Coolermaster Cosmos

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar

Blacktales
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Post by Blacktales » Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:38 pm

Unfortunately, this is probably a typo for the price at directron is $200 right now. Too bad..... i would have ordered one right now !

But even at $200 is it way better than the speculations i read on the internet (between $250 & $300). And it is cheeper and seems better from a cooling/silencing perspective than the stacker 832 i had listed for my next build. So all in all it doesn't seem too bad.

Then again, this beast weigh a ton so be prepared to pay a premium for shipping.

Anyway, i'll wait for a SPCR review and a few months after it's released to be sure no horror stories are posted about the handles coming off.

LuckyNV
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Post by LuckyNV » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:06 am

OCUK and Yoyotech have it in stock, £140 +del

amjedm
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Post by amjedm » Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:20 pm

LuckyNV wrote:OCUK and Yoyotech have it in stock, £140 +del
Someone's bought one and posted in the Hexus thread about the case. I think just initial opinions - no pics etc.

Blacktales
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Post by Blacktales » Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:09 pm

The case has now officially been released and the first personal reviews are popping on the net.

This one though is really bad news for us SPCRers :
http://www.maximumpc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=65420

It seems the thermal performance really sucks. And clearance between 5.25 bays and door is so small you can't fit a fan controller. I hope someone posts other experiences with the case. Or a SPCR review hopefully.

It sucks even more for I had planned this case to be in my next build I LOVE the design. I guess i'll just revert back to my original choice : Stacker 832. At least my MFC1 will fit (It does in my p182 :-) )

If someone on the forum got this case recently please feel free to post about it.

EDIT : Then again, if you look at the pc specs in the link, you see that the guy is asking for it with a 8800ULTRA, overclocked CPU, a beast PSU and 3 HDs.

jimmyzaas
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Post by jimmyzaas » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:07 am

It certainly looks nice but like others, I too am concerned with its HDD cooling. I certainly believe HDD cooling is important given the value of data.

I think cooling may.. (and I say "may" since I am unsure).. affect the performance of the drive too. Since when a drive overheats, it pauses to cool down itself. You may notice this effect when transferring large large files or imaging across hard drives.

Having tried to backup an IBM DeathStar 60 GB (one HOT sucka) with no fan blowing on it, the drive constantly froze/paused.. and I'm guessing due to heat since it was hot to touch. I know all new drives are thermal advantaged in comparison.. but hey, you'd never know right? Maybe a 6 plattered 2 TB beast will say otherwise.

Imagine slotting all 6 HDDs in that sucker.. o man.. and on a hot 34 degree day.

ronrem
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Post by ronrem » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:47 pm

Moogles wrote:Looks truly hideous to me. Also seems to be another cheaply constructed case sold at a ridiculous premium.

Huh? I'd say it looks rather plush and well engineered. The Hexus review mentioned it being "too heavy" but that is a plus if quiet is important.

This has NO front fan,uses floor fans.......excellent. A front intake fan is an obvious bad idea if you are claiming quiet.

Perfect? No,but this is a case a SPCR freak can make very near perfect....the question of course being the cost. We'll see what New Egg lists it at...and what it lookas like in person. Often the nicest cases jast grab you in person,and you don't quite sense the quality or detail in pics.

I'm more apt to spend time on a build from scratch DIY,or modding ---extensively--from a fairly cheap or even used/scrap case. Then I'm not limited to a rather conventional ATX layout.

I COULD start with a rather basic case and eventually get quieter than this is stock....but then I guess I'd have to count my time into the cost.

A lot of folks are NOT gonna put 20-30 hrs into re-engineering and re-constructing,or a scratch design + build...and this should get considered as a legit contender for them.

aztec
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Post by aztec » Sun Sep 09, 2007 9:29 pm

jaldridge6 wrote:cool but not so cool, at least for me. I refuse to have more than one harddrive at a time in my computer, so the idea of having like 5 empty bays, to me, is just.... disturbing =/

Same here. Once I started working and got married....I realized that I would never again need as much space, much less multiple hard drives. Simply did not have the time to accumulate enough files to fill up.

1x 500Gb HD
1x DVD/RW
1x 250Gb Passport for external backup

CoolColJ
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Post by CoolColJ » Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:12 pm

nice

I like it, being thinking of getting a P182, but need more space, this looks to be in that direction

Blacktales
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Post by Blacktales » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:38 pm

I finally saw the Cosmos in person today at my local retailer

First look at it, you notice how huge the thing is. But the real good thing is that it's cheap ! Well not that cheap but compared to what could be read on the net, it's definitely cheaper : 220 Canadian dollars. The store manager let me play a bit with it and here is a list of what i noticed :

- 5.25 Fan controller aficionados go away, when closed the door has simply no clearance from the 5.25 bay front. So tight it felt like it would hit the eject button of the disc drive whenever closed so do not expect to add a layer of accoustipak. Otherwise, the design seems good, the hinges can probably be switched from one side to another and the door feels solid enough.

- The side covers, though made with somehow thick aluminum and dampened with foam, do not really feel solid and i fear in real conditions it might resonate. It will have to be confirmed. And knocking on them with my fingernails, the sound was more plastic- than metal-sounding. I like the design and style a lot though. But i wonder if brushed metal is solid enough to withstand scratches ?

