Cooler Grasp Qube 500 case overview: Some meeting required

The overwhelming majority of PC circumstances available on the market come preassembled, able to have your PC elements put in. Cooler Grasp needs to vary that paradigm, with the Qube 500, a compact PC case that comes flatpacked so you place it collectively as you assemble your construct. It is an intriguing prospect, and after constructing in it, one which I stay up for seeing in future circumstances.

The Qube 500 is extra spacious inside than you’d suppose, with the flexibility to make use of as much as E-ATX-sized motherboards, the biggest CPU coolers, and the highest-end graphics playing cards. These bigger elements would supply a problem in most compact circumstances the place area is restricted, however as you construct the case across the elements on this one, it is simply as simple as utilizing smaller elements. The one actual restriction is on radiator size, as 280mm is the utmost. With some high-end CPUs needing a 360mm AIO cooler to maintain the thermals in examine, this case is best served with mid-tier {hardware}, though you should utilize high-end elements in case you do not thoughts greater temperatures.

With a enjoyable, informative constructing course of and swappable panels for a pop of colour, that is certainly one of my favourite compact circumstances. It may be inbuilt certainly one of three orientations, or saved open for take a look at bench use. The Macaron colorway I used to be despatched got here with three totally different colours to swap at my whims, however you too can get it in purely white, black, or yellow in case you want these. The customizing does not cease as soon as the construct is finished both, as Cooler Grasp has created 3D printable information to design equipment to show the case right into a pegboard.

About this overview: Cooler Grasp shipped me a Qube 500 case for the needs of this overview and had no enter into its contents.

Cooler Grasp Qube 500

Taking DIY additional

Compact case with room to breathe

The Cooler Grasp Qube 500 is an efficient case for many who need one thing just a little bit totally different. Not like most circumstances, this one comes flat-packed, and also you construct it as you place your elements in. It might probably match high-end elements, and has sufficient airflow to maintain them cool.

Materials

Metal, plastic, tempered glass

Motherboard Measurement (Max.)

E-ATX

Graphics Card Measurement (Max.)

GPU as much as 368mm

3.5″ Drive Slots

4

Viewing Window

Grey TG

2.5″ Drive Slots

3

Energy Provide Measurement (Max.)

SFX or ATX

Exterior Dimensions

380 x 231 x 381mm

Coloration Choices

Yellow, White, Black, Macaron (Pink, Blush, Teal)

Professionals

• Flat-packed to save lots of on transport area
• Mud filters on entrance, prime, backside, and aspect panels
• Sturdy when constructed
• Rotatable motherboard tray helps a number of configurations

Cons

• No 360mm radiator assist
• No choice to get a second steel aspect panel as an alternative of glass
• Just one 120mm pre-installed fan

Cooler Grasp Qube 500: Worth and availability

Inexpensive and space-saving

The Cooler Grasp Qube 500 has a MSRP of $90 for the single-color choices, and $100 for the Macaron colour choice being reviewed, which comes with a number of pastel panel colours. The one specification change between the circumstances is the Macaron choice comes with six panels (two of every colour) for the highest and entrance, whereas the single-color choices have solely two. Each Amazon and Newegg have it in inventory on the time of drafting this overview, so you’ll be able to choose your favourite retailer to select it up from. Right now, you are not in a position to get the colour panels individually. We hope that Cooler Grasp will discover a method to promote these and the aspect panel for many who need to swap colours or substitute the tempered glass panel with a mesh one.

{Hardware} design

The Qube 500 is a brand new idea for mainstream PC circumstances, because it comes flatpacked in a field that is considerably smaller in quantity than it might be if the case was preassembled. Every bit is securely full of foam surrounds, and every layer of elements corresponds with one step of the set up course of. That latter half is vital, because it means you’ll be able to hold every part safe within the transport field and take them out on the final second. You should utilize as much as an E-ATX motherboard on this case (in case you use an SFX PSU), so you are not constrained as a lot as in most compact circumstances.

The primary layer has the motherboard tray, which additionally serves because the spine of the general case. It is extremely sturdy even by itself, and the packaging mentions you should utilize it as a take a look at bench with out having to place all of the panels on. This additionally has an influence passthrough cable for the PSU, and a bracket for mounting the PSU on the entrance. The rear panel has cutouts for the motherboard I/O, seven PCIe slots, and area to vertically mount your GPU if you would like, though you may want to purchase a PCIe extender to take action. You should utilize a graphics card of as much as 365mm in size, which is most GPUs available on the market. The entrance panel has I/O on the prime, with a single USB-C, two USB-A, an influence button and a 3.5mm audio jack, however this could possibly be on the backside in case you resolve to construct the Qube 500 inverted.

Then there are the highest and backside panels, a tempered glass panel for one aspect and a steel aspect panel that matches the holes on the highest and entrance. On the model I acquired, you additionally get 4 extra colour panels, so that you could combine and match the three pastel colours. Solely the highest and entrance surfaces can use these coloured panels, which simply push-fit onto the chassis with out instruments. Inside the colour panels are mesh filters, which you need to slide out and put into the opposite colour in case you resolve to make use of these.

Then there’s 4 push-on toes for the underside, a bunch of 6/32 imperial screws, standoffs and drive mounting pins, sufficient rubber grommets for 5 drives, and a vertical graphics card bracket. And in case you had been questioning if any panels bought broken in transport, the case was flawless. Even the tempered glass panel arrived unscathed, which is not at all times the case with any PC case in transport.

