Cooler Master MasterCase H500M ARGB Airflow ATX Mid-Tower with Quad Tempered Glass Panels, Dual 200mm Customizable ARGB Lighting Fans, Type-C I/O Panel, and Vertical GPU Slots (MCM-H500M-IHNN-S00)

I purchased the H500 for a high-end, air-cooled AMD 5950X + Nvidia 3090 build. The case is just about the right size and offers plenty of options to mount components. The two giant 200mm in-take fans offer a unique look and a lot of airflow. All the mesh components have a magnetic mesh filter that can be easily removed and cleaned. The power supply shroud nicely hides the mess of wires. There are also plenty of tie downs to neatly route wires around the case. Since it is a mesh case, it can get noisy given all the openings for airflow. However, this should be expected as the alternative would be to do a liquid cool system that would not rely on so many fans. When using the Noctua NH-D15 cooler, the case doesnt have enough width to fit the second 140mm cooler fan over the RAM modules. I resorted to using a 120mm fan instead which will offer enough clearance. (So if you are looking at the Noctua NH-D15, get the NH-D15S instead which only comes with 1 fan and you can purchase a 120mm fan separately). I purchased the case during a rebate promotion. The instructions were confusing since it asked for a physical UPC which my box did not have. This was remedied through customer service although I have yet to receive the rebate.

All in all the case is pretty solid. Offers a nice amount of cable management space, the two big 200mm fans are quiet and move a lot of air (although Im replacing them with 3x120mm fans). A 360mm liquid cpu cooler radiator will fit in the front of the case; however, the tubes are supposed to be on the bottom when you front mount, and the HDD Bay blocks where the tubes should go, so you have to remove the HDD bay (indefinitely) to properly install a 360mm radiator. Even if you dont need the HDD Bay, ensure that the tubes on your cooler are at **LEAST** 16 inches. The 360mm cooler master radiator has ~12in tubes and it wouldnt reach the cpu when routed around the GPU and beneath the RAM. I returned my 360mm and opted for a 240mm, awaiting that item(Dec 20th) and will update the review if necessary. You could also squeeze a 360mm radiator at the top of the case, but half of the third fan will be blocked. This isnt advisable, and CM website states the top only supports up to 240/280mm, with predrilled holes for the screws to secure the radiator to the top of the case. If you do want to put a 360 at the top, youll want some thin black washers, since the predrilled holes are for 240/280, the holes wont line up for a 360mm. The vent holes at the top of the case are just a hair too big, and allow screws to freely move through them, slapping a small black washer between the top of the case and the screw will allow you to use any vent hole as a screw hole, and the magnetic dust cover will hide it all without a problem at all. The front mesh panel is a little bit thin, but thats not uncommon. Just be careful when moving the pc around, pulling it out of the box, etc, to not press too hard on the front mesh panel, as the mesh could bend and become unsightly. It is nice that they also include the clear front panel as well, although that would hugely reduce the airflow and I wouldnt reccomend it in a mid-high end gaming pc. The quality of material in the rest of the case is pretty superb. Thick metal, nice cable grommets, full array of mobo standoffs presinstalled. The PSU cover/shroud is a tiny bit flimsy, but thats no big deal since its held in by a screw and rarely ever gets touched after the first installation. The HDD bay is a neat design, with little doors that you open and can pull the HDD tray straight out, install the HDD on the tray, slide the tray back in and close the door. The whole case is modular, and you can remove any panel that you dont like inside the PC, including the HDD bays, the power cable cover, the psu shroud, etc.

USB Ports were good the first year and a half, ever since then I’ve been dealing with on and off ports that would heat up for some random reason and then on top of that would cause the PC to freeze for a second everytime I had my controller plugged in and was playing a fast paced game. It wouldn’t really happen playing casual games or casually playing. I play Bluetooth now, but even then, the Bluetooth devices are faulty now too, and I feel like it’s also due to the ports maybe causing the Bluetooth drives to overheat and probably malfunction. Now my controller won’t stay connected to the computer even if it’s fully charged. It will connect for a few seconds and then disconnect immediately.

