CoolerMaster Cosmos II : The Ultra Tower Case Review

[siopao1984]

---

The Ultra Tower; that’s what CoolerMaster classes their latest flagship chassis as. A bold, even smug statement some would believe and we too were filled with doubt; at least until we gazed upon the new Cosmos II. The CoolerMaster Cosmos II is a case of colossal proportions and loaded with features, designed to be an enthusiast’s dream. Want to see what CoolerMaster’s manifestation of a “Dream Case” looks and performs like? Then read on this review.Manufacturer’s features and specificationsKey features

• Stylish and streamlined race-car inspired design
• Brushed aluminum and steel for strength and elegance
• Airflow Optimized Design
• Supports up to 10 fans and 13 HDDs (2 from X-dock)
• Supports 4 Way SLI/CF
• Supports XL-ATX / SSI CEB / SSI EEB boards
• Advanced Control Panel includes 4 channel fan speed control
• Rich I/O support: USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 4, e-SATA x 1, Audio In and Out

Available Color	Midnight Black
Material	Exterior: Aluminum, Mesh, Synthetics Interior: Steel-Alloy, Synthetics, Rubber
Dimension (W / H / D)	344 x 704 x 664 mm / 13.5 x 27.7 x 26.1 inch
Weight	22 kg / 48.5 lb
M/B Type	Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX, XL-ATX, SSI CEB, SSI EEB
5.25" Drive Bay	3
3.5" Drive Bay	13 (2 from X-docking with key locks 5 HDDs in the Middle cage 6 HDDs in the bottom cage
I/O Panel	USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 4, e-SATA x 1, Audio In and Out
Expansion Slots	10+1
Cooling System	Front: 200mm LED fan x 1, 700 RPM, 19 dBA Top: 120mm black fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA (200mm fan x 1 / 140mm fan x 2 / 120mm fan x 3) Rear: 140mm fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 19 dBA Side: 120mm fan x 2 (optional) HDD: Mid.HDD: 120x25mm fan x 1 (optional) Bottom HDD: 120mm fan x 2, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA
Power Supply	ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional)
2.5"/3.5"- SATA HDD Drive Bay	11 (converted from 3.5" cages)
Maximum Compatibility	CPU cooler height: 190mm / 7.48 inch VGA card length: 385mm / 15.15 inch

[siopao1984]

CoolerMaster supplies the Cosmos II inside a huge, heavy cardboard box. The artwork on the box is very subtle, with the smaller sides of the box being purple and the main surfaces black and decorated with a picture of the case itself. Inside the box we found the case protected by two large polystyrene foam slabs and wrapped in a thick nylon bag. Despite the massive weight of the case, the box and the packaging feel strong enough to sufficiently protect it during shipping.



Bundled with the case you will find a well-written black and white manual, many simple black cable ties, five sticky cable straps, black screws and washers, keys for the hot swap drive cages, an EPS extension cable, a small speaker and radiator support braces for those who will decide to install a watercooling radiator at the bottom compartment of their Cosmos II (more on this later).

[siopao1984]

Out of the box (and you are probably going to need help for that) the very presence of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II is majestic. Describing the Cosmos II as “large and heavy” would be as much as an understatement as describing Mount Everest as “tall”. Measuring 70cm tall, 67cm deep and 35cm wide, the Cosmos II is colossal and the massive proportions of the case do not stop on the size alone; the Cosmos II weights more than 22.4kg when completely empty, a figure that will drive several people back to the gyms.



The front of the case is partly covered by a shield-like door, while the other half consists of a honeycomb metallic mesh. The front ports of the case can be seen partially exposed at the top of the faceplate. CoolerMaster’s logo can be seen at the lower middle part of the sliding door.



The sliding door covers the external bays and two small magnets secure it when closed. When open the door will cover most of the metallic mesh, yet the remaining mesh surface is more than adequate for the intake fan. There are three 5.25” covers and two locking 3.5” hot swap trays beneath the sliding door. To remove the covers one has simply to pull the plastic latch. Especially for the 3.5” hot swap tray covers, pulling open the cover will also pull the drive outwards, assisting in its easy removal.



To remove the lower part of the mesh and clean the filter you only have to pull it outwards from the bottom of the case. The blue LED 200mm intake fan is hidden beneath the mesh, cooling the top disk tray and serving as the system’s main air intake.



The front panel connectors and the case buttons can be seen at the top of the case, partially hidden by yet another sliding door. The door leaves the ports exposed but covers all of the buttons. To open the door the user has to simply push it backwards. Do NOT pull the sliding door upwards or attempt to lift the case from it as it will most certainly break off.



Beneath the top sliding door one will find the hidden front control buttons. The main power button covers the middle, with three smaller buttons installed at each of its sides. Four control the speeds of the case fans, one controls the LED lights and one is the reset button. There are also four USB 2.0 connectors, two USB 3.0 connectors, headphone and microphone jacks and an eSATA port.



