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)

Ive happily used Cooler Master cases since the HAF, but was disappointed with the H500s airflow when I switched to it in 2017. However Im glad to say Cooler Master regained their footing with the H500M. It keeps my favorite things about the H500 design, and greatly improves several shortcomings I had to deal with. The top panel no longer sits loosely on the case so if I needed to carry the case out, I can do so without having to take it apart or worrying about dropping it. The top radiator/fan mount is now 360mm instead of 240mm max so I was able to mount a larger radiator for cooling. It has a USB C port on the front, FINALLY. Theres even a discreet built in GPU mount for the saggiest of video cards. But most importantly of all, this thing is an AIRFLOW BEAST. 10900k at 5.2 sits around 50c on full load, 3080 doesnt go past 65c on full load. With the newest GPUs pulling so much power its more important now than ever to get a good airflow case. If you liked the style of the H500 but were turned away by lack of airflow, the H500M is the case for you. My one con, if I had to say something, would be that although it supports EATX just fine, the cable shroud you would usually tuck your 24 pin behind sits flush with the side of the 24 pin terminal on my motherboard, at least. I was able to route my 24 pin extension around to the other side of the shroud in an aesthetically pleasing way so no real issues. Just keep that in mind. Other things about this case worth mentioning: The dual tempered glass side panels make this case heavier than normal but it gives it a nice symmetrical look and sheen. You wont have to worry about errant cords being visible through the glass because with the entire H500 line there are several wire panels that hide your mess, keeping that nice clean look no matter how much your cable management sucks. The top panel is still not meshed except for side vents but there is noticeably more headroom between the case frame and top of the panel allowing for excellent exhaust flow. The two front 200mm fans are markedly improved from their H500 versions, with more LEDs and quieter bearings. The PSU and HDD shroud below can be configured in many ways, but if you have a 360 radiator for the front intake and want to keep the shroud, there is fortunately a slot that pulls out from the front enabling that particular configuration. Its listed as a mid sized tower and it is, but the H500M is large for its class. Roughly 22 inches tall, 21 inches deep. Its main feature is excellent airflow, but the H500M should be noted as being a very modular case, and can accommodate many kinds of builds. I was almost tempted to go custom loop because of the built in pump bracket and space for two 360 rads.

My son and I built two PCs together recently -- a first for both of us -- and I picked out this case primarily because its got great airflow, super-large fans (so they dont have to spin so fast and, thus, are quieter), and a handle for easy transportation. What I didnt expect was the evident quality of the case, particularly in comparison to the case my son picked out, and I didnt expect to even like the RGB lighting (which I considered leaving unconnected). Im pleasantly surprised, and Id buy this one again in a heartbeat. My only complaint is that the RGB lighting cannot be controlled by our Gigabyte motherboard (which has a four pin connector) and must be controlled by the (included) controller that came with the case. Practically, that means that the case lighting is controlled differently than my CPU cooler lighting, so if color harmony is important to you, best to choose another case (and buy a case made by the same company as your CPU cooler). For me, this case was great purchase. Super-happy.

First thing I did was trash the trashy fans and replace them w/ nocuta everything. Not the easiest to atatch the front 200mm w/ the rubber mounts and was able to get it done with tweezers and floss. Besides that, case is super easy to build. The gpu mount has a flippable switch and you can remove the guards by lifting them up. Due to the mechanism bulk, it makes installing big gpu like 4090 strix a bit tricky since it borders obtructing installation due to the size of the gpu heatsink.

So I went from a cooler master master box to this beast, as you can tell, the master case is quite a bit bigger than the master box. The only gripe I have about the master case H500p is they didnt make the front universal with replacing different brands of fans. So I had to shoehorn it with zip ties so I could get my thermaltake 200mm fans on the H500p. I would definitely recommend getting this case even though its a few years or so on the market. Its got plenty of room for fan placements, I know people are big fans of water cooling, unfortunately this doesnt have a slot in the tower for a cooler. But, if your enthusiastic enough, you can put 9 fans in this thing, the options are only for the front. You could do 2 200mm fans, and 3 120mm fans behind the 200mm, or bring it down to 8 fans and put 2 140mm fans behind the 200mm fans in the front. The top can hold 3 120mm fans, or 2 140mm fans, the back is 1 120mm fan, or a 140mm fan. Overall with 9 fans total I have in my build. Its not to excessive with the fan noise, but keeps everything nice and cool in the 40s to lower 60s degree celsius.

And the plastic is great quality anyway. I especially appreciate the more stealthy matte look so smudges and dust arent as noticeable. Id been wanting to replace the cheap AIO cooler in my pre-built for a while. I decided to go with a high end Noctua (NH-D15S), and since it wouldnt fit in the Cyberpower case, it was the perfect excuse to move into a new one. The cheaper ones I was looking at, like the Fractal Design Meshify C, seemed great but would need some additions to get the best performance. The nicer ones I liked such as Phanteks were usually in the $130+ range, and I didnt really want to go over $100. I decided that the H500 would be best for my first build, with more room to work in than the Meshify C and better out of the box performance comparable to more expensive cases thanks to those huge fans that also add some color. Dont really care if its not all metal, Im not sticking a bunch of magnets to it. Its easy to work with and does its job well. My cat even chewed up the extension cord for the fans and they still work fine, although I should probably replace that. The only problem Ive had is that the PSU shroud wont seem to get back in place to line up with the screw hole on the back. Its still clicked in and not going anywhere, its just not secured by the screw. I think it might be my fault due to some poor cable management, but either way its really a non-issue.

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.

