• COSMOS 1000...
• • Newegg.com
  • $189.99
• • PC Connection
  • $195.91
• • Directron
  • $179.99

by Toby Digby

Just in time for the holidays, CoolerMaster has released its newest high end PC case. The Cosmos 1000 is both beautiful and well designed. One look inside its attractive interior, or around its brushed aluminum exterior, and you know the Coolermaster designers mean business. With five exposed 5.25" bays there is more than enough room to mount optical drives, fan controllers , VFDs, and other devices. Then inside the case, you will find six removable hard drive cages.

Although you can find other full-size towers with similar storage capacity, not many of them feature as much attention to detail. Each of the 5.25" bays is secured with a simple yet effective push-lock mechanism on each side. The case also offers cableways to route all power and data cables behind the hard drives for a tidy appearance - they're even lined with plastic to protect cables from damage. All internal edges are beveled, so builders won't scratch themselves while rooting around inside the case, either.

The CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 features solid, attractive construction and a smart, usable layout. Sarah likes it!

Another nice feature is the front door assembly, which works three different ways to suit your fancy: it can open from either right or left, or be removed altogether. The top front of the case not only offers four standard USB ports and one Firewire connection, it also includes an external E-SATA port as well.

The Cosmos 1000 accommodates lots of PC components, but it also runs cool and quiet. By employing a BTX layout with the power supply mounted at the bottom of the chassis, it wafts unnecessary heat away from the CPU. There is also a removable duct to isolates heat generated by one or two graphics cards and channels it out the case rear. Four 120 mm fans come pre-installed: two on top and one at the top rear for exhaust, with a fourth at bottom center for intake. The surprisingly thick aluminum side doors are lined with acoustic insulation, and long sound paths from intake to outlet keep it truly quiet.

The molded aluminum handles at top and bottom make this hefty (37 lbs / 16.7 kg) case a bit easier to move around, even though it is pretty large (LHW: 24.72" x 23.54" x 10.47" / 62.8 x 59.8 x 26.6 cm).

The Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 can be had for around $200 and is well worth the price. It offers a perfect blend of high quality construction, expandability, cooling, and noise reduction. Anybody building a new PC or rehousing old components will be delighted to find this monster under the tree!