Cooler Master MasterBox 5 Review

Performance Analysis

With two 120mm fans included as standard and basically full-height front mesh offering unobstructed airflow, cooling was never going to be too much of a problem, even out of the box. The fans proved to be noticeable if we tuned down the graphics card, but are unlikely to be an issue noise-wise unless you use extremely quiet hardware.


The decent airflow certainly helped keep our test CPU and GPU cool, with a CPU delta T of 52°C a match for the larger MasterCase Pro 5 and a little better than the likes of the In Win 303 and Phanteks Eclipse P400S.


The GPU delta T was also quite good, although the MasterCase Pro 5 was a little better here, but again this case beat the Phanteks Eclipse P400S as well as numerous more expensive cases. There's clearly the potential for improving the cooling further too, by adding another front fan, although it's worth noting that the front mesh does allow a lot of noise to emanate from the case.

Conclusion

While Cooler Master describes the MasterBox 5 as a modular case, it only is in the loosest sense of the word. Don't expect to be able to flip the motherboard round or adjust the PSU mount, for example. However, the ability to place the SSD in a variety of places is handy, as is the adjustable and removable hard disk cage. The water-cooling potential is reasonable too, despite the lack of roof vents and there's plenty of clearance for graphics cards and air coolers too.

The list of competition is long, with cases such as the Phanteks Eclipse P400 and SilverStone Kublai KL05 especially both dipping under the MasterBox 5's price tag by significant amounts relative to the price range we're dealing with. This may sway those on a tight budget, but as we tested the KL05 with our old test gear we don't have comparison numbers for cooling performance. However, with two fans versus the KL05's one fan, the MasterBox 5 does have an advantage out of the box. On the flip side, the KL05 has more storage and fan mounts plus it costs £13 less. As a result, for best out-of-box cooling, the MasterBox 5 should be top of your list, while if you need more storage or want to beef up the cooling with more fans and all-in-one liquid coolers, then the KL05 would be a better bet.