Cooler Master Centurion 530 Mid-Tower Case - Articles / Reviews

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Cooler Master Centurion 530 Mid-Tower Case

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Cooler Master
Jul. 25, 2005

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Quality Check

My quality check basically consists of three things: Structural Integrity, Installation, and Safety. My structural integrity testing is where I apply pressure to the case from different directions and check to see if the frame can be easily bent or twisted out of shape. Installation is the process of installing the various system components and making sure that installation goes smoothly. Lastly, the safety testing is a result of the installation process. After installing everything, I should be left without open wounds, but if I am wounded in battle I will make note of it and warn you which trouble areas to watch out for.

Structural Integrity

Given the price point, I wasn't expecting this case to be built like a tank, and rest assured I was correct. Although I definitely wouldn't call it fragile, I was able to feel the chassis give a little during the push-n-twist test. I wouldn't recommend sitting on this case, though I'd hope you wouldn't plan to anyways.

Installation

I was disappointed to see that the stealthed bay feature didn't work, but as I mentioned earlier, I've been told that this was only an issue with the pre-mass-production samples in which some drives were not compatible. Adjustments have been made to the mass-production units you'll be able to purchase. The hard drives installed flawlessly on the incredibly convenient rail system. I was also very happy with the toolless PCI slots - this is the first type that I have used and actually preferred over thumbscrews.

Safety

After fiddling with this case for countless hours, I can say that it is quite safe. Every edge is either folded or rolled, with the exception of the I/O shield and PCI-slot cut-outs. These are the only edges that aren't folded that I could imagine someone possibly getting cut on, but you'd have to be extremely irresponsible or clumsy to do so.

Conclusion

Considering the price, Cooler Master's Centurion 530 has a lot going for it. First, it looks very nice, although I must admit that I could do without the aluminum rods. It's also got excellent cooling potential thanks to the perforated front panel, front 120mm fan, CPU and VGA ducts on the left panel, and the option for a rear exhaust fan up to 120mm fan. In addition, the case is user-friendly. In the front of the case there is an angled and forward-mounted I/O port providing two USB ports, 3.5mm jacks for microphone and headphones, a Firewire port, as well as your standard front panel functionality (power/rest, status LEDs). The toolless PCI mechanism employed here is excellent. I normally give a little spiel stating basically that I dislike toolless PCI mechanisms because I've never seen a good one, but this is no longer the case, good job Cooler Master. Mounting hard drives couldn't be easier thanks to a rail system and rails with little pegs performing the same task as a screw ordinarily would in such a setup. The stealthed 5.25" bays were a good idea as well, but it turned out that my drive wasn't compatible with the pre-mass-production unit I received. I've been told that this problem has been fixed in the mass-production units that you'll be able to purchase.

Despite my stealthed bay issues, I really liked this case. The potential for cooling is most definitely there whether you prefer silence or maximum cooling performance. Aside from cooling, features such as the top I/O port, toolless PCI slots, side-facing toolless HDD cage, and the stealthed bays (if they work for you) make this case a winner.

Pros

Top I/O port
Toolless PCI slots
Great cooling potential
Front panel has air filters
Side-facing toolless HDD cage
Overall looks pretty good
Stealthed bays

Cons

Annoying steel stamped front bay shields
Price is a little high (would have liked to see included PSU)

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Page 4 of 4

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks / Opening the Case
Page 3: Inside the Case
Page 4: Quality Check / Conclusion

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2 User Comments

1 - Posted by Guest on August 18, 2005 - 3:28 am

I Googled this case to see if anyone else had problems with the stealthed 5-1/4 bay doors. This was the 2nd site I visited.

Mine are "post-mass-production" models and I built two comps using this case. Both cases had the problem of the drive door getting stuck halfway open. The first case I used a Sony and the second case I used a Lite-On.

Still looking for a work-around other than moving the drives down to the 3rd bay.... or yanking out the doors completely.

2 - Posted by Guest on September 12, 2005 - 1:49 am

I have this case aswell. And yes my cd drive got stuck too. But i was able to take off the front bezel of the tray and problem solved. Since its hidden i dont care that my cd drive is choppe and sc re w ed. with a 2nd 120mm fan, this a very quiet case with excellent cooling, and i have the Vantec Nexus black multi-fan controller with blue backlight that matches the front case fan's blue glow nicely and looks awesome. (Computer Power User used the same fan controller on the Centurion 5)Those rods dont bother me much either. I only wish that that the drive bay doors worked better. -Matt

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