In the PC-building market, we see a whole lot of merchandise cross by yearly, and the stream of latest PC instances by no means lets up. Many are so unusual, although, that they simply fade into an RGB-lit haze of comparable chassis. (RGB lights and tempered glass are not sufficient alone to lift a case-gazing eyebrow.) But from time to time a case is available in that turns our heads, and Cooler Master’s $199 MasterCase SL600M is simply such a mannequin, simply the most effective PC instances we have seen all yr. If you might be considering a brand new ATX-size big-box construct, you may’t go incorrect with this hefty, well-made chassis that packs equal elements good design, tease-worthy inside visibility, and room for comfy constructing and upgrading.
The Design: Major Metal
The MasterCase SL600M is nearly completely metallic, the important thing exception being the tempered-glass left panel. The entrance face has a plastic shroud that allows air to circulation freely into the case, however this conduit is hidden nearly completely by an aluminum sheath. The remainder of the case is both silver-colored aluminum or black metal, and the 2 distinction one another in a easy but enticing aesthetic.
It’s additionally notable that this case does not bling out with RGB LEDs. It has only a few lights on the entrance I/O panel, and these are delicate. Cooler Master designed the MasterCase SL600M’s entrance I/O panel with a pair of USB 2.0 Type-A ports, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and a USB 3.1 Type-C connector. A movement sensor detects motion close to the panel and illuminates the 4 USB Type-A ports with white LEDs whenever you come shut. It’s a nifty, even eerie, contact.
The left and proper panels maintain in place within the conventional manner. Two screws fasten every in place, and after you take away these screws, you simply want to slip the panels about an inch to the rear of the case to detach them. That requires a good quantity of pressure, greater than what I am used to on most PC instances, however that is truly a constructive side of the design. Quite a number of instances have panels that virtually flop off after they’re unscrewed (by no means factor the place tempered glass is concerned), whereas the MasterCase SL600M’s panels are comfortable sufficient that screws are barely mandatory.
One of the primary issues you’ll discover upon opening the MasterCase SL600M are two giant 200mm consumption followers set on the backside of the case. As lengthy as you retain beneath the chassis freed from litter, you should not want to fret about enough airflow into this case. A change on the entrance I/O panel connects to a built-in fan controller that may shift these followers to High, Medium, Low, or Off. The followers are barely audible when turned on High, nevertheless, and I discovered little motive to set them decrease.
Air exiting the highest of the case is partially obstructed by an aluminum panel, however this piece is simple to take away….
Underneath is a mounting bracket that may assist three 120mm followers, two 140mm followers, or two 200mm followers if you happen to really feel you want extra airflow. It’s additionally potential to put in a radiator right here, as much as 360mm lengthy, for a liquid-cooling system. The chassis does not include any factory-installed exhaust followers, although—simply the 2 large intakes down under.
Power Mounting and Cooling: Some Unusual Options
Another uncommon side of the SL600M is the facility provide unit (PSU) placement. Looking on the case from the skin, you would not guess out the place to put in the facility provide. Cooler Master added a bracket on the entrance of the case for it. An ordinary energy jack comes pre-installed on the case’s rear, which then connects to your PSU through an inner cable.
This modern PSU mounting system is a little bit of a combined bag. It makes mounting a PSU tough, which I am going to focus on extra under, nevertheless it additionally makes cable administration simpler. It additionally separates the PSU from its ordinary spot above or under the motherboard, which is what made it potential for Cooler Master to place the 2 giant 200mm followers on the backside of the case with out making the case gigantic.
The unconventional PSU setup has a destructive impression on the case’s storage-mounting scheme, although. The case has no room for 5.25-inch units equivalent to optical drives. Four places assist 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives, and one other 4 spots assist 2.5-inch drives solely, however most of those are in odd places. For instance, two of the two.5-inch/3.5-inch drive mounts are beneath the entrance panel’s plastic shroud…
Another is on the case’s rear, which I discovered an odd spot because it takes the place often occupied by an exhaust fan. It’s additionally a little bit of an ordeal to attach a drive on this location cleanly, as you’ll need to stretch SATA energy and information cables to it a lot farther than ordinary.