When the system is powered on, the fan controller buttons light up. The fan controls have three settings, blue (minimum speed), purple (half speed) and maximum speed (red). The fan controller can handle up to 1A per channel, not per fan! Be careful about how many fans you will connect to each channel.

[siopao1984]

The massive side panels of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II case are covered by a sheet of brushed aluminum. Vents form a sharp, aggressive design of quick angles and straight lines. Steel handles can be seen at both the bottom and top of the case.



The rear of the case partially reveals its layout, with the extruded PSU compartment found at the bottom of the case. The latches securing the side panels can also be seen and pushing them downwards releases the side panel doors.



There are three rubber grommets covering the holes for those users who will decide not to install a watercooling system entirely inside the Cosmos II, even though as we will later see most commercial computer watercooling radiators will easily fit inside this chassis. The user can use the third grommet to route any necessary cables.



The top panel mesh cover can be removed only after removing a thumbscrew from the rear of the case, revealing the mounting spots for the top exhaust fans. There is a single 120mm exhaust fan installed but the users can install either up to three 120mm fans, two 140mm fans or a single 200mm fan. Watercooling users are given ample space to install an up to 3x120mm radiator.

[siopao1984]

The side panels of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II can be opened by pressing downwards two plastic levers found at the rear of the case. The thick and heavy side panels will then start sliding open from the rear of the case. We think that it would be much more efficient if they would open from the front side of the case, allowing the user to make minor adjustments without having to remove the side panel completely. The side panels can be removed by simply pulling them upwards once they are open. Thankfully the hinges are large and made out of steel, ensuring that it would take a considerable amount of force to cause any kind of damage.



The left side panel also has a net dust filter and mounting points for two optional 120mm fans. In order to clean that filter one has to remove three screws and slide the lowermost part of the panel outwards. A similar but smaller filter with no fan mounting points is found on the right side panel as well.



The interior of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II case is all dark, down to the case cables and thumbscrews, cooling fans, latches, trays and almost everything else. Only the fan connector cables are colored for keying purposes. As anyone would have come to expect from the size of the case, the interior of the Cosmos II is very spacious and versatile. The motherboard tray is large, able to support up to XL-ATX motherboards, while large elliptical openings covered with rubber grommets for cable routing can be seen to its right side. A massive opening can be seen at the motherboard tray, right behind the CPU area, allowing users to install large coolers without having to dismantle their entire system. CoolerMaster essentially separated the bottom part of the case from the main system, leaving only a few holes covered by rubber grommets for routing the necessary cables between the two compartments.



Two of the exhaust fans can be found mounted at the rear and top panels of the case. The rear fan is a black 140mm fan and the top fan also is a black 120mm fan, both of which are rated at 1200RPM maximum speed.



Every last one of the 10 expansion slot covers is partially perforated, allowing small volumes of fresh air to enter (or, depending on the configuration of the cooling fans, exit) the case. Thumbscrews are used to hold the expansion cards, although a screwdriver should be used for firm long term installation. CoolerMaster also included a vertical expansion slot which of course is not meant to be used by any kind of expansion card which needs to be connected to the motherboard, it can however be used by accessories such as fan speed controller rheostats, diagnostic LEDs, switches and any other similar device which takes up an expansion slot without being actually connected to any of the motherboard’s slots, thus effectively saving the user from having to lose an usable motherboard slot.

[siopao1984]

The external 5.25” drives are being secured by a relatively simple but highly effective tool-less locking mechanism. To secure or release the drive the user only has to push the large plastic button on the side of the cage. The two hot-swap 3.5” disk trays are firmly secured with normal screws but they can still be removed for the sake of adding more 5.25” devices.



A total of five HDD trays are present at the front part of the case, all removable with black locking plastic hinges holding them into place. The installation of drives is tool-less, with the drive being locked inside the tray by means of metallic studs held in place with anti-vibration rubber. These trays can accommodate 2.5” drives as well but they will have to be screwed onto the tray.



Six more HDD trays can be found behind two side intake 120mm/1200RPM cooling fans at the bottom compartment of the Cosmos II. The plastic cover holding the fans opens much like a door and locks closed with a simple plastic hinge.



The lower compartment HDD trays are all black and essentially identical to the trays of the top compartment. The bays are facing sideward, allowing the quick removal of the disks or of the whole bay itself. Yet another 120mm intake cooling fan can be installed at the front of these HDD bays.



The two lower compartment HDD cages are attached to the case by means of two thumbscrews and a plastic hinge. By removing the thumbscrews, the user can easily insert and remove both of the drive cages. The cages can also be removed completely and be replaced by a dual fan watercooling radiator.



