In fact, anybody can construct their very own PC. However do you know you may construct your personal PC casetoo? Cooler Grasp’s Qube 500 Flatpack is poised to warmth up the marketplace for compact PC instances with the standard, efficiency, and suppleness you’d look forward to finding in a factory-assembled case. Those that didn’t know {that a} “construct your personal case” market existed can look to our In Win Airforce overview as a latest style of this uncommon breed, and see among the areas that Cooler Grasp hoped to enhance within the Qube 500’s design. We expect the corporate succeeded, with a pretty, enjoyable aesthetic that is available in a number of colours, can host full-ATX motherboards and full-size energy provides, and delivers above-average worth (and plenty of enjoyable!) for the cash. We crown the Qube with our Editors’ Alternative honors for a finances creative-project chassis.
The Design: Go On, Construct Me a Chassis
Although the Qube 500 arrived flatpacked, we suspect potential consumers will wish to see what the completed field seems like earlier than studying additional. So we’ll skip forward in time and begin off by displaying off the assembled chassis, and roll again to the components presentation later.
We obtained the black model of the case; Cooler Grasp additionally presents a pure white mannequin for a similar value, in addition to a pricier ($99.99) Qube 500 Macaron model that comes with contrasting facet panels, with the primary chassis body and inside in white, and the panels in pastel mint, cream, and pink. The entrance and high panels characteristic detachable fascia with mud covers hooked up to their underside. A detachable deal with is on the high of the again panel, and a glass facet panel covers a gap that additionally helps an non-obligatory swinging radiator bracket.
Trying extra intently on the entrance/high edge bevel, we see a single USB Sort-C port and two USB Sort-A ports, an influence button with an LED power-indicator ring, and a headphone/microphone combo jack.
Round again we see an influence plug for the inner energy provide mount’s extension cable (extra about PSU mounting later), a regular seven-slot expansion-card bracket with all of its separator bars omitted to permit vertical graphics-card mounting, and a manufacturing unit 120mm exhaust fan. (Cooler Grasp’s promotional materials claims {that a} 140mm fan will match right here, however we don’t see a spot to place it.) You’ll have to present your personal riser cable for vertical card mounting.
Eradicating the facet panels and the entrance and high faces exposes a plethora of fan mounts, with the detachable facet bracket holding as much as two 140mm followers (the identical as the highest, backside, and entrance panels).
The highest additionally has a set of holes for putting in a 3.5-inch drive on vibration-damping rubber grommets. Although solely round 52mm of vertical house extends above the motherboard for closed-loop coolers, the mounts additionally present round 48mm of horizontal clearance to permit thicker cooling options to clear onboard parts. (Subtract 20mm from that for 140mm- or 280mm-format coolers.)
The world behind the motherboard helps one other 3.5-inch drive, or two 2.5-inch drives, once more on grommeted holes. Holes for mounting a 3rd 2.5-inch drive are hidden manner up behind the underside nook of the entrance panel.
So, What’s Truly within the Flatpack?
The Qube 500 is available in a low, sq. field resembling a case of flooring tiles. The idea of the Qube 500 is a 3D motherboard tray, proven dealing with down subsequent to the facility provide mounting bracket under…
After noticing the beneficiant quantity of cable space for storing, we get a greater have a look at the 2 2.5-inch drive mounts (behind the motherboard’s backside, high of picture) in addition to the additional holes that enable a 3.5-inch drive to be positioned there as an alternative. A 3rd 2.5-inch drive mount remains to be barely discernable, tucked into the tray’s backside entrance nook (proven within the high proper nook within the picture above). Additionally word the opposite finish of the AC extension cable for the inner energy provide bay.
Within the picture under, the carry deal with makes the again panel seem longer than the entrance panel, nevertheless it’s detachable. Just like the carrying deal with, the port part is factory-mounted to the highest fringe of the entrance panel.
The highest and backside panels are interchangeable, and that implies that customers can construct the Qube 500 upside-down if they like. The explanation you may wish to try this? Some builders choose to have their glass showcase facet on the appropriate, with their motherboard upside-down. (At the very least then it’s simpler to see the followers in your graphics card, no?)
You too can go away the case within the anticipated orientation and swap the facet panels, having the panel that usually goes behind the motherboard tray mounted over the motherboard. Doing this offers air flow to the non-obligatory swinging facet radiator mount.
We will’t consider a great motive to place glass on the ugly facet of the case, however that is perhaps needed for those who swapped the vented panel for the explanation we simply talked about. Most of us will likely be utilizing this panel within the typical place on the open facet, in order that we are able to see our fairly RGB reminiscence modules, or no less than our motherboard’s indicator lights.
