Cooler Master Centurion 590 Mid-Tower Case

Reviews: Cases

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Max Slowik
Beth
Cooler Master
May. 29, 2008

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Introduction

The Centurion line of Cooler Master cases has always been a solid entry-level series, targeted at gamers who don't want bling. Even modders like the steel. For enthusiasts, there's the Stacker series, with 5.25" bays running top to bottom, ready for any possible kind of expansion. And now they've created a middle ground.

Combining a Stacker front half with Centurion looks and pricing is a first-rate decision, and probably one that's overdue. And, not to fall short of their namesake, in addition to the front and rear fan spots, there are, count 'em, four 140mm fan grills cut into this chassis, plus a bonus mount behind the motherboard tray.

If anything seems missing, it's innovation. This case is the result of more than a few logical conclusions: Centurion + Stacker, more fans and bigger fans, tool-lessness to a fault. None of this is bad, but this territory is well-travelled, and any mistakes will stand out because of that alone.

First Looks

Having run my hands across a few Centurions, my biggest problem is the paint, which tends to scratch off as dust screeches past at gravity speed. So, a fingerprint-resistant light powder coat is the first of many things done right. It's not bullet-proof, but as good as any Antec paint.

There are nine drive bays, four all used up from the start, but the rest serve at your pleasure.

The front I/O panel covers the bases. It's good for two USB connections, an IEEE 1394 connection, and a headset. For lights there's power and hard drive activity, and a chrome-ringed power button that's nice to mash. No reset button. The audio headers have AC '97 and HD audio covered, with separately-broken-out pins for those unfortunates.

The panel's brushed aluminum, thick, and smooth. The same brushed aluminum as the corners of the vented front bezel, which has black foam plastic dust filters. The filters are held into place inside the drive bay covers by metal tabs, so you'll have to pry to get them out (if you wanted to).

Each of the bay covers attaches to the front bezel and not the case, which makes them a lot easier to swap around. The front bezel is also easy to pop off; it's held in place with plastic tabs. A latch would have been nicer here, since the plastic tabs can lose tension over time.

Feet aren't special, but the back panel's got pre-cut tubing holes for the water-cooler, fitted with safe rubber grommets.

And then there are the fan mounts. While they're made with 140mm fans in mind, there are holes drilled for 120, 92, and 80mm fans. The spacing is such that most 240mm radiators won't fit without some modding. There's also a vent behind the motherboard, which can be fitted with a fan, if you find one thin enough. All fan mounts are punched through the panels, with a Cooler Master hex pattern.

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Page 1: Introduction and First Looks
Page 2: Inside the Case
Page 3: In Use and Conclusion

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Add Comment

3 User Comments

1 - Posted by Tyler on May 29, 2008 - 8:08 pm

How can you have a case review without pictures of a system installed? In fact one can infer from the review that a system wasn't actually installed at all. What gives?

2 - Posted by Kurtis on May 29, 2008 - 8:55 pm

We always install hardware in our case reviews. Max just didn't take photos of it all installed.

3 - Posted by Max Slowik on May 29, 2008 - 9:02 pm

Yeah, I'm still learning how to use my camera, and I haven't quite gotten a hang of changing the order in which I do things.

For what it's worth, I installed a full ATX system (Asus nForce 4 SLI 32, Zalman 9500 heatsink, 8600 GT w/ Zalman heatsink, some kind of hard drive, another kind of DVD rom, and a Seasonic S12 PSU) and didn't have any problems.

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