Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 Chassis Review

Introduction

I wonder how many of you have noticed how Cooler Master stopped launching new products for quite a while? It’s been ages since they brought out a new chassis, a new power supply, a new peripheral. If you didn’t notice, we certainly did and it wasn’t until Computex 2015 when we finally found out why the team at CM had gone so quiet; they were cooking up something big, very big! 2015 marks the year when Cooler Master take the PC component market by storm with their Maker concept. They’ve re-tooled everything they do, getting back to their core concepts of design, function and a whole lot more.

Why have one chassis when you can have all the chassis you need in one? The Maker series is moddable by its very nature, need it for NAS, need it for a gaming system, HTPC, LAN rig, office rig, rendering station, its really up to you. Cooler Master will provide you with the parts and configuration options you need to achieve a more personal build all by yourself and really make your rig yours. At least, that’s the promise, but we’ll find out today just how much of this has been achieved.

Cooler master said they channeled their MAKER SPIRIT to design a case that:

1. Gives absolute control over how a case looks and functions through a flexible, modular system.
2. Introduces an eco-system of accessories and add-ons that provide the ability to Customize. Adjust. Upgrade.
3. Was designed in collaboration with a community of makers and power users to inspire self-expression.
4. Redefines the way PCs are designed, made, bought, and used

There’s three editions of this chassis, each with their own unique features and of course, the ability to upgrade any of the lower models to the higher models by buying the extra bits.

Brace yourself, specification overload is coming! The MasterCase 5, Pro 5 and no doubt the TBD Maker 5, come with support for extensive water cooling, air cooling, motherboard sizes, lots of storage, long graphics cards, dust filters and more!

Check out the very interesting video below for more information on how “Maker” works.

We have in our hands today the MasterCase Pro 5, which means we have the same core chassis as the 5, but with the Pro parts pre-fitted. That’s right, you can buy the base model and upgrade anytime! Or you can jump right in and buy the Pro. Of course, the whole concept here is that you can tweak either of them to suit your needs and make the MasterCase into whatever you like.

First impressions of the chassis are very promising and despite the design featuring a lot of strong angles, the chassis still manages to look smart and sleek. There’s a huge side panel window on the left side, perfect for showing off your build.

The right side panel is just a blank panel, but just like the left panel, it is mounted with a pair of easy access thumb screws.

The angular design of the front panel looks really nice, still fresh and modern, but still unmistakably a Cooler Master design. There’s a pair of 5.25″ drive bays, as well as a huge ventilated section for any front mounted cooling.

Around the back, you’ll see a handle section at the top, matching the one near the front of the top panel; should make carrying you rig to LAN events a lot easier! This is an ATX chassis, so you’ll also find 7 expansion slots on offer; more than enough room for a multi-GPU configuration.

There is a 120/140mm fan mount at the back, with height adjustable mounting and a 140mm fan pre-installed.

There’s a removable bracket at the back to help with mounting the PSU from the rear of the chassis,

As well as a slide out dust filter, which will help provide your PSU with clean air.

The top panel is very sleek-looking and slopes gently towards the back of the chassis. There’s a huge amount of ventilation here and that’ll be great for any top mounted cooling, or removing heat from your system passively.

The front panel is nicely laid out with an almost symmetrical appearance. There’s a pair of USB 3.0 ports, but there’s also quite a lot of space here that could have been put to use; more USB ports perhaps?

The underside features two extra-large and full-width feet, which means the Master Case feels very stable overall. It’s helped even further by four tough rubber strips; two on each of the feet.

The PSU dust filter is a good size and fits in pretty snug. It’s washable too, so maintenance of the filter will be nice and easy.