I am a type of individuals who simply likes to construct issues, whether or not it’s a brand new engine for one in all my automobiles, an RC mannequin, a brand new studio or an extension on the home, I simply like to get caught in so my favorite a part of PC possession is the preliminary system construct. Naturally, once I heard that Cooler Grasp had a brand new PC case that comes flat pack and the customers construct it themselves I couldn’t wait to have a look. On this assessment, I get my fingers on the brand new Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Pack PC case, piece all of it collectively and discover out simply how good it’s.
Timestamps:
00:00 Begin
00:51 Some particulars
04:19 Unboxing the elements
07:40 Assembling the case for the primary time
18:15 James ideas to date
22:44 Construct full
23:54 Thermal testing / some considerations
26:14 CoolerMaster Assertion
27:06 Closing Ideas
Let’s dive straight into the small print, the Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Pack does precisely what’s says on the tin (or field). It’s a flat-pack PC case that may be configured to swimsuit the consumer’s model, with a number of layouts and orientations potential. It additionally supplies the consumer with an ecosystem of customized equipment that may be 3D printed with designs accessible to obtain from printables.com so not solely are you able to construct the case your self, however you’ll be able to add personalisation to make it distinctive too.
The QUBE 500 Flat Pack is accessible in a number of variations with normal black and white editions priced at £69.99, which features a non-RGB 120mm rear fan, handlebar and Gem mini accent. A vibrant Macaron Restricted Version is accessible for a short while after launch priced at £99.99 and features a 120mm ARGB rear fan, two handlebars (one gray, one mint color), one gray Gem mini, two accent hooks and filter panels in mint, cream and pink for customers to personalise the look of the case.
Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Pack Options:
- A flat-pack case that’s a part of Cooler Masters’ eco-friendly initiative, the design improves storage and transport effectivity in addition to requiring 45% much less packaging in contrast regualr to a pre-assembled case.
- Manufacturing prices stay the identical as an everyday pre-assembled case since elevated materials rigidity is utilized in manufacturing because the flat pack case panels require greater energy than pre-assembled case panels.
- Subsequent-level customisation is feasible with swappable colors, a customisable system structure, plus a big accent eco-system with 3D printable equipment accessible from printables.com.
- Compact design with a complete quantity of 33 litres however there’s area for as much as 8 followers, three radiators, 4 3.5-inch HDDs and three 2.5-inch SSDs plus 365mm area for graphics playing cards. Additionally, an E-ATX motherboard is suitable if you happen to used it with an SFX energy provide.
Specs:
- Case Kind: Compact Mid-Tower
- Dimensions: 416mm x 231mm x 415mm (L x W X H)
- Color: Black / White / 3x Set Mint, Pink, Cream
- Materials: Metal, Plastic, Tempered Glass
- Motherboard Assist: ATX / Micro-ATX / Mini-ITX / E-ATX (as much as 296mm with SFX PSU / as much as 273mm With ATX PSU)
- Enlargement Slots: 7
- Storage: 3 x 2.5″ SSD max, 4 x 3.5″ HDD max
- Max GPU Size: 365mm
- Max CPU Cooler Peak: 172mm max
- Fan Assist: 2 x 120/140mm (Entrance) 2 x 120/140mm (High) 2 x 120/140mm (Left Aspect) 2 x 120/140mm (Backside) as much as 1 x 120mm (Rear)
- Radiator Assist: 280mm Max (Entrance w/PSU in Backside) 120/140/240/280mm (High, Backside, Left Aspect) 120mm (Rear)
- I/O Ports: 1 x Energy Button, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Kind-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Kind-C, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio
- Mud Filters: High / Entrance / Backside / Proper
Thermal Efficiency Testing
To simulate thermal demand we run the Cinebench R23 multi-thread benchmark and 3DMark Velocity Manner stress take a look at concurrently in a loop for 60 minutes to completely load the system. This provides the CPU and GPU sufficient time to achieve fixed steady-state temperature. With this knowledge, we are able to evaluate how the system handles the thermal demand and measure peak noise ranges.
Thermal efficiency is measured with the case in varied configurations, such because the default, with the tempered glass left-hand facet panel eliminated and with the entrance panel eliminated to see how these configurations have an effect on the CPU and GPU temperature. Throughout testing, solely inventory case followers are used except in any other case specified. All water pumps are set to most RPM and followers are set to a customized RPM curve by the Motherboard software program/BIOS.
All temperature measurements are introduced as Deltas – which means the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU temperature giving us a Delta. Knowledge proven within the charts symbolize the typical element temperature over the size of the take a look at as measured by HWiNFO after which the final quarter-hour of the information are calculated to get the typical. The ambient temperature throughout thermal checks is between 19-21⁰C.
Take a look at System Specification:
- CPU – Intel Core i7-12700K
- Motherboard – MSI MEG Z690 Unify
- Graphics Card – INNO3D RTX 4080 iCHILL
- Reminiscence – 32GB ( 2 x 16GB Modules) GSKILL Trident Z5 DDR5-6400
- Storage – 2TB WD_Black SN850 PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD
- CPU Cooler – Cooler Grasp MasterLiquid 240 Atmos
- Energy Provide – Cooler Grasp GX III 850 Gold
- Case followers – Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax.Black.Swap
- Chassis – Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Pack
- Working System – Home windows 11
Thermal Efficiency/Noise Overview:
Thermal Efficiency:
Thermal efficiency is an attention-grabbing one with the QUBE 500 Flat Pack. Testing the case in its default configuration with all panels and filters put in, GPU temperature appears OK with a median delta of 43°C. However the CPU runs sizzling with a top-mounted AIO, the typical delta was measured at 66°C which suggests the precise peak CPU temperature was within the mid-high 90s which isn’t nice for this CPU.
