Final Thoughts and Conclusions

We have enjoyed our time with the MasterBox 5 enclosure and it proved to be a worthy addition to Cooler Master’s case line up. The MasterBox 5 forgoes some of the fancy features found in more expensive enclosures but provides all the basics. It supports four different sizes of motherboards, extended graphic cards, tall CPU coolers, and provides several different options for installing liquid cooling. Numerous cutouts on the motherboard tray make it easy to cleanly route cables and also provides alternate mounting locations for various drive configurations (5.25” drive cage, 3.5” drive cages, and SSD brackets).

Some users may not be happy with the minimal number of drive bays; only two internal 3.5”/2.5” bays, one SSD bracket, and no external 5.25” bays. However, this basic combination should serve the majority of users quite well: one primary SSD and a pair of high-capacity HDDs. And if you need more you can purchase add-in drive bays and/or additional SSD mounting brackets. External 5.25” drive bays are also of little interest to many users today, but the MasterBox 5 can be purchased with a 5.25” drive bay and a front bezel that supports two external drives if you need them.

The top panel does not provide any fan openings. The inability to mount extra fans or a liquid-cooling radiator (either single or dual fan configuration) on the top panel was a little disappointing but you can still mount a single 120mm liquid cooler on the back panel and a single, dual, or even triple fan radiator on the front panel (360mm radiator installation requires purchasing an optional bracket from Cooler Master).

Bottom line, I could be very happy owning this case. I like the subtle appearance along with the large side window and the case provides all the basic features I need. The MasterBox 5 is well suited for users who want clean styling and support for a full size motherboard, one or two high-end graphic cards, large PSU, 120mm liquid cooling CPU cooler, and a pair of intake fans on the front panel. Add a primary SSD in any of the available locations and a pair of high-capacity HDDs and you have yourself a very nice system! And once your build is complete, installing the included shroud in the lower section of the case will hide the power supply and cabling for a clean look.

The MSRP for the MasterBox 5 Mid-Tower case is $79.99 USD, which includes one 3.5” HDD bay (with two drive trays) and one 2.5” SSD mounting bracket.

Strengths:
•    Clean styling with a choice of two colors: black or white/black
•    Available with or without a large side window
•    Supports E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards
•    Numerous cutouts in the mobo tray provides good flexibility
•    Very quiet with options for both air and liquid cooling
•    One 120mm intake fan and one 120mm exhaust fan included
•    Support for single, dual, and triple fan radiators
•    Front intake and PSU intake dust filters are easy to clean
•    Included shroud hides PSU and cabling for a clean look
•    Up to 167mm (6.5”) of space for tall CPU coolers
•    Allows installing extended VGA adapters: up to 410mm (16.1”) long

Weaknesses:
•    Bracket required to mount SSDs and only one is included
•    No openings in top panel for mounting optional fans or a radiator
•    Bundled fans are very quiet but don’t move a lot of air

Cooler Master MasterBox 5 Mid-Tower Case

I would like to thank our friends at Cooler Master for sending us the MasterBox 5 case to review – thank you.

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