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Benchmark Results & Conclusion
We tested the Cooler Master MasterCase H500M with our new Intel i9-7900X test platform. For comparison, we brought in the Cougar Panzer EVO RGB, the NZXT H700i and the be quiet! Dark Base 700 to give you a solid idea where this case stands against other cases that are of similar size and feature sets.
Not surprising, CPU core temperatures on our Intel i9-7900X processor running at 4GHz were rather impressive at 59°C over ambient. These results put the H500M in a dead heat (pun intended) with the Panzer EVO RGB and slightly ahead of the H700i and Dark Base 700. Swapping out the front mesh panel for the tempered glass unit, temperatures rose just 1°C. This is no doubt due to the fact that the large vents on either side of the tempered glass panel allow more than enough air flow into the chassis to keep temperatures under control.
In stock configuration, GPU temps reached 49°C over the ambient temperature. Retesting the H500M with the mesh panel installed resulted in a slight temperature increase to 50°C (122°F). These results mirror our CPU testing findings. The tempered glass panel had little impact on cooling performance.
For audio testing, we recorded sound level readings with two off-the-shelf dB meters from two different angles. We set intake fans speeds to their maximum speed of 950RPM. For our first round of testing, we used the standard metal mesh front panel and then retested the chassis with the tempered glass insert in place. Unlike our temperature tests, there was a noticeable impact on our test results depending on the choice of front panel. Tests using the metal mesh front panel resulted in sound level readings of 31.1dB at idle and 34.3dB under load. The H500M with the tempered glass panel in place registered 29.8dB at idle and 31.9dB under full load.
Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.
The H500M's great feature set, first-rate components and solid build quality justify its $200 asking price. For those that like the design of the H500M but feel $200 is too rich for your blood, there is always the Cooler Master Master Case H500P, also available in Mesh White, which shares many of the H500M's features, yet costs $50 less.
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