Cooler Master Cosmos C700M review - Final Words & Conclusion

Conclusion

It's big, it's heavy, it's bold, it's beautiful ... the C700M is just a gorgeous chassis. Obviously, not everybody will agree with me being this big and personal taste aside, but what Cooler master offers here is anything short from stunning. The basis being the C700P obviously was already excellent, and somehow Cooler master was able to excel on that path and raised the C700M towards another level. 

The Design

The key differences in-between the two are the looks, the ARGB LED system, the top side, and the underlying features as cable routing, the top aluminum mesh and stuff like that. The best move that Cooler master has made, however (in my option) was the move towards a solution that offers a vertically mountable graphics card. Not only did Cooler master include the expensive 400mm riser cable (this normally cost 50 bucks a piece for a properly shielded one), but also did they engineer are a really nice mounting solution. You can position the graphics card from 0 to 90 degrees, and that is truly unique as that expensive powerhouse of a graphics card now is on full display inside your chassis. BTW we never ever have seen a negative effect of the riser cable in terms of signal, Cooler master includes a properly quality one, being shielded and secure. One small remark here though, I would have liked it better if the rise connector would have been secured onto the bracket. Then again, that's a minor remark. The new Cosmos C700M stays within that nice and familiar Cosmos tradition & feel, yet offers tasteful looks and subtleties. We love the new ARGB implementation close to the handlebars. But we do need to discuss money though, the previous C700P we figured was on the expensive side at 299 Euro/USD. The new C700M, however, is priced .. well they're asking EUR 439,- I mean holy money, that is batshit crazy cash for a chassis. The weird thing is ... this might be a lifetime investment, so it could make sense? If you put down 500 or a 1000 EUR on the table for a graphics card, it'll be outdated and in need for a replacement in 2-3 years. For a chassis that is different as it could last you a lifetime. And albeit a horrendous amount of money for a chassis, you can see tell where that money went too with the design, the proper build materials, the curved tempered glass, aluminum, and sheer innovation. Remember that if you wanted too, you can reverse the motherboard towards the other side, as well as switch the side panels along with it. 

Functionality

The airflow is good, the fans remain on the noisy side though, even at the fan controller low RPM mode you can still hear them a bit. If you want 100% silence I'd advise replacing the fans or perhaps connect them directly to your motherboard for better PWM based regulation.  It also is a chassis for the liquid cooling aficionado, these are your LC options:

• Top - 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm (requires removal of ODD cage)
• Bottom - 120mm, 140mm, 240mm
• Front - 120mm, 140mm 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm (requires removal of ODD cage)
• Rear - 120mm, 140mm

When it comes to space you'll have plenty. Nice to see is the implementation of USB ports including a new 3.1 ports. The primary feature remains to be the sheer looks of the case though. You can't argue taste as it is the most subjective thing and does not make the job of reviewer any easier. The Cooler Master design team thought through it all with nice cooling options yet all with dust filters, the fan and light controller the signature but now updated Cosmos carry handles,  good USB 3.1 integration, and a relatively tool free design. The side panel doors and window works terrific. You can open/close them with ease at the front side. The tolerances are perfect, heck you could even slam a tempered glass side panel door closed and not worry about it. 

The Less Cooler Stuff

It's heavy! hah. Okay so perhaps RGB lit fans would have been the way to go, as nothing on the inside is actually lit? Another thing I stumbled into is the embedded fan controller. You can connect two additional fans and that's it. Storage options, however, are still okay when it comes to 3.5" devices (HDD) as you can fit five HDDs into this super-tower. Any other downsides with the chassis you might wonder? Well, not really. I mean I can nitpick about the fact it holds an E-ATX motherboard as maximum, but not XL-ATX. But then again, I am nitpicking here. Oh yes, one thing, I would have liked to have seen the fan RPM controller in it's lower setting with a slightly lower RPM assigned to it. 

The Innards

There is not one single centimeter that Cooler Master has not thought about inside this chassis. The chassis innards are done right, we mentioned the ability to be able to reverse it all already. But at one point I do hope that Cooler Master will realize that the number of modders versus the number people that simply want to buy a normal PC ratio likely is 1:99. So while nice, I do not expect the moddable factor to be important or significant enough. Reversing stuff, however, is a fun option to have. We love the space for everything and the shielding albeit simple and screws based. There's space for extravagant liquid cooling, the drive bay you can remove. The motherboard tray also has a massive cutout and there's simply enough space left for cable routing through the grommet holes, all in that all-black painted interior. With the included fans you can create a serious amount of airflow, but at the cost of them being audible. Anyway, massive space, proper grommet holes, and proper cable routing, it's all good really.

Final Words

So when we reviewed the C700P a year ago, we handed out a top pick award. This new C700M is even a notch better. So once again we give it a top pick award as from an aesthetics and design point of view, this really is a super-tower chassis. We can argue and debate the money you need to put down or it, but it is what it is. Cooler Master will have a limited production run for these puppies, they'll sell like candy anyway. The ones that do put down the cash will likely never look back as they will feel it was worth the money. And while I am not saying it is worth that kind of money, I am saying that I would understand it. The C700M has gorgeous looks with an improved fan/LED controller, ARGB functionality and of course the beautiful graphics card mounting bracket that you can rotate and use to position the graphics card in a manner you prefer. It's good to see that Cooler master included a riser cable, as that actually is a difficult call to make. The price premium goes upwards just for including a quality riser cable, as the good ones are expensive. The good thing about the Cosmos series is that it always keep improving, it's never going a step-down. Much like I said earlier, the photos hardly do the product any justice as it simply put is a majestic premium chassis with aesthetics that will astound any and all. 

So nice.

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