Cooler Master Cosmos C700P Review

Manufacturer: Cooler Master

UK price (as reviewed): £279.98 (inc. VAT)

US price (as reviewed): MSRP $299.99 (exc. tax)

Earlier this year, Cooler Master re-released the Cosmos II to celebrate its 25th anniversary as a company. It did come with a few tweaks, but the Cosmos C700P that’s being launched today is the true update to Cooler Master’s flagship. The price puts this chassis in super-premium territory, but Cooler Master is at least not raising the price over the previous models, and as you’ll see, the cost is often reflected in the materials used or the flexibility of the layout. Of course, there are still very few of us that would even contemplate this level of expenditure for a case, but the segment of enthusiasts able and willing to build their dream PCs is always there and well worth catering to.

The iconic shape of the Cosmos family comes from the top and bottom handles, and they make an eye-catching return in the C700P with a modernised design that sees them made flatter; this isn’t a case about subtlety. Protruding proudly both above and below, the handles are exceptionally strong thanks to being hewn from aluminium. They’re functional, too, with the top ones strong enough to act as real handles and withstand the 22.2kg case weight plus water-cooled system, and the bottom ones widening the base and lowering the case’s centre of gravity. They’re completely removable, too, which is helpful if you’re not a fan or want to change their look. In fact, the whole case pretty much comes apart piece by piece – modders are likely to look rather favourably upon this case.

Like the 25th Anniversary Edition, the Cosmos C700P has a special side panel in that it’s made from tinted tempered glass that’s also angled near the front and back. It’s rather beautiful, especially as the hinged mechanism at the back means the mounting points are hidden from view. The other side panel retains the angled shape but is made from steel, thus completely hiding the messier half of your system. That said, Cooler Master will be selling the angled tempered glass panel separately later in Q4, and it will fit in this position, so if you’re planning a build where every single cable is neatly tied down and routed, this could well suit you.

Given the quality of materials so far, it’s pretty unfortunate to see plastic used for the front door; it should really be aluminium at this price. The door gives the case a mostly solid look here, although there are gaps around the sides for airflow. It can also tilt forward on its lower hinge for optical drive access, or you can remove it completely and go with the mesh look instead.

The front panel is again a very populated one: Four USB 3.0 ports are joined by a USB 3.1 Type-C port, and this actually makes use of the new internal headers that are appearing on motherboards rather than being a pass-through cable – finally! The Cosmos C700P also has integrated fan control for up to six fans with high and low speed settings; a light is used to indicate the current setting.

It’s not only fan speed you can control from the front panel, but also… drum roll… RGB lighting! There are two integrated RGB strips at the top and two along the bottom positioned so that they reflect nicely off their respective handles, and there’s a front-facing, U-shaped section as well. The RGB control button can switch these through a series of static colours, a colour cycle setting, and M/B mode, which hands control over to your motherboard and its respective software control suite (MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus are all confirmed as being supported), assuming you’ve connected the internal RGB header up properly.

Although it’s unlikely many (if any) people buying this case will stick with the default cooling arrangement, the dual 140mm intakes coupled with single rear 140mm exhaust should be sufficient if you do. As you can see in the specifications below, there is ample room to expand this, and water-coolers will be kept happy too. All potential dust entry points – front, roof, and bottom – are protected with full-length dust filters built directly into the easily removable mesh panels found in these areas.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 306 x 639 x 651 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Aluminium, steel, plastic, tempered glass
  
• Available colours Black with gunmetal grey
  
• Weight 22.2kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 4 x USB 3.0, headphone, microphone, fan control, RGB LED control
  
• Drive bays 1 x external 5.25", 2 x 3.5"/2.5", 2 x 2.5"
  
• Form factor(s) E-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
  
• Cooling 3 x 140mm/120mm front fan mounts (2 x 140mm fans included), 1 x 140mm/120mm rear fan mount (1 x 140mm fan included), 3 x 140mm/120mm roof fan mounts, 2 x 140mm/120mm bottom fan mounts (fans not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 198mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 490mm (320mm with HDD cage installed)
  
• Extras Removable dust filters, RGB LED controller, six-port fan hub, reversible/invertible modular layout