Got this for my son for his first gaming pc build. Compared to the build on my pc in a corsair x570 the cooler master H500 was quite a bit easier to build in. The PSU shroud is removable and reinstallable after its all wired and that helped make the PSU installation and wiring a little easier. There are also a couple of small openings underneath the motherboard (using an ATX mobo) that made running all the bottom row front panel and usb connections easy to install and easy to cable manage. The dual 200mm RGB front fans look awesome ! ! ! and quieter than i thought they would be. 4 usb inputs on the front panel (usb2.0x2 and usb3.1x2) is the kind of overkill i like. Definitely worth spending the extra bucks over going with a bargain bin $30-50 case unless you are really pinching pennies on your build. Looks way nicer than its price would suggest. The instructions that came with the case for wiring were pretty much non existent but if you cant tell the difference between a fan connector, rgb connector, or usb connector you just need your mobo manual, a little common sense, and maybe a google search or two. Overall Im very happy with this case.

The Aorus master has a 3 pin and 4 pin d-led slots. The H500 has a pre-installed ARGB splitter- with 1 cable that reads ASUS-MSI, and another that reads GIGABYTE. But that gigabyte cable? Doesnt fit properly to the 3 pin slot. So what? do you use only 3 of the 4 pins on the 4 pin slot? Or do you use the ASUSMSI 3 pin cable (which will fit on the 3 pin d-led)? Yep.. Use the asus cable. Yes it works fine with gigabyte mobos- its just a cable after all. Someone at COOLERMASTER needs to get the memo about this apparently, cause frustratingly enough- they have a faq for the 3 pin fans to the 4 pin connectors, but NOT the ARGB situation. I havent seen it cleanly explained ANYWHERE, so there ya go. Even the manuals for gigabyte and the h500 were of little help on this confusion situation. I hope I just saved a lot of you 12+ hours of dizzying hair pulling stressful research. You are welcome internet. Soo how is the case? Well its the first pc Ive built since 2014, so maybe everything has gotten really good in that time but I dont know. I just know its incredible. The cable management. The space. The cooling. The housing for psu and ssdhdd. all of it is such a big win! Its soo quiet my jaw hit the floor first time I fired it up. Seriously HOW IS IT THIS QUIET!? I paired it up with a noctua d 15 which is also impossibly quiet. In low mode (which is when you are in windows not gaming) its but a tiny whisper. When gaming it gets louder but still a big improvement from my old coolermaster case from eons ago. LIGHT SHOW! The giant fans look downright industrial neon city. I am instantly addicted to 200mm fans and leds now. With how spacious this case is (this would have been called full tower at one time I bet lol) and how gorgeous the fans and lights are, with the glass side I am surprised how good it looks in person, and you better believe it looks great in a dark gamers room. STURDY! Wow is it heavy duty. The steel on this thing is thick. I dont think Ill have any issues with durability on this, at least not on the frame. Front Port panel- This is one the reasons I chose this over other 200mm case fan models (like the monotech). I love how the front panel is slanted, and works great for my needs. Having the case on the floor its perfect to see what i am plugging into. 4 usb ports is plenty for anything I want to do, and the microphone port is on the side I want and need (less cable stretching) BREATHE- Vents vents vents, everywhere cept the back side panel (which is normal among cases). This case is soo big it has no problem breathing and keeping your stuff cool. CONS- The only con I can find- is the 200mm fans are soo quiet, I can hear some tiny wobble in both of them. I dont think its a defect, more like normal operating noise you simply would not hear with normal noisy fans. CONCLUSION- I never imagined spending 100$ on a case before, now I cant imagine spending less. The h500 argb is incredible, and its fun to see how much case tech has advanced in the past 10 years. Even if you are like me (not an expert pc builder) its neat how easy its getting to make sweet looking towers that make all those console kids pretend they are not impressed). This is all just part of PC MASTER RACE PRIDE! And what a proud day it is to be a member of this fine race of superior gamers. Dont buy a cheapy 40$ case that cant breathe then stuff a 3080 in there! Esp if you dont have AC in the summer =D. Thank you coolermaster- but please update your instructions (esp on your web site), cause they utterly failed to mention the asus cable can and SHOULD be used for some gigabyte mobos.

Picked this up to compile a second build out of spare parts from other former builds. The TG side panel isnt as heavy as other TG cases Ive worked with so thats a plus. Its also a fit seal TG side panel (no gap). I switched the front panel from the mesh to the solid plastic cover for my build because it doesnt get hot enough to need the extra airflow from a fully mesh front panel like some other builds might. I fully recommend to anyone that is going to build a beast in this thing to use the mesh front panel for better thermals in that situation. Other stuff. Its light even with the one TG side panel, so easy to move around. PB placement is nice and up front on the top part of the front panel along with 4 USB ports and the 3.5mm jacks. For a smaller build, its an aesthetically pleasing case to look at no matter where it is on your desktop or other places.

The Cooler Master H500 isnt a case to jump up and down about, but its nothing to turn up your nose at either. Its spacious enough to work inside of pretty easily and holds an ATX motherboard or smaller with ease (Im not sure about eATX). Standoff locations are clearly marked by form factor. Cable management could be a bit easier and Id have been more impressed with velcro ties than zip-ties (of which there were too few), but there are sufficient tie-down points that keeping your cabling neat wont be a major chore. The two 240mm front fan and the 120mm rear exhaust fan are reasonably quiet. You can hear them, but theyre only slightly louder than background noise (my GPUs fans are far louder). Airflow with the mesh front panel is far superior to that with the glass front panel. In short, there are better cases out there, but youll pay more for them. There are also far worse cases out there at a lower price point. Its a solid mid-tier case.