Completed Build, Performance, RGB Lighting, and Conclusion
Completed Build
The finished system inside the CMT520 is clean with minimal effort, and while I would like to see rubber grommets the cable openings all but disappear when the black rear panel is installed. The mirror-like gloss of the removable floor panel adds to the finished appearance and reflects lighting for added effect, and overall I have no complaints about the finished build.
Behind the motherboard tray there is sufficient room for cable management, and I encountered zero clearance issues with any drives or connections. The rear panel slides on easily, completing one of the smoothest builds in recent memory.
Test Platform | |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i7-7700K |
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H270-Gaming 3 |
Memory | G.Skill Aegis 4 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 |
Graphics Card | AMD Radeon R9 290X (Reference) |
Storage | Corsair FORCE LE 240 GB SATA 6.0 GB/s SSD |
Power Supply | Seasonic S12II 620W |
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U9S (PWM) |
OS | Windows 8.1 64-bit |
Case Temperatures
The CMT520 offers fair thermal performance, with the reduced front intake from the tempered glass panel affecting what would otherwise be high airflow from a trio of intake fans - though it must be mentioned that the GPU load temps were the lowest in recent memory. This could be an outlier, and the R9 290X I use is a reference blower-style cooler, but delta 44.5 C is impressive with this card.
Noise Levels
There the CMT520 is towards the bottom the pack, though it is by no means a loud case during normal use. With thermals pushed, however, there was a noticable spike in fan noise and the famously noisy reference cooler on the R9 290X was as loud a result as I've seen in a while at 57.5 dBA under full load (again suggestive of an outlier, as the high noise corresponds with lower temps from this card, suggesting the fan was spinning faster than normal during these tests - driver/fan profile is suspected). Tempered glass presents a tradeoff for thermal performance, and in this case the fans at work create a little more noise than average.
RGB Lighting
The lighting effects with the CMT520 can be adjusted without any software using the front panel button, allowing the user to cycle through the various solid color options and patterns. The case is also compatible with the various motherboard manufacturer RGB standards, including ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, and MSI Mystic Light Sync, with a header cable included.
Here the RGB fans are set to red to match the default motherboard LED color
The lighting certainly adds to the aesthetics of the case, and given the single-color nature of the fans is quite subtle compared to some RGB lighting on the market. The lights can also be turned off completely, if desired.
Conclusion
FSP's move into the enclosure space makes sense as they continue to expand their consumer product offering, and the overal build quality of the CMT520 is impressive for a company that is still pretty new on the scene. The frame is sturdy, the fit and finish is very good, and the build process is problem-free. This is not a perfect case, though my only real complaint is the lack of a front fan filter and the slightly impeded airflow from the solid front panel design. It sells for around $100, placing into the company of quite a few solid mid-towers, though the dual glass panels help justify the price.
This is not a high airflow case, though better temps could certainly be attained through liquid cooling vs. the air-cooled results presented here. Tempered glass cases with solid front panels are probably never going to win cooling contests over more open designs, but the glass look is popular and helps to show off your build (and RGB fans!). However it was the basic, unsung heros of a solid enclosure that earn this an award: quality construction, a roomy interior with above average space around the motherboard and excellent component clearance, and ample room for cable management behind the motherboard tray. Not everyone's needs will be met, and there are certainly cases with stronger thermal and noise performance, but the CMT520 is nonetheless a good option if you're looking for a tempered glass and RGB case.
Great review but they lost me
Great review but they lost me at only 2 3.5″ drive bays yet again. I am sorry but I am not willing to put 2 of my 4 4TB drives just sitting on the bottom of the case without any sort of way to make them safe in the case but hey it is a good thing I also have a 2.5″ Sata drive at least it will be safe.
PCPER if you are reading this can you please do a list up of case from 2017-2018 that support at least 4 3.5 drive bays and yet still offer all of the modern features such as tempered glass etc…if so Thank you.
I do not think I am asking much form these case makers they have all this room to play with but yet all they worry about is lights and stuff most people do not care about. In the real world most users want a fully functional case that looks good and works well. These toy cases are getting a bit tiresome.
Hmm, I seem to be hogging
Hmm, I seem to be hogging this article’s comments with very little about the article 🙂
I recently bought the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M with tempered glass – a very nice mid-sized ATX with mesh front, lots of filters and space for an external drive. It’s around $100 with no RGB and just 1 SSD tray provided. It fits 2 or 3 HDDs under the PSU shroud but you can buy optional drive trays that let you mount a LOT more HDDs out front (looks like room for 5 or 6) and place them wherever won’t block your airflow. I have a 2nd SSD but just tucked it in out of the way with the cables, it’s fine.
@Rocky123
If you use 4 x 4TB
@Rocky123
If you use 4 x 4TB drives you should seriously consider getting a NAS. I use a Synology 4-bay NAS on my network and can access it with my phone and tablet as well and also remotely as they provide an external IP. Having a PC with only SSDs is great – quieter and lighter. Have a look at your options.
Yea I thought about that as
Yea I thought about that as an option but I decided I wanted my storage to be local to just that system which is also a lot faster than going through the network plus I have about 4.5TB’s of just games alone installed so I would rather have the faster access to them when I run them. I guess I could take 2 of my 4TB drives out and put them in a NAS setup since they are just storage drives that hold things like the game file installers and content from when I buy the games and store the the content for a alter install. Those 2 drives also house media content and having them on a NAS would allow everyone in the house hold to be able to access that content when ever they wanted to. Hmmmm…lol
Having a NAS on the network
Having a NAS on the network means your Smart TV can probably also view the media content. It does for me. Synology has lots of apps for playing music, running a media library, etc.
Regarding the games, I tend to use Steam a lot. When I’m not going to be playing a game for a few months, I uninstall it and then I can download and install it later when I want to play it again (assuming you have a decent internet connection). In this way I can get a lot of use out of my 500GB SSD. Of course there are games that I don’t want to delete such as games not on Steam or games I have heavily modded so I understand that managing all games on an SSD is not for everyone.
My goal was to only have SSDs in my gaming PC and I’m happy with the results. I have 6TBs of space in my NAS that I now rarely use. If privacy is a concern you can create users and passwords on the NAS and limit which folders or partitions they have access to and whether they are allowed to make changes. I have had the Synology NAS for about 4 years and it’s still going strong with many software and security updates.
The lack of a front filter is
The lack of a front filter is a problem, especially on a case with so much glass where you will see the dust on the inside. It may be best to use the top fans as the intake as they have a filter but that would prevent cool air getting to the GPU and render the front fans almost useless. It’s difficult to find an optimal cooling solution for this one.