Very impressed with the Airflow of this case, I just wish they offered it without RGB or without fans. The included fans work great but cant help to think how much I could have saved without the RGB option. The cooling is excellent. I have an i9-9900k on air along with an EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra. Prior to moving my components over to this case, they were in an iBuyPower Glass RGB case, which was horrible for any type of cooling. The i9-9900k was on water as well. Moving to this Cooler Master case, the temperatures for both the GPU and the CPU on air dropped drastically. I did order a third 200mm fan, the same model as the front fans, to go in the top. I liked this case so much that I bought another one to use during the upgrade of my older system, which was also on water. I put an EVGA 3070 XC3 Ultra in it along with an i5-10600k. I went with air cooling on this setup as well and it worked great. I like the features of the is case. For example the shroud for the PSU is not full length. This helps with cooling a lot since some full length shrouds significantly block the airflow of the bottom front fan. Not so in this case. There is some nice hardware included for SSD drives to mount them on the backside behind the motherboard. There is also a place between the front of the case and the back of the PSU shroud to mount two drives, SSD or HDD. By far the best case I have owned regardless of price.

I could see where others have a problem setting up the RGB, Luckily my x570 has connections for it. Its quite large so space may be an issue for some. I originally had a Cooler Master H500 with a ml240r AIO (3700X). I swapped to the H500M with a ML360 AIO. Didnt see a drastic temp change at idle, but under load it dropped around 8-10C. The biggest difference was the GPU temp. Id average 75C playing BFV on ultra. (Red Devil 5700XT) After the case and AIO swap, Im seeing 65C max. Junction temp stays around 80C. I didnt change any fan settings, but I do have it set to 100% when it hits 55C. Cable management is easy enough. Not near as many tie down points as the H500, but there are 3 large covers on the backside. There are 0 cables exposed on the backside of my case. TLDR CPU and GPU temps dropped a lot. Easy cable management. Lot of screws to remove to fully disassemble. Overall, 10/10 would recommend.

Let me start by saying that the normal price for this case is a hundred dollars. If significantly more is being asked for it, just be aware that you are paying more than MSRP. That said, this is an excellent case. It is better than the older Cooler Master case I was using before. The airflow is amazing, and the aesthetics are very much to my liking. The lighting isnt overdone or gaudy. The thick tempered glass side panel is really nice. The cable management is outstanding, with holes right where you want them, and covers to make everything look really clean. They give you a generous amount of space behind the back panel and spots for zip ties to keep all your cables where you want them. It has two trays that can take a HDD or an SSD, and two spots on the back to mount SSDs out of sight. The front fans look fantastic, and they move an insane amount of air while remaining super, super quiet. The included optional RGB switch works great if you dont have a motherboard that supports RGB control (I dont). Do be aware that the rear exhaust fan is not RGB. I had a fan from my old case that I used to replace it. I also added a 140mm fan from my old case to the top for extra exhaust, and that gave me almost perfect neutral pressure. Its just barely positive pressure now, which I consider to be ideal. I still have the mesh front panel on, and I think it looks great, but if maximum airflow isnt necessary for your build, the included acrylic front panel looks really nice as well. One of the main reasons I got this case is that is has a handle on top. I usually game in my living room, but I have a dedicated VR room as well, so I have to carry my tower across the house pretty often. The handle on this is great. They dont tell you this, but there is a second handle under the bottom front support, so you can carry it with both hands. Its heavy, but you can really get a secure hold on it. Its also very doable with just the top handle. I found this case to be a joy to build in. Every aspect of the build quality feels like a more expensive case. I honestly cant believe they are selling these for a bill. I would have felt I got my moneys worth even if I had paid half again as much. I would strongly recommend this case. I am super happy with it, and my PC buddies are jealous.