The PSU area can be seen at the bottom rear part of the case. The power supply has to be inserted from the rear side of the case, after removing the extruded cover of course, and it rests on a metallic table layered with a soft anti-vibration material. The area beneath the PSU is perforated, allowing for fresh air to be sucked in by its intake.



Our ICTT system easily fits inside the CoolerMaster Cosmos II and our Flex-ATX size board is not large enough to even cover the motherboard tray opening meant for the easy installation of CPU coolers. Only an XL-ATX motherboard would end right where the first line of rubber grommets are, while a standard ATX motherboard would stop 4-5cm before the holes. Long, virtually non-existent GFX cards of up to 39cm will easily fit inside the colossal Cosmos II. It is also interesting to note that the top compartment drive cage bays are not cramped together; CoolerMaster left a significant distance from drive to drive, improving the air intake flow.

[siopao1984]

In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The three HDD dummies were installed inside the top drives cage. The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.



The fact that the thermal performance of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II is astonishing came as no surprise; the colossal size of the case, the high levels of airflow and the compartmentalized design leave no other possible outcome. The Cosmos II made short work of our thermal testing station which, despite the massive thermal load it generates, was not enough to considerably stress a case of this magnitude in 90 minutes. Although the case comes with many of the fan slots unoccupied, the stock fans appear more than capable to handle any thermal load with ease. The compartmentalization appears to be highly efficient and the temperatures of the front HDD cage are proof of that, with the exhaust temperature rising considerably higher without dragging the temperature of the drive’s cage along with it.

The CoolerMaster Cosmos II generates 36.4dB(A) with its stock fans running at maximum speed; not a very impressive acoustics performance figure but this setting was meant to offer the best possible thermal performance, not acoustic comfort. The onboard fan controller of the Cosmos II adds a lot of versatility to the overall setup. With all of its fans running at medium speed the noise level drops down to 32.2dB(A), a comfortable figure for almost every kind of user, while those who are seeking maximum acoustics comfort can set all fans at low speed which drops the noise levels down to 26.9dB(A), an inaudible figure.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

Quality wise, no one can doubt that the CoolerMaster Cosmos II is one of the best designed and strongest computer cases that have been ever made. The steel handles and thick chassis ensure the outstanding mechanical cohesion of the system, the aluminum layered doors and front buttons create a solid and classy visual theme while even the plastic parts are thick and very well made. It is a product nothing short of formidable, designed and built as if CoolerMaster intended it to withstand an artillery barrage; not without cost though, since the colossal size and solidity of the Cosmos II also make it the heaviest tower case available to the retail market today. After a full system has been installed inside the Cosmos II, the weight of the entire system will most likely surpass 30kg.

Quality Score 9.5/10



Performance (30% of the total score)

The thermal performance of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II is undoubtedly among the best we have ever encountered. The colossal size of the chassis, along with the multitude of cooling fans and the cleverly compartmentalized design, creates the perfect case for performance-driven enthusiasts. And by adding a relatively simple three speed fan controller, CoolerMaster made the Cosmos II a very versatile product by allowing the user to choose their own level of thermal/acoustics performance balance at any time, even on the fly.

Performance Score 10/10



Aesthetics (30% of the total score)

Aesthetics are a subjective topic and the Cosmos II bears no exception to that rule. Although it is a case of exceptional quality and majestic appearance, not every user enjoys the display of a massive, super-heavy chassis. The futuristic, sharp design makes it perfect for enthusiasts and gamers but at the same time the Cosmos II would look excessive in a neat and/or business environment. Some will not like the large steel handles, which however are crucial given the massive weight of the case. We believe that the Cosmos II is nearly perfect for the market it is intended for - gamers and hardcore enthusiasts. For everyone else, we are not exactly sure this is the kind of product they would be looking for.

Aesthetics Score 9.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

Almost every grand product has an Achilles’ heel. We could go on praising the performance, quality and versatility of the CoolerMaster Cosmos II for many paragraphs to come; however that will not change the fact that the Cosmos II not only is an extremely bulky and heavy product but also is one of the most expensive cases ever made. The high retail price of 350$ USD / 299€ EUR (about 440$ SGD at the time of this review) is not unreasonable considering that CoolerMaster obviously spent quite some time developing this product and taking into account the materials used to manufacture it, yet on the other hand the Cosmos II costs as much as a cheap PC all by itself. It is designed to be an enthusiast’s “Dream Case” and much like every “dream” product it is reserved for those whose enthusiasm and wallet are equally large.

Value Score 7.5/10

[toweweng]

the Cosmos II weights more than 22.4kg when completely empty

hapit naman cya ma tunga sa sako sa bugas.. wala pa gani ni sulod ha.. good luck na lang ani kung i apil sa lan party..

[cointoss]

kalma ra kaayo ang presyo oi.. 24K!!