Constructing a PC from scratch and efficiency

Select your design

I’ve used dozens of PC circumstances and all of them have their little quirks for constructing inside. The Cooler Grasp Qube 500 made me rethink my strategy, as you assemble the case as you put in the {hardware} that makes up your PC. The one snag I hit was that the SFX energy provide I might initially deliberate to make use of did not have lengthy sufficient cables to get the CPU plugged in, so I needed to change to a full-sized PSU. The case is designed to work with each, with a PSU bracket you can transfer up or all the way down to accommodate your wants.

Aside from the ATX energy provide, the case has a full-sized Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Hero motherboard, an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X CPU with 64GB of Kingston Beast DDR5 RAM, and an AMD Radeon RX 7900XT reference graphics card. The CPU is cooled by a Cooler Grasp MasterAir MA824 Stealth air cooler, however the case may also use as much as 280mm AIO coolers, or as much as three 280mm radiators for customized watercooling. There’s loads of area for the ATX motherboard, and as you construct the case across the elements, you should not have points even with the biggest GPUs.

Cooler Grasp has designed the Qube 500 to go along with the identical sort of screw, which helps in meeting. That is the 6/32 screws that normally get used for attaching the motherboard, used right here to place all the opposite panels collectively as effectively. The Qube 500 could be put collectively in three totally different orientations. One is the traditional, motherboard upright, glass on the left that almost all PC circumstances use. You may flip the highest and backside panels to invert the motherboard, which additionally places the glass on the correct aspect. Or you’ll be able to rotate all of the panels 90 levels so the I/O ports are all on the highest panel. I opted for the traditional orientation, however will most likely use the inverted choice once I resolve what {hardware} goes to stay in it long run.

Constructing was simpler than most circumstances, as you are including panels as an alternative of getting to take away them or work round them. The motherboard goes onto the motherboard tray, then the PSU goes into the bracket and held on the motherboard tray. There is a passthrough cable to the again of the case so you’ll be able to plug it into the wall, and loads of area on the again of the motherboard tray for cable administration. Then I added the again panel, the CPU cooler, and the GPU. If I used to be utilizing an AIO cooler I might have added that to the highest panel earlier than including that to the case, which is a neater course of than attempting to string every part into a standard case.

Working across the case, I added the entrance, backside, and prime panels and secured these with an extra two screws as soon as all had been in place. That is elective, however provides a reassuring degree of rigidity to the construct. Cable administration was helped by a helpful diagram within the directions, loads of tie-down factors, and usefully located holes the place energy and different cables wanted to path to. The entrance panel cable has a single connector as an alternative of a number of tiny ones, making connecting every part simple. The one cabling concern was that with the underside panel on the case, I could not match the bigger USB 3.0 cable by way of the closest opening. That is partly due to the place Asus located it on this motherboard, nevertheless it’s price considering of as you screw the case collectively because the advised order may not be the perfect to your {hardware}.

The airflow on this design is pretty good, with all of the holes serving to to usher in cool, contemporary air. The one factor holding the airflow again is the PSU mounting place, which makes it so you’ll be able to simply squeeze a single 120mm fan on the entrance panel. You may technically put the PSU on the ground of the case close to the PCIe slots and put two 120mm or 140mm followers on the entrance, however then you’re blocking the GPU followers considerably. These are all typical tradeoffs of smaller circumstances, and nothing to essentially fear about. We now have a helpful information for PC airflow if you wish to maximize airflow on this or another case.

It is price mentioning once more that I used high-end elements on this construct, to essentially stretch what the thermal efficiency could possibly be. Even below sustained gaming masses, the AMD Ryzen 7900X topped out at 87 levels Celsius, with the GPU reaching 78 levels whereas enjoying Horizon: Zero Daybreak. The PCIe 5.0 M.2 drive was at 74 levels, which is what you’d count on to see from an prolonged take a look at. These temperatures are all effectively inside the acceptable ones for this high-end construct. Whereas I haven’t got a dBA meter, the followers had been at a tolerable quantity, pushing loads of heated air out of the case and away from the elements.

Cooler Grasp Qube 500: Must you purchase it?

You can purchase the Cooler Grasp Qube 500 if:

• You need the expertise of placing your PC case collectively
• You want the concept of 3D printing equipment to hold on the panels
• You need a quirky and reasonably priced case

You should not purchase the Cooler Grasp Qube 500 if:

• You need to use a 360mm radiator for cooling
• You’ve got trypophobia
• You need to use greater than three SATA SSDs

The Cooler Grasp Qube 500 takes a brand new take a look at what constructing a DIY PC entails. It is an ideal mission case for introducing a youthful member of the family to the world of PC constructing, as the lovable design and brilliant colours are participating, and the problem degree is pretty low. It seems to be nice when assembled, and the pegboard-like building can have new equipment designed able to 3D print when you have entry to a 3D printer. For below $100, this can be a enjoyable case to construct in and might match virtually any elements you’d need to use.

As this can be a small case, the one 120mm exhaust fan must be effective for low-end or medium-spec builds. When you’re utilizing a 280mm AIO liquid cooler in your CPU, or are effective with greater CPU temperatures, you will get away with not placing any extra followers into the Qube 500. There’s area for as much as three 2.5-inch or a couple of 3.5-inch drives, however cable routing might be tough because of the diminished area inside. By way of options, the one different mainstream case producer making build-it-yourself circumstances proper now’s InWin. They’ve the ATX-compatible DUBILI, which begins from $230 and is extra premium, or the $95 M-ITX POC, which is produced from folded metal. And in case you like this measurement of case however do not fancy placing it collectively, the $80 Cooler Grasp MasterBox Q500L may be very comparable.

Cooler Grasp Qube 500

Quirky and enjoyable

The Cooler Grasp Qube 500 is an efficient case for many who need one thing just a little bit totally different. Not like most circumstances, this one comes flat-packed, and also you construct it as you place your elements in.