- Nov 2, 2012
- 54
- 0
- 10,640
Hi,
This is my first review ever. I'm posting this here in hopes that it'll help because this case is often used for budget-oriented PCs, where available (America) but I couldn't find any review of it at the time of purchase. I took a chance and... well, let's see if it was worth the risk:
Paid $44.28 (Canadian dollars) and got $15 MIR, so total $29.48. That's damn cheap for a full ATX tower!!! But what do you get at this price?
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=10017&product_name=K350
You get a case with some interesting features, indeed! Let's list the most appealing ones:
- A side panel with a plastic window: At this price, it's almost impossible to get. Looks great, doesn't it? And guess what: The interior is black, too, not steel! Great look, overall
- A front mesh to improve airflow, and a pre-installed 120mm red led fan. Sadly, the fan can't be removed because it's between the front mesh and the 2.5" bays, and everything is riveted. My case had a wire of this very fan cut in two, making the fan, useless. so I had to use small pliers to get it, and I had to fix it to make the fan run. And now the led doesn't turn on. RMA this: have you seen the size of that? Shipping will cost me more than a new case, not mentioning that I would have to take my PC apart (because it's always at the very end that you notice this!)
- A front USB 3.0 and a front USB 2.0 (along with audio and mic jack): Convenient. A single USB 3.0 seems little, but how many USB 3.0 devices do you have??? One, right. And your mobo may have 4 other usb3.0 ports in the back of the PC. But here's the catch: The USB 2.0 doesn't work at all on my case. Am I damned???
- Front, bottom, top, side and back 120mm spaces for more fans, and bottom-mounted PSU. Ok, here's the other catch: The front fan can't be repaired, the side and back panel fan spaces are ok, the bottom one is, well, rarely used, and the top... can't put a fan in here because the mobo goes all the way to the top, blocking the space for the fan. So in fact, you get only a single front-mounted 120mm, side and back 120mm fans (aftermarket, of course), and your PSU. And the dust filters are hardly removable without spilling their content on your computer parts. Better leave them there and use a vacuum. Anyways, you'll need one for the inaccessible front dust filter...
- 3x 5.25" bays, 1x 3.5" exposed bay, and 6 hidden 3.5" bays. That's enough space for a small ATX tower. The pain comes when you try to use the toolless system. Available for only 3 bays, this nasty thing is supposed to help you. Well it doesn't. So keep your screwdriver close. Oh and try not to cut yourself removing the front mesh of any 5.25" bay... I had a Compaq computer 10 years ago and it was easier to remove that 5.25" cover...
- Cable management system: So little space between the mobo support and the (removable) side panel that my ATX 24 pin cord won't fit. I managed to put every other thing there, but this power cord doesn't fit. But you have many holes to route your cables.
- Water-cooling system holes. Honestly, not really useful because if you need water-cooling you'll put more money on your case than that, but hey, if you have to run cables to the back of the mobo or such, holes are there, with plastic coating so you won't cut your wires...
- Enough space for most full-length graphic cards and CPU coolers, and 7 expansion card slots. but guess what? You have to break your case to open a slot. That's right, you heard me. When you remove a slot cover, it is impossible to but it back. On is already missing when you open the box (top-one, maybe for the GPU card... mine goes to the second slot, and it's impossible to use a cover to block that gap)
So is it a good case overall? Well, it's not quality stuff. Expect broken parts, incomplete features, and such. It's just like buyin' a Korean car. The seller has made a good pitch, you're happy for the first month, and then you realize that it's noisy, it's hard to handle, it's small, it hasn't enough power, and the you wish you'd have bought an American car (or any other car, just not Korean!). But hey, you paid $5000 less that any other car. Right. It's the same here. You wish you'd have a good tooless design, that cable management was easier, that the front fan and USB would work, but hey, you paid less than $30...
Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes and no. If I could make the choice again, I'd make it right and buy something else, like the HAF-912 or HAF-912 Advanced. Do I wish to send antrax to Cooler Master's office? No, considering the cheap price (and that I'm no terrorist... I mean I'm Canadian ;-) )
This is my first review ever. I'm posting this here in hopes that it'll help because this case is often used for budget-oriented PCs, where available (America) but I couldn't find any review of it at the time of purchase. I took a chance and... well, let's see if it was worth the risk:
Paid $44.28 (Canadian dollars) and got $15 MIR, so total $29.48. That's damn cheap for a full ATX tower!!! But what do you get at this price?
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=10017&product_name=K350
You get a case with some interesting features, indeed! Let's list the most appealing ones:
- A side panel with a plastic window: At this price, it's almost impossible to get. Looks great, doesn't it? And guess what: The interior is black, too, not steel! Great look, overall
- A front mesh to improve airflow, and a pre-installed 120mm red led fan. Sadly, the fan can't be removed because it's between the front mesh and the 2.5" bays, and everything is riveted. My case had a wire of this very fan cut in two, making the fan, useless. so I had to use small pliers to get it, and I had to fix it to make the fan run. And now the led doesn't turn on. RMA this: have you seen the size of that? Shipping will cost me more than a new case, not mentioning that I would have to take my PC apart (because it's always at the very end that you notice this!)
- A front USB 3.0 and a front USB 2.0 (along with audio and mic jack): Convenient. A single USB 3.0 seems little, but how many USB 3.0 devices do you have??? One, right. And your mobo may have 4 other usb3.0 ports in the back of the PC. But here's the catch: The USB 2.0 doesn't work at all on my case. Am I damned???
- Front, bottom, top, side and back 120mm spaces for more fans, and bottom-mounted PSU. Ok, here's the other catch: The front fan can't be repaired, the side and back panel fan spaces are ok, the bottom one is, well, rarely used, and the top... can't put a fan in here because the mobo goes all the way to the top, blocking the space for the fan. So in fact, you get only a single front-mounted 120mm, side and back 120mm fans (aftermarket, of course), and your PSU. And the dust filters are hardly removable without spilling their content on your computer parts. Better leave them there and use a vacuum. Anyways, you'll need one for the inaccessible front dust filter...
- 3x 5.25" bays, 1x 3.5" exposed bay, and 6 hidden 3.5" bays. That's enough space for a small ATX tower. The pain comes when you try to use the toolless system. Available for only 3 bays, this nasty thing is supposed to help you. Well it doesn't. So keep your screwdriver close. Oh and try not to cut yourself removing the front mesh of any 5.25" bay... I had a Compaq computer 10 years ago and it was easier to remove that 5.25" cover...
- Cable management system: So little space between the mobo support and the (removable) side panel that my ATX 24 pin cord won't fit. I managed to put every other thing there, but this power cord doesn't fit. But you have many holes to route your cables.
- Water-cooling system holes. Honestly, not really useful because if you need water-cooling you'll put more money on your case than that, but hey, if you have to run cables to the back of the mobo or such, holes are there, with plastic coating so you won't cut your wires...
- Enough space for most full-length graphic cards and CPU coolers, and 7 expansion card slots. but guess what? You have to break your case to open a slot. That's right, you heard me. When you remove a slot cover, it is impossible to but it back. On is already missing when you open the box (top-one, maybe for the GPU card... mine goes to the second slot, and it's impossible to use a cover to block that gap)
So is it a good case overall? Well, it's not quality stuff. Expect broken parts, incomplete features, and such. It's just like buyin' a Korean car. The seller has made a good pitch, you're happy for the first month, and then you realize that it's noisy, it's hard to handle, it's small, it hasn't enough power, and the you wish you'd have bought an American car (or any other car, just not Korean!). But hey, you paid $5000 less that any other car. Right. It's the same here. You wish you'd have a good tooless design, that cable management was easier, that the front fan and USB would work, but hey, you paid less than $30...
Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes and no. If I could make the choice again, I'd make it right and buy something else, like the HAF-912 or HAF-912 Advanced. Do I wish to send antrax to Cooler Master's office? No, considering the cheap price (and that I'm no terrorist... I mean I'm Canadian ;-) )
. I was disappointed. And then I saw this review.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram