Final Words & Conclusion

Conclusion

So like, when we reviewed the MasterCase H500P I had quite a few remarks; missing LED controller, the bendy plastics and such. Well, Cooler Master took these things and pretty much overhauled the chassis with the MasterCase H500M. It is properly designed and ticks most, if not all, the right boxes. The MasterCase H500M is all about looks, the stealthy way in which to hide things, airflow and, sure, RGB bling with the massive 200mm front mounted fans. In its design, style and nature, it looks and feels like a proper HAF series product as the two big 200mm spinners at the front will provide heaps of airflow with very little noise (just connect the fans to your mobo fan header and assign a low RPM). On the inside it's impressive, the shielded innards allow you to hide the power supply and HDDs and then on that other side, you can tuck away all cables behind shields once more. And here that is needed as, from top to bottom, this chassis is all about tempered glass and how the inside looks. All that shielding is aesthetically very pleasing, however, it can be a little bothersome with a lot of screws and mounts. I am not complaining, but the chassis needs a heck of a lot more work than others. The end result, however, is a very tidy and clean looking rig.

Design

I am classifying the MasterCase H500M as a PC chassis for a high-end build. Remember, up-to E-ATX form factor motherboards will fit in there. It is properly sized (not too big, not too small) and if you are digging the style, it looks great. Cooler Master this year finally picks up on trends, we love the tempered glass side panels everywhere, this round they have implemented on both sides, the top and front side (optional) with tempered glass. The MasterCase H500M also got rid of most of the plastic elements, it feels way more sturdy and workable compared to the MasterCase H500P, this is build quality done right as far as I am concerned. The storage options once again remain a little icky, just two HDDs can be installed, however, you get way more spaces for SSDs. In fact, were you not to use any HDDs and re-use the trays, you could mount six or seven of them throughout the chassis, which is good by my standards. If you are still living in that HDD era, two HDD mounts might be too few for you. Up-to three of the SSDs can be positioned in plain sight on the PSU cover, however, can also be located at the back side of the motherboard tray. The chassis also brings in plenty of options for liquid cooling:

The airflow is good and the fans, if configured correctly, offer proper airflow at low noise. There are many vents.

Aesthetics

Looks are something subjective, but most users will like the MasterCase H500M for its familiar HAF looks. It's very eye-catching, combine that with the features that an enthusiast is looking for. Cooling is above average, there are filters located throughout the chassis. Also present is USB 3.1, both Type-A and C. Glass sides, top and front panels make it stand out. Cooler Master also took yet another remark I made with the P model to heart, there are no massive and disturbing logos anymore. The RGB LED fans you'll either hate or like. I like them, these are proper fans with good animation and color options. If you dislike them, you can simply disable the lighting effects. Keep in mind that these are Addressable RGB fans, you can connect them to your motherboard and sync things up, all major brands are supported.

Features

As mentioned, the innards have been thought through well and I have no complaints there, in fact, I love that graphics card rest (nice idea!). Form factor wise you can house up-to E-ATX form factor motherboards, these will fit without a problem. Graphics cards can be 41cm in length. Air cooling can be up to 190 mm in height, all very good values. There are many spaces for liquid cooling and storage units. The big motherboard cutout for cooling access is nice and has been included with a cover. There are very decent but not massive amounts of space for cable routing, though all the shielding will enforce a bit of a limitation here and there. The rear (right) side is however incredibly clean looking with all that shielding combined with the tempered glass. 

The Innards

The chassis innards are done properly, the advanced shielding options hiding the PSU and HDD bay. You'll have a nice all black interior including all black cabling with plenty of grommeted rubberized holes to work with. Lovely is the option to vertically mount your graphics card. You'll need to purchase a Gen 3.0 PCIe riser cable, but support for the graphics card is there already, very nice. We appreciate the overall space for everything and that shielding, albeit simple enough, is mostly screw based. All motherboards up-to E-ATX will fit as well as the smallest Mini-ITX ones, also the most lengthy graphics cards will fit and CPU coolers can have a height of up-to 190mm, so these are proper tolerances. There's space for pretty much any kind of liquid cooling. The motherboard tray also has a massive cutout which has a shield at the back side as well. With the three included fans you can create a serious amount of airflow. That said, the innards look great, period.

Final Words

I like it, I like it a lot even. There are however two gripes we must mention; the first, all that shielding can be a little annoying when installing. Lots of screws, you cannot easily reach the HDDs and then tucking away all the cabling... really it's not a fun process. Then again, you spend an hour or so and then once built you never look back, right? So who cares about that Hilbert? Hey, I'm just stating what I experience. Secondly, the price is steep, 199 EURO/USD will be the selling price, I can say little else about it really. Cooler Master did things right though, they pretty much obliterated all criticisms I made with the MasterCase H500P as, yeah, this MasterCase H500M really is as a proper, sturdy and good looking product. It performs well in terms of airflow, can be really quiet and offers a proper RGB implementation that you can connect to your mobo and, if not, an RGB controller has been included. These are all strong points. New is the tempered glass everywhere and with the shielding throughout the chassis, that works out really well. You could argue about the two HDD spaces, but SSD wise you can mount many. The Cooler Master MasterCase H500M also gives that HAF feel from the older generation products that we've been appreciating for many years now, and the good airflow to go with it of course. Overall I think that Cooler Master has advanced with good and big steps, the MasterCase H500M is something I appreciate and could look at all day long sitting next to me on a desktop. We love the all tempered glass panels and the exotic shielded inside looks with the option for a vertically mounted graphics card. And once you get that RGB bling going (or not, remember you can disable it), we can certainly recommend the Cooler Master MasterCase H500M to any HAF aficionado. It certainly is a superior product over the MasterCase H500P. Really, the price is the one thing that sets me off, but overall this is a proper chassis worthy of our recommended award.

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