Packaging

The Cooler Master Cosmos SE comes in a slightly smaller box than its larger, brother the ‘Cosmos II’ and the packaging itself sports the usual ‘Cooler Master’ themed artwork. The front of the box displays an extra-large side window and for a time we wondered why the aforementioned company made this a major feature, as surely all good enthusiast cases come with a window right?

Upon reading the specifications at the back of packaging one can discern the reason for highlighting the extra-large window and this is due to one of the major features of the COSMOS SE and that is the ability to install a radiator in the front drive bays. This then explains the need for a large window indeed.

The side panel again shows Cooler Master’s colour choice, along with the specifications, which mirror those on the back of the box.

Opening the box shows the usual standard fair which is two heavy duty styrofoam end pieces along with a plastic bag in order to prevent scratches and bumps during transportation.  Now that we have the basic packaging covered, let us move on to the juicy bits shall we and that would be the external looks.

External Looks

Cooler Master have billed the Cosmos SE as being inspired by a race car design, however we at the ‘Overclockers Tech towers’ see things differently.  We see that the Cosmos SE has more looks that are akin to that of a ‘CYBERMAN’ from Doctor Who, than that of a sports car. The chassis two upward flowing handles does indeed lend credence to this thought, which reminds of a rather interesting mod we can alter do to this case.

The general build of the Cosmos SE looks to be one of quality,albeit one of steel and plastic.

Let us start with the front panel and then work our way around the system from there shall we?

The previously mentioned panel sports three 5.25 inch bays, which is more than enough for most situations, particularly with the fact that optical bays are starting to the way of the Dodo.  This panel is completely removable, in order to obtain access to the inner workings (more on this later) of the chassis.

Beneath the front grill there are two 120mm-based Cooler Master fans, of which are of the Blue-Led variety. Here at OCT we have an issue with Blue LEDS’ as we feel that they have been used so much that they have become a cliché now.  Moving on to the I/O panel and we see two USB ports of the 2.0 variety and a further two for USB 3.0 speeds. In the centre of this are the usual microphone and headphone sockets.

Going further afield we encounter the main power and reset buttons. As one can tell from the photos they also emit a blue glow, whilst above the latter we find the LED on/off switch for the two front fans which is very handy as not everyone likes the glow of Blue LED’s.

Moving on to the top grill we get a feeling of that the surface and styling is ultra-slick and it is this section we pay most attention (internally) when we review as this is traditionally where a water cooling radiator would be placed.

The back of the case where it meets the top cover has a thumbscrew, this is in order for the consumer to gain quick and easy access to the fans and we shall investigate this more later in the review. Present at the back of the case are seven PCI-E slots which gives an indication that this case is only compatible with the ATX standard only of which is the largest it can accommodate. Finally there is a 120mm non-LED fan to serve as a point of hot-air extraction.

The power supply hole at the bottom has screw holes to accommodate both positions of the fan that either sucks cold air in from the outside or from the internal resources of the chassis.

On the lower panel and we really appreciate Cooler master doing this are two removable filters, one to prevent dust from entering the power supply area, the other the same but for hard drives.

The main window in the first side panel is rather large, more so than normal which is in order for us to get a glimpse of any radiators or water cooling kit that has been placed within the front of the case. To be honest the side panel looks a little fragile, due to the sheer size of the window, however let us see how it goes when we open the chassis up shall we?

The second side panel looks to be a much stronger and durable than the first one due to the lack of a window section.

To sum up on this build, the quality for the price of around £140.00 is there, however some purists will complain with the over-use of a polymer-based material rather than that of Aluminium. Now having said the former we believe that is what one can expect for the price.

These last photos are more shots of the case, in order to bring a more complete overview.

There you go with the external views, all in all a well built case. Next we have a ‘twist in the tale’ of this review, or rather ‘experience’  Keeping on reading to find out what.

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