Cooler Master Cosmos II: Large and in Charge
by Dustin Sklavos on January 23, 2012 3:20 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler Master
- Full-Tower
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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tzhu07 - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
Ridiculously large (in a very bad way) and ugly. Completely unrefined in every way. Look, I don't expect everyone to have great industrial design and precision like Apple, but this case is just tacky as hell, and you might as well label any owner of it as a person who has bad taste in aesthetic composition on a general level.Who cares about its features and performance when it looks like that monstrosity.
nevertell - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
Well, I for one, don't care about the look. The PC will sit underneath the table, all I care about is noise and cooling. There is nothing worse than having insomnia due to lengthy file transfer because you skimped on the case a while back :(Death666Angel - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
In the end though, the case is just the last part in determining the noise of a PC. The component choice (CPU heatsink+fans, graphics card+fans, case fans and fan control) are much more important. :-)TGressus - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
This case is part of the Cosmos series from Cooler Master. The design should be no surprise to anyone who follows the industry.http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/category.php?categ...
The priorities you express don't align with the intended market of the product. You have wasted electricity by superfluously posting.
Death666Angel - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
So if you don't like something you have to shut up because it was obviously not meant for you? Can you be more condescending?....Tetracycloide - Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - link
In his defense that's just returning in kind. The OP was a pretty condescending ass too. Probably more so than TGressus actually.Tetracycloide - Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - link
I see, so it's an absolutely perfect case for the people who think it's perfect. That makes total sense.Stewox - Friday, February 3, 2012 - link
pretty much what i had in mindThe Apple guy who thinks this case looks bad is probably not in this category of hardcore enthusiast PCs ...
Cooler Master made a gread job and im very pleased with the effort that went into this, just like Western Digital making those Hard Drives with a window ... it was a marvelous technological achivement , it was made for the enthusiasts who know to appreciate and see the quality, obviously those glass HDDs wouldn't bring WD tons of new customers and brand popularity, and Cooler Master in this case doing in the same way as any great company would. In this case Apple is a crap company, they put out budget shit that is sold for premium and they never make enthusiast products that push the limits of tech, they don't even design anything except the packaging, the looks and color and their software, everything under-the-hood is all customized PC or Mobile parts which are made with over 200 suppliers and assembled at suicide-infested Foxconn in china. What do you think the MAC is ... it's a console with PC hardware, a closed system, it's a disgrace in morality, PCs are supposed to be open - ofcourse people found a way to delete MAC OSX and install other systems ... but then you don't need a MAC anyways, DIY custom PC hardware part-by-part is cheaper , a lot cheaper.
I would go to the grosery store and make a hamburger:
(optimal example)
- cheapest
- modest
- medium
- great
- Best
Me: (optimal financially, not hardcore setup)
- i pick a great ham
- i pick a great chese
- i pick a great salad
- i pick a great ketchup and mayo
- i pick a medium bread
- paper bag package
- i would pay 10$
Apple: ...
- would pick the cheapest chese (GPU)
- would pick the modest ham (CPU)
- would pick the cheapest salad (RAM)
- would pick the cheapest ketchup/mayo (storage space)
- would pick the best and most expensive bread ever (ex Casing)
- would package it in a super glossy shiny flashy silver plate package
- + bonus a FREE ticket to download of your item of choice on iTunez
- attach a price for 15,99 $
Which would you eat, the manual/custom hamburger or Apple hamburger ?
It's really sad to see many newer generation people who are complete ignorants how this works and this should not even be a debate here, the debate should have been about the Case and it's total win. I have always wanted handles for a case and they just fit on this design so nicely, it's not a thrown-up thing it's really part of the design.
And i don't know what wouldn and Apple fanboy be doing here talking shit about PCs. get out and go to your own wonderland.
Stewox - Friday, February 3, 2012 - link
Who cares about an apple fanboy not having idea about PCs.If you even are a PC enthusiast, and you would not buy the a hardcore case just because how it looks, is probably a very shallow reason and excuse.
Second, Apple looks so shiny and nice to attract noobs and tech-gadged buzz people who aren't technical people at all.
If you aren't in this category of enthusiasts please stop posting useless comments and go away, plenty of people will find this case a must buy, plenty of them also hate apple as they should.
Tech people will always hate Apple, that's because we know the inside of wha Apple does, they sell overpriced shiny packaged shit.
Death666Angel - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
With aluminum finish, you seem to just refer to the steel having texture as opposed to just being glossy/smooth, right? If that is the case and since aluminum can have a different texture as well, shouldn't you use different words? :-)