Fortunately, Cooler Master additionally made it potential to mount a reservoir for a water cooler right here, which might be a much better use of this mounting patch. Otherwise, I might go away it unoccupied, except you completely want that final spot for a storage machine.
The final uncommon side of the case is its PCI card bracket mounting space, which has two extra slots that sit vertically. This permits you to poise your graphics card on edge when you’ve got a riser card and an open PCI Express slot in your motherboard. (The riser will not be included, alas, not like with Cooler Master’s a lot pricier Cosmos C700M I just lately reviewed.) The key advantages of vertical mounting right here: (1) You can obtain higher airflow utilizing this configuration, because it aligns the cardboard with the circulation from the underside consumption followers, and (2) it merely appears to be like cool by the aspect panel, together with your card going through the glass. In addition, when you’ve got a number of riser playing cards, you may as well rotate the entire PCI-card bracket 90 levels, which might assist you to set up a number of dual-slot GPUs vertically and one horizontally.
It’s additionally value noting that Cooler Master designed the motherboard mounting tray with a slightly giant cutout. That makes it simple to put in CPU coolers that require a particular mounting bracket that must be connected from the board’s again. The entry space, from the correct aspect, is large, as you may see under.
Building Experience: Smooth (Vertical) Flow
As the PSU placement is uncommon on this case, let’s begin there. Adding a PSU to the SL600M is a little more work than ordinary. The sleeve designed to carry the PSU have to be indifferent from the case earlier than you may set up your PSU, and that requires taking out oodles of screws. First, a panel that runs vertically down the entrance of the case is held in place by 4. You then have to take away 10 extra, and loosen 4 thumbscrews that maintain the cage in place.
Only after that may you mount a PSU within the bracket. If you’ve gotten a modular energy provide, you must also connect any extra cables that you simply would possibly have to the PSU earlier than reattaching the PSU cage (with the PSU) within the case. It’s potential to plug extra cables right into a modular PSU after it has been positioned within the case, nevertheless it’s loads more durable to take action given the orientation, as you may see.
Routing the PSU’s cables is comparatively simple from this location, although. For one factor, being positioned on the entrance of the case, the PSU is bodily nearer to the motherboard’s 24-pin energy connector. It’s additionally nearer to the facility connectors on any graphics card or playing cards you put in, in addition to to these on most storage units. The solely exceptions to this are the CPU’s four- or eight-pin energy connector and the storage mount on the case’s rear, each of that are pretty removed from the PSU and would require some inventive cable runs. For most different parts, cables do not must journey fairly as far and far of the surplus will be hidden inside the PSU cage, when you substitute the massive vertical protect you see under, or behind the correct aspect panel.
Although placing the PSU as a replacement might take a little bit further time and foresight, this design makes up for it in different methods. Without a PSU or PSU cupboard in the way in which, you get loads of further house on the backside of the SL600M. This makes it simple to maneuver giant gadgets just like the motherboard and graphics card into place even as soon as the PSU is put in.
It’s additionally simple to mount most storage units inside the SL600M. Cooler Master provides quite a lot of small thumbscrews which might be utilized in a lot of the drive places. The notable exceptions are the 2 2.5-inch drive positions positioned behind the motherboard, which require barely extra effort and a screwdriver.
That lone 2.5-inch/3.5-inch drive mount on the case’s rear is a bit uncovered, as we talked about above, and ought to be your mount of final resort. The two on the case’s entrance require you to pop off the entrance I/O panel, however that is simple sufficient to do and in contrast to generally, would not intervene with the same old front-facing air consumption. The default circulation right here is from the underside to the highest.
Conclusion: A Solid Effort in Metal
All in all, constructing a system within the MasterCase SL600M ought to go easily if this is not your first PC-build rodeo. The PSU and storage configuration is uncommon and requires some advance planning, however Cooler Master made up for this by making the constructing expertise simpler in different methods. The motherboard zone is much less encumbered than on most chassis, for one factor.
The case can be not missing for cool options: the massive, quiet 200mm followers and their controller, in addition to the motion-sensing USB ports on the entrance, which make it simpler to attach units at midnight. Add this to the straightforward cable administration, a spacious inside, and the virtually completely metallic exterior, and Cooler Master’s MasterCase SL600M is a stable choose for consumers who like a stark however luxe look.