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How would you describe your perfect computer case? Perhaps Cooler Master says it best in their description of their new Cosmos 1000 enclosure. "In 2007, Cooler Master created COSMOS, a serene spirit within a luxurious, high-performance body. Each line of COSMOS is born with elegant heritage originated from devotion to prudence and innovation. It is captivating to know such power is enclosed behind the silence." As you will see as when we look closer at the Cosmos 1000 during our review that Cooler Master has done a masterful job of combining beauty, silence and power into their newest enclosure we feel is bound to be copied by others.  Features Superior Silent Environment: > Soundproof materials applied to build a quiet environment > Sound barrier design reduces vibration for silent operation Thermal Solution: > Dual bottom air intakes to enhance air flow and reduce system noise > Six aluminum detachable HDD modules with ventilation holes for optimizing cooling performance > Side removable VGA cooling tunnel to advance thermal airflow. Tool-free User-friendliness: > Patented finger pressing buttons for quickly maintaining or upgrading 5.25” drive devices > Tool-free design for opening side panel conveniently. Cable Management: > Separate HDD modules make it easy to organize cable direction > Cable management system for better cable routing and neatness Specs Available Color Chassis Appearance: Silver, Bezel: Black Dimension (inches) (W) 266 x (H) 598 x (D)628 mm Weight Net Weight : 16.9 kg ; Gross Weight : 18.9 kg Material Chassis: Steel, Appearance: AL Motherboards Extend ATX, ATX 5.25" Drive Bay 5 Exposed (without the use of exposed 3.5 inch drive bay) 3.5" Drive Bay 6 ( Hidden ) ; 1 Exposed (converted from one 5.25 inch drive bay) I/O Panel USB 2.0 x 4, IEEE 1394 x 1, Audio x 1, SPK x 1, eSATA x 1 Cooling System Bottom fan ( intake ) :120 mm x 1, 1200 rpm, 22 dBA (included), Expansion Slots 7 Power Supply PS2 / EPS 12V ( optional ) Warranty 2 years Other Exclusive Carrying Box When the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 arrived at my door I soon realized that this was not some cheap run of the mill computer enclosure as I watched the Fed-Ex delivery man carry it up my front porch steps and then to carry it on to the porch itself. Since I receive so many items via FedEx I know most of the drivers on a first name basis, so as I came to the porch to sign-off on this enclosure, Mike from Fed-Ex commented that this had to be the best wrapped case he had ever delivered to me.  It was not until I got ready to move the package into the house that I realized that he had been spot on with regard to the packaging of the case. The package was protected by L-shaped pieces of cardboard on the top, sides and bottom and the case itself had a sleeve around it. Everything was held in place by four sets of nylon bands that ran completely around the shipping carton.  The first thing that caught my eye on the Cosmos 1000 were the 1" round "Grab-n-Snatch' bars. Please excuse the name, this is the name I gave them, the top bars can be used for moving or positioning the Cosmos. Whereas the lower bar are used for the enclosure to rest upon and to add height to the enclosure so that air can enter through two vent opening which are located on the bottom of the enclosure. The door used on the Cosmos 1000 is made from aluminum but has a very striking black plastic inset in the middle of the door leaving an 1.25" wide band of aluminum on each side of the door as accent pieces.  On the side of the Cosmo 1000 you will find that both side-panels are removable by simply lifting a lever on the rear of the unit. When the lever is lifted a slide is actuated that runs horizontally inside the case and releases the door, which in turn can be lifted completely out of the way and stored elsewhere while you work on the inside of the chassis. With the aluminum door open you can see the Cosmos 1000 supports a total of four optical drives or devices that which reside in the 5.25" drive bays. There is also a single 3.5" drive bay in case you want to install a floppy drive, card reader or other device that will fit in this opening. The door can be switched from one side to the other by simply removing two screws making it the ideal design.  Looking at the top of the Cosmos 1000 you can see the front portion of it is used by the accessory assembly. In the mid-portion is a a large recessed area where you place items and not worry about them sliding all over. At the rear of the case are six raised louvers which are used to expel warm air from the top of the case, thanks to the pair of 120mm fans which are mounted to the top of the Cosmos. The Accessory panel is what I would refer to as the "Deluxe Version", what you have now and what is becoming pretty much standard fare on all high-end cases any more is as follows. Four - USB 2.0 connectors, microphone and headphone jacks, one FireWire connector and one eSATA connector. This new layout pretty much covers every imaginable hookup available. Plus we also have our Power and Reset buttons and our Power LED and HDD Activity LED.  At the rear of the Cosmos 1000 we can see that the unit has been prepped for water cooling tubing already. This in my opinion is a major plus. The second thing is the power supply is located in the bottom portion of the case. If you have been following the newer case designs you will have already seen a number of cases that are placing their power supplies in this location. Also notice the large number of opening located just above the PCI slots. This opening and the two located in the bottom case work together to cause a "Pressure Differential" which causes the movement of the cool air, which comes from the difference of the exhaust and the intake flow. This pressure draws outdoor air into the interior. This force is called the "The Negative Pressure Effect." Here you can see the two flip levers that release the side-panels on the enclosure, the removal and replacement of the side-panels are the slickest I have ever seen. Each side-panel has a groove along the bottom of the panel that you hook onto the case when you are ready to re-install the panels. Then it is just a matter of pushing them all the way closed till they latch.  