Constructing Up (and With) the Qube 500
The Qube 500 comes filled with an set up information, 10 ratcheting cable ties, 4 case toes, a pack of #6-32 (imperial) screws, a pack of standoffs and drive mounting pins, sufficient rubber grommets to accommodate 5 drives, and a vertical graphics card bracket. Drive pins are headless and easily push into the holes of grommets, secured through friction.
The inside cables embrace HD Audio for the headphone/mic combo jack, a front-panel energy button/energy LED combo cable, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 cable for the 2 Sort-A ports, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 cable for the Sort-C port.
We mounted our motherboard and energy provide onto the motherboard-tray base earlier than constructing the case round these components. Discover that there’s additional house on the facility provide bracket that permits it to carry bigger, PS/2-style full-size ATX12V models. (We used an SFX mannequin.)
We added the again panel and our graphics card earlier than ending working our manner across the case to finish it.
Entrance and rear panels are secured to the motherboard tray with 4 screws, whereas high and backside panels are secured to the tray utilizing solely hook tabs. Two screws every of the highest and backside panel safe the outer corners to the back and front panels.
Discover that the Qube 500 could be very compact regardless of being full ATX. That’s partly as a result of its power-supply mounting space is up entrance, with the choice to relocate it to the underside panel. Entrance-mounting the facility provide accommodates ATX motherboards and permits for EATX motherboard assist with boards which can be barely bigger than ATX, which isn’t normally an issue since EATX “gaming” motherboards are typically lower than 11 inches deep. Conversely, transferring the facility provide to the underside restricts motherboard house to MicroATX proportions.
Observe that utilizing a full-ATX energy provide within the entrance place will hold you from mounting any entrance followers alongside the within entrance of the case. It might additionally intervene with a video card that is greater than 11 inches lengthy.
Right here you may see the Qube 500 constructed out. In case you choose to restrict your lighting to just some highlights, the black model of the Qube 500 is perhaps a good selection. Heck, as you may see above, it simply is perhaps a terrific alternative! If you’d like the colourful panels of the Macaron model, although, we do not see an choice but for buying other-color panels individually simply but.
Testing the Cooler Grasp Qube 500: Ethereal Sufficient for Assemble-It-Your self
So here is a fast recap of the usual take a look at parts we use in ATX instances…
In our checks, the Qube 500 takes third place for CPU temperature in a decent race between equally formed instances, nevertheless it falls behind the equally ventilated Fractal Design North and the equally themed In Win Airforce. That makes extra sense after we take into account that each the North and the Airforce have been factory-equipped with consumption followers, whereas our Qube 500 construct is destructive stress. (All followers are exhausts.)
The proximity of our closed-loop CPU cooler’s followers to the motherboard’s voltage regulator does favors for the Qube 500’s voltage-regulator cooling numbers, and the addition of a 120mm exhaust fan of its personal in all probability helped as effectively.
You normally need an consumption fan to maintain your GPU cool, although we’ve seen some spectacular design workarounds in earlier critiques. The Qube 500 doesn’t power air previous the graphics card, nevertheless it nonetheless solely retains our card a couple of levels hotter than people who do. Not unhealthy for a compact case like this.
The Qube 500’s noise numbers don’t utterly make sense to us, because it has however one exhaust fan that isn’t wherever near the factors at which we place our meter, however no less than it didn’t lose this take a look at. That notoriety goes to the In Win Airforce on this take a look at lot.
Verdict: Nice Enjoyable and Worth, if You are Eager on a Challenge
Most of what Cooler Grasp places forth because the rationale for producing its Qube 500 as a flat-packed enclosure includes shipping-material reductions, and the satisfaction of constructing it your self: not simply the PC, however the case itself, too. The latter makes it super-suited to a household weekend venture, as a fascinating technique to introduce a toddler or a teen to PC constructing. On the very least, the youngest helper can type components, screw collectively the case body, and snap on the panels, even when the finer work of cabling or header pins is past them.
In fact, for those who’re not within the DIY mindset and do not have an IKEA build-it itch to scratch with a screwdriver, that every one could sound like one thing a third-grade arts-and-crafts teacher would say. And certainly, there is not that a lot to the precise case construct; skilled PC-building arms will not get a lot stimulation from so easy a activity. Nonetheless, there’s that $79.99 value and the concept of saving on some packaging to pique your curiosity, even when the chassis-assembly facet simply appears an additional chore. The design proportions and the configurability of the Qube 500, paired with the worth, do win us over, charming even this jaded observer of PC instances.