As a HAF person for the last 15 years, follows the family, its big and heavy. Other then needing a handcart to move it OMG, this case is amazing. I was posting dozens of pics to discord as i built my machine. I will add going back to the big, i put a atx board in it, and could still park my pup inside, but beware cable length. its also what id call a case and a half wide, so while its great for adding your things.. its a big un. 10/10 super happy with this case

Lets get the positives out of the way: - Great airflow from the front, cooler temps are virtually guaranteed because of the mesh lets in a lot of air even with the fine dust filter - Long cable lengths - Simple, easy, elegant SSD mounting mechanism Moving on to the negatives: - Cable management is a horror show; my fingers were bruised trying to get the cables to behave and to be able to fit the cable cover on the back side; needs to be forced in, pressing heavily on the cables. - You cannot easily fit a 280mm rad (e.g. Kraken X-63). I had to remove the vertical plate that provides the attachment point for the GPU anti sag bracket. - For 280mm rads, you cannot mount the fans below the rad in a pull config (or a push/exhaust); only option is to put the fans on top, leaving just about an inch of clearance between it and the glass top panel, which brings me to the next point - For this price, you should also provide the option for a mesh top panel like in the front. Putting glass panels everywhere just cuz you think it is cool at the expense of not actually helping keep the case cool is anything but cool. Top mounted radiators will have poor airflow. - The 200mm fans are quiet at low RPM but set it full speed and you will hear a periodic hum. Also the fans wobble. They are not PWM either and the included controller is for ARGB only and not even a fan controller. - Biggest gripe is the front panel has alignment issues; the plastic panel doesnt attache properly and the right side keeps popping out. (see pics). Im sorry but for this price this is unacceptable. - Also unacceptable is the build rigidity; take off the side and top panels, and yank the case a bit and the underlying metal frame bends and distorts so bad; the case depends on putting all the other pieces in to gain rigidity; this in my opinion is poor structural design. The motherboard tray also bends easily. The last 2 negatives and not having an option for a mesh top panel are pretty much are deal breakers for me as it should for anyone not wanting to overpay for something that should have been a $100 cheaper. And at exactly 100 cheaper you get the Phanteks Eclipse P600S. Ive tested it, it performs equally or slightly better than this case in terms of cooling and building in that case is a pleasure I would pull everything out and put it back in just for that! As a bonus it has noise dampening material built in that keeps noise close to the rooms noise floor!

My latest build I wanted to go completely air cooled and when I saw the Cooler Master H500, I knew that I needed it. Putting all my components in and routing the cabling was so much easier than my Corsair case as there is a decent amount of room inside due to the lack of 5.25 inch drive bays. Cable management was great as well and the shroud that goes over the power supply helps hide excess cabling and there are plenty of tie down points. Those big 200mm fans move quite a bit of air and are very quiet. I havent had a chance yet to test the temperature differences but Id venture a guess that its better with the increased airflow. I sit right next to the case and its hard to notice them, the CPU cooler (stock AMD for now, new cooler coming) is noisier than they are. The RGB is pretty bright as well, so if thats your thing, youre covered. Works with Aura Sync, probably would work with others as well. A word of caution: the case is fairly tall, especially in the front where the handle and front I/O is. If youre trying to stuff this monster into a small area.... she wont fit. This case is good looking enough to not want to hide it away. Set that beast on the desk and admire your handywork thru its real glass panel. For the $120 you pay, the case is worth it!

Overall great case. The two front fans look great and work great. Cable management space is adequate but could be better and I do wish the 3.5 rack was further to the right to leave more space for cramming cables in to the psu bay. I do have one problem with the case and that is the RGB connector for the fans. It comes with a controller but for gigabyte Mbs like the one I had it said to use a different connector and plug it straight into the board via an RGB connector. The problem was that no connector on the board fit the connector so I ended up having to use the included controller which wasnt a problem but if you are someone who likes to frequently change colors of you pc and dont want to have to take the back panel off every time then I would recommend a different case.