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Mid-Tower Mega Roundup

 by Joshua Buss on September 8, 2005 12:05 AM EST
48 Comments | Add A Comment
48 Comments
CoolerMaster Centurion 530

As an update to the Centurion 5 reviewed by us in September, the 530 has a number of improvements and makes a solid appearance in this price range, with a cost as low as $70 without a power supply.


Click to enlarge.

One of the nicer aspects of the CoolerMaster case is its ability to house five 5¼” drives, two of which have stealthy covers to mask any off-color bezels. The entire front of the case is perforated black steel and is flanked by two aluminum cylinders for both looks and a small amount of protection.


Click to enlarge.

The port cluster on the Centurian 530 is located on the top of the case, towards the very front - a placement that many users who like to keep their computers on the ground next to them will prefer, as there is much chance of accidentally kicking or just stepping on attached peripherals or cables. The power and reset buttons, along with power and HDD LEDs are also located here.

Removing the front of the 530 isn't too terribly difficult, and once it's pulled off, we can get at the removable filters. Each bay over is lined with foam, and the only other place that air can come in is through the 120mm-sized removable filter.


Click to enlarge.

Let's take a look at the back before opening the side of the 530.


Click to enlarge.

The honeycomb pattern of the 120/92/ 80mm fan grill will allow for plenty of air to move through, and we can also see that the case implements tool-less expansion card holders.

Sunbeam Trio (cont’d) CoolerMaster Centurion 530 (cont’d)
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  • Abecedaria - Sunday, September 11, 2005 - link

    What was the criteria for choosing these cases? Most of them look nasty-plasticy and even the Antec P-180, although it looks good, has a veery plasticy feel.

    Where was Silverstone in your review? They have some of the best cases available:
    http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm">http://www.silverstonetek.com/product-case.htm
    and from their new subsidiary:
    http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Chassis/chassis.htm">http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Chassis/chassis.htm

    These things rock.

    abc

  • unclebud - Monday, September 12, 2005 - link

    please consider reviewing the performance 640 next time?
    it currently includes a smartpower v2 400w, for $129
    thanks in advance

  • Rudee - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    There is an error in the article. The Sonata II does indeed have a removable air filter in the front of the case, thus should not be given a score of "0" for this catagory.

  • Tamale - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    The filter is removable from the bottom of the case only.. while this certainly is 'removable', it is nowhere near as accessible as the other cases which I gave this point to. I struggled with the idea of giving the case .5 for this category, but it wouldn't have made a difference in the end, and I really don't feel that most users would go through the trouble of tipping the case over just to clean the filter, so no points were awarded.

    Thanks for pointing out the detail though.

  • Rudee - Saturday, September 10, 2005 - link

    The Sonata II case is great. I was able to overclock a AMD 64 3700 to 2700mhz using the stock AMD heatsink and fan with one Panaflo 92mm fan in the duct over the CPU. Temps are great and I ended up returning my Zalman 7700 as I didn't need it.

  • dgkulzer - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    After 1 month of use I am very happy with my P180. Assembly does take a bit longer than a standard case if you are trying to hide your cables but that isnt much of an issue to me. I put a Phantom 500 PSU in it and because its longer than most other PSU's I had to replace the lower fan with a thinner model (Nexus 120). I have 4 hard drives in the lower chamber and the Nexus at 5 volts keeps them very cool - I havent had the Phantom fan kick on yet either.

    This is one case that looks better in person than it does in pictures, the pictures make it look like a little fridge or something but it looks pretty sweet on your desk :)

  • mschira - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    I guess the two compartment design is great for watercooling. You could put the pump reservoir etc in the lower compartment. If something leaks, the electronic is save.
    I think that's great thing...
    M.
    P.S. onla trouble is where to put the power suply...

  • Griswold - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    Kids, having a flashy computer under your desk doesnt make the chicks like you more. Say no to stupid side windows!

  • Tamale - Friday, September 9, 2005 - link

    you seem to forget that most kids who think it would look cool to have the window in the first place probably don't care about girls anyway ;)

    p.s. - most people (girls included) seem to think my all-acrylic case is pretty cool

  • Griswold - Sunday, September 11, 2005 - link

    quote:
    p.s. - most people (girls included) seem to think my all-acrylic case is pretty cool


    Besides the total lack of EM shielding (which is enough reason to not do what you did, not only because it's not allowed in many countries (I know, I know, US is different, there, the cops wont stop you if your car has only 3 wheels..)), a full acrylic case is a nice show thingie. I just find side windows embarrassing, especially when the rest of the case looks like Optimus Prime's chest armor.
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