Here you can see the pair of vents that run along the base of the Cosmos. Thanks to an enclosed mounted 120mm fan the case is constantly under positive air flow as well as pulling the heat generated by the power supply out of the case.  Here you can see how the air comes into the bottom of the case and begins its circulation around the inside of the Cosmos. One great feature Cooler Master has added is the use of two filter that cover the opening on the bottom of the case. This will prevent dust and dirt from the floor or desk from being brought into the enclosure The bar you see running across the top portion of the opening is where the side panel attaches and latches securely in place. The second bar which is located at about the mid-point is for securing extra-long video cards, but it also acts as a duct for "The Negative Pressure Effect." that we mentioned earlier. The two pictures below show part of cooling paths used by the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000. In the second picture you see where the air enters the rear of the chassis and it follows the center channel where the air in turn is directed into the hard drive cages.  With the left side-panel removed you can see that Cooler Master has once again given us a case that is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. On right-side of chassis are six removable hard drive caddies held in place by a single thumb-screws. Once the thumb-screw is removed it is a simple matter to fold out the handle and slide the drive tray out so that it can have a hard drive added to it. You might wonder how you attach an IDE cable or perhaps a eSATA cable to the hard drives once they are mounted inside the drive cages. All that is required is to remove the side-panel on the opposite side and all the necessary power and data cables can be attached.  When Cooler Master was building the Cosmos 1000 they were thinking of people that like a well organized case. You may not see it very well in the first picture but in the second photo which shows the rear of the chassis you can see two long slits that will allow you to do a tremendous job of cable management. Not only that but they also provide an extra cable ties and cable stand-offs that should allow even the novice to come away with a case that offers the best airflow possible then combine that with the fact that the Cosmos has superb cooling thanks to numerous 120mm fans, you are left with just one question. "What more do I need in Case!!!"  Here you can see the hard drive caddies that we mentioned earlier, it's the little things like the lock in place handles on these caddies that will make this case far outshine anything else on the market. Mounted on the bottom of the enclosure is an encased 120mm fan that draws fresh outside air into the case via the bottom openings. These ducts also serve as a means for the power supply to obtain air once it is mounted inside the case. Here is the raised platform that the power supply will rest upon. What is odd is the fact that the Mushkin power supply we used required us to point the fan upward.  All of the PCI covers have easy to remove thumb-screws on them making them a snap to change in the event you wish to swap out a video card or install a new wireless NIC card. Located at the top of the Cosmos 1000 as we had mentioned earlier you will find a pair of 120mm fans each of which is fitted with a Molex power connector sans rpm wire.. Looking at the drill pattern used it appears that you could actually fit a pair of 140mm fans to the top of the chassis if you could get your hands on them.  Here you can see the two slots that have been cut into the motherboard tray allowing you the opportunity to practice some excellent cable management skills. Conclusion With the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 assembled it was time to see just how well it would our cool older Pentium 4 - 530. I have been running this CPU at 3.4 GHz for ages. The motherboard is an ECS NForce 570 Split-A, the heatsink is Thermaltake's new V1, and the hard drive is 500 GB Hitachi SATA 2, the Video card for right now is the PowerColor X800 GTO.  The one thing I almost forgot to mention is the fact that each side-panel has its own egg-crate noise-deadening material stuck to it with double sided tape. The side panel fit perfectly and the latching mechanism works so well that there is none of the vibration one would expect.  Overall I can find just one thing I disliked about the Cosmos 1000 and that would be the weight of the enclosure. I would have loved to have seen Cooler Master make this case out of 100% aluminum rather than out of steel. Now don't get me wrong the case is not so heavy that you won't be able to lift it up into place, it's just heavier than we are used to. Now lets talk about the good things such as the insolated side-panels which are as easy to get on and off as any case I have ever reviewed. Bravo Cooler Master for getting it right! Another round of applause is due Cooler Master for the remarkable cooling system they have designed and implemented it this new breed of enclosure. Personally if I was in need of another, which I am not and if Cooler Master hadn't of been so nice as to provide me with this one I can honestly say that this is a case I would purchase and as a matter of fact when they become available I will more than likely invest in a second one to use for new Intel machine I am building. If you get the chance pick one up you will not regret the decision. For those of you wanting to get you hands on one of these wonderful cases you will have to wait until 1 September 2007, but if care to learn more about it you can use this the following link Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Micro Site. |
Source: Hi-Tech Reviews
I'm considering picking it up for my next case. Depends on budget though
