Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The Cooler Master Masterbox Q500L is a budget-friendly and very compact chassis. Not many cases of this size can accommodate a full ATX system, but the Q500L takes one with pride, comfortably housing a full-sized ATX mainboard inside, along with a reasonably long graphics card. Yes, your PSU mounting position may limit the available space (from 360 to 270 mm), but some careful component selection (preferably a PSU shorter than 160 mm) will ensure that almost any modern graphics card will fit inside the Q500L. With the addition of another fan or two in the base, it's likely that the case is going to perform reasonably well. With only one fan installed neither the performance nor the noise is on a satisfactory level. However, it still feels like you're sacrificing quite a bit just to shave a couple of centimeters off the dimensions. This case has some flaws, and you could argue that the perforated front/top panels are not designed for optimal airflow, but to counter that we could say that the design allows better and more varied mounting options for both fans and water cooling radiators. Beyond that, the simple design of these panels also offers the modding community a lot of options for custom upgrades.

Features

The Cooler Master Masterbox Q500L is averagely equipped. The storage capacity is ok (for this size of chassis). You can install up to four 2.5” or two 3.5” drives. Cable management is quite good, and there is an ample amount of space on the underside of the motherboard tray (up to 30 mm). You can mount up to 160mm air coolers, 180mm PSUs (but it’s stay below 160), and 270/360mm graphics cards (depending on the PSU length), so that should be enough for most users. Dust filters are included as well – placed on the top and front (magnetic), and on the bottom (for the PSU).

The Verdict

Currently, the Cooler Master Q500L is available at €49.99. For a mid-tower case that provides such features, with up to four 2.5”/two 3.5” drives as well as room for liquid coolers up to 240mm, GPUs up to 360mm, and 160mm air coolers, I’d say that the price is nice. However, given the single included fan and very poor thermal and acoustic results, we can’t stamp any of our awards on this case. It was really close to making the “Great Value” mark, but the Q300L is significantly cheaper (although it’s an mATX chassis) and would deserve it more.

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