasm, perhaps? I'll take a Raven 3 over this any day. The Cosmos might have more places to mount a radiator, but the Raven's airflow really accentuates its cooling. Add in the 8th card slot and it's not a contest to me.

Another thing, cases made of plastic and steel are not quality cases (my opinion) even if they are properly built and properly designed.

I'm not following this. Not everyone needs or cares for an aluminum case. Steel may be a little heavier, but it's definitely cheaper and more rigid. And plastics come in many quality levels ( though molding aesthetics are of course subjective. )

From my experience with the original Cosmos S, the handles on the bottom actually make the case super easy to push around on a carpeted floor, which is nice because when you have 4 hard drives 4 graphics cards and a 1000W psu in the thing it gets pretty freaking heavy, and the handles on top do make carrying it around a bit easier, the Cosmos S was freaking huge for a computer case, carrying it by like you would a mid tower or mini tower is a bit unfeasible because it's so big it blocks your vision.

I know it's not a likely occurrence, but the static build-up and damage potential of that scenario makes me cringe.