Eradicating the tempered glass facet panel reduces CPU temperature, nonetheless, we discovered that eradicating all of the mud filters from the case gave a major drop in CPU temperature by nearly 10°C which is kind of alarming.
Once you look nearer on the mud filters you quickly realise that the perforations within the filters are tiny at roughly 0.8 – 1mm which suggests the airflow is severely restricted and the followers battle to push warmth out of the highest of the case or pull cool air in.
Closing Ideas
As an idea, I like the thought of the Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Packbeginning the construct course of by assembling the case will actually attraction to somebody like me who loves constructing and modding their PC. The customisation side, selecting the configuration you need out of your case and the ecosystem for equipment might be a bonus for the modding group. Cooler Grasp has completed an incredible job with the method and constructing the case up requires little instruments or information because the meeting video sequence covers all the pieces intimately.
Constructing the case is simple, and as soon as constructed up the system inside appears very neat. Because of the compact dimension of the QUBE 500, constructing an everyday system with an AIO or air cooler for the CPU will fill the case properly, theres no gaping areas within the {hardware} so the system doesn’t look misplaced inside as it will probably do in some bigger circumstances. {Hardware} assist is beneficiant with massive graphics playing cards, tall air coolers and a number of radiators all supported. Nonetheless, I wish to see 360mm radiators supported however hopefully Cooler Grasp can refine the design in future to accommodate this.
As anticipated there are some compromises as a result of dimension of the chassis. If you wish to set up a entrance radiator/followers the facility provide have to be put in on the ground which suggests both a smaller graphics card might be wanted or an SFX energy provide, perhaps even each. When you set up the facility provide on the ground then you definitely lose area for backside followers that are helpful for GPU airflow. With the facility provide put in on the entrance of the case, it will probably prohibit prime radiator set up too.
The included left-side radiator/fan bracket looks like a pointless accent to be included with the usual black/white model of the case as any followers put in on the bracket could be slammed proper as much as a tempered glass facet panel, which might utterly block any airflow. Possibly on the Macaron Version, the facet bracket could possibly be used together with a metal vented facet panel so it is not utterly ineffective, it simply looks like an odd resolution to incorporate it with the usual case however no elective vented facet panel is included.
However the primary subject we discovered with the case is the airflow, or lack of it to be extra particular. The filters hooked up to the highest, entrance, and backside panels of the case are simply too restrictive. As we present in our thermal testing, eradicating all these mud filters improved CPU temperature by nearly 10°C which is a major drop in CPU temperature. You’ll be able to take away the mud filters however you’ll have to clear your system extra usually and it additionally ruins the aesthetics of the case as you’ll be able to see inside panels with the filters eliminated and it simply appears a multitude.
The rationale that the filters are so restrictive is as a result of dimension of the perforations within the metal filter factor. The perforated holes are simply 0.8 – 1.0mm in diameter most which is extraordinarily restrictive. The perforations have to be small to filter mud however at this dimension they’re so restrictive that the followers battle to drag in cool air from exterior of the case and exhaust warmth out. We reached out to Cooler Grasp about this subject they usually responded with the next assertion:
“Thanks for bringing this level to our consideration. We’ve got completed inside testing with totally different configurations. We didn’t discover as massive of a distinction in temperature as you skilled from this testing, however we are going to do extra intensive testing attempting to copy your outcomes. If we are able to confirm the outcomes with these testing, we are able to change the filter design as you have got urged.”
This seems like a optimistic response from Cooler Grasp so hopefully they may discover the issue of their further testing and make a revision to enhance thermal efficiency.
I just like the self-build case idea and hope that Cooler Grasp continues with this concept in future circumstances because it provides one other dimension to the construct course of and I’m positive there are others on the market like myself that may get pleasure from assembling the case as a part of the PC construct. Even with the problems talked about the QUBE 500 Flat Pack is a case I’d think about using sooner or later as the price of the case is comparatively low cost however I must discover a solution to optimise airflow because the inventory filter system is simply too restrictive and will even have an effect on CPU efficiency.
The Cooler Grasp QUBE 500 Flat Pack might be accessible to pre-order from CHILD (hyperlink is coming quickly). The usual Black / White Version is priced at £69.99 and the Macaron Restricted Version is £99.99.
Execs:
- The attention-grabbing self-build idea provides one other dimension to PC constructing.
- Customizations might be a bonus for customers who wish to personalise and mod techniques.
- A number of structure choices together with inverted builds.
- First rate cooling choices for a compact ATX case.
- Good cable administration options.
Cons:
- Some flex within the chassis even with all panels and elective screws put in
- Missed alternative with airflow and filter restriction.
- The facility button sticks in typically.
- Radiator/fan set up is compromised by the facility provide.
- The shortage of 360mm radiator assist is an issue for high-power CPUs.
KitGuru says: The flat pack PC case idea is an concept that I actually like however Cooler Grasp wants to enhance airflow for customers who need to hold fashionable high-power CPUs cool utilizing this case.
Turn out to be a Patron!
Make sure to try our sponsors retailer EKWB right here