- Even if a front fan is installed, no way could 6 hot hard drives be cooled efficiently with this design. And the dampening grommet feel too hard to have any dampening effect. But there is probably enough space to suspend a few HD if you remove the cages. Though that would ruin the style of it all i guess.....

- The front panel behind the door is made entirely of mesh so i guess dust might be a problem.

- I didn't get to test the tooless 5.25 bays.

- As for ventilation, i doubt the so-called vga duct will actually change anything to cooling as the optimal orientation for airflow seems somehow vertical, not horizontal.

- The top handles did not feel really solid. They are attached to the actual metal frame inside the case by a few screws but pulling on them i could definitely see and feel them wobbling a little. Since this beast weigh a ton by itself, with a complete system inside that could be a problem if you want to move your computer a lot. Though with a case that size, do not expect to build a LAN friendly rig.

Overall, it seems to be a solid case if you want to build a low power - low heat - silent build. Optimising the airflow might be a bit tricky but after seeing it in person, i'm not so sure i want to rule it out for my next build. And it just looks perfect, i can picture it next to my desk.

Grobschnitt
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Post by Grobschnitt » Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:30 am

Anyone get one yet and have impressions? Hearing mixed signals.
Some say the negative pressure thing is a bad idea and should be reversed because of video card airflow. Also the case has poor HDD airflow. I'm not sure how important that is though.

Alot of guys whining that the thing is heavy. Maybe they need to hit the gym :)

Other than that it seem like an ok case. Aluminum has always been over-rated to me so steel is fine as long as it's built well. i don't know if the Cosmos would be better than my current Silverstone TJ09

thanks

jmke
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Post by jmke » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:24 am

got one in for testing:)
Blacktales wrote: - 5.25 Fan controller aficionados go away, when closed the door has simply no clearance from the 5.25 bay front. So tight it felt like it would hit the eject button of the disc drive whenever closed so do not expect to add a layer of accoustipak. Otherwise, the design seems good, the hinges can probably be switched from one side to another and the door feels solid enough.
yup, solid door, no issues here, but as you said, no clearance, no room for fan controllers; do note that Coolermaster fan controllers have small push buttons, so their products fit...

Blacktales wrote: - The side covers, though made with somehow thick aluminum and dampened with foam, do not really feel solid and i fear in real conditions it might resonate. It will have to be confirmed. And knocking on them with my fingernails, the sound was more plastic- than metal-sounding. I like the design and style a lot though. But i wonder if brushed metal is solid enough to withstand scratches ?
a rubber ring on the inside is pressed flat when you push the side panel in place; so no resonance.
Blacktales wrote: - Even if a front fan is installed, no way could 6 hot hard drives be cooled efficiently with this design. And the dampening grommet feel too hard to have any dampening effect. But there is probably enough space to suspend a few HD if you remove the cages. Though that would ruin the style of it all i guess.....
have to test this
Blacktales wrote: - I didn't get to test the tooless 5.25 bays.
works easy enough, but it's not toolless, you have the screw the HDDs into the bay
Blacktales wrote: - As for ventilation, i doubt the so-called vga duct will actually change anything to cooling as the optimal orientation for airflow seems somehow vertical, not horizontal.
did not think it would make a difference either, but recorded 3°C lower GPU temp with 8800 GTX (with<>without)
Blacktales wrote: - The top handles did not feel really solid.
hmmm they are quite solid, with the system installed never felt like snapping when carrying the case around.

Noise-wise with all fans running at full speed you will notice it clearly; but undervolting takes care of most of that:)
Last edited by jmke on Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Blacktales
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Post by Blacktales » Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:51 am

Thanks jmke ! Finally someone at SPCR gets to test this case in the real world !

What is your config ? Hardware and fan speed / orientation ? If you did not change any fan, then it is supposed to use negative pressure right ? I always wondered if it could be turned to a positive pressure case with bottom-up airflow to help resolve GPU cooling issues. How are your temps ?

After tinkering a bit with the p182 and its lacking airflow i'm willing to try this one for my next build in a few months (Probably E6750 / Ninja or Ultra120E / P35-DS3L / passive 8800GT) but i'm still worried about temps. I usually have only one HD so cooling might be easier than on other systems. I would probably use S-FLEXes to replace the included fans or Slipstreams if backpressure is not too much of a problem for them. I still wonder why the bottom grills are not occupying the whole available surface (like the grill for the PSU)

TheZeroorez
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Post by TheZeroorez » Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:15 am

A tip for anyone who buys this: do replace the fans, I changed them for Nexus ones, one with screwmounts, and three new-style fans with rubber mounts, and this definitely makes a difference with the just loud CoolerMaster fans (even at 5v).

About the fancontroller issue, there is a few millimeters of space, and using screws to mount the devide instead of the toolless design (you'll have to use the down bay for that due to a stupid design mistake), you can make it fall in about half a centimeter.

Another dumb error is the pillar inside at the right sidepanel, there is no way you can use the top or bottom cable managing holes, as on all sides there's construction that's simply too thick to put even a fan cable around. So basically, there's just two of these nice holes available...


Dutch readers: http://tweakers.net/productreview/5515

jmke
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Post by jmke » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:09 am

yes I had routed my cables through the top holes (8-pin EATX from behind) then saw that it would be impossible to replace the side panel :/

@Blacktales: my HW config: http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getart ... rticID=620
temps.. still testing:)

kayrin
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Post by kayrin » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:40 am

For ppl like me who likes this case, but $200 is way too much,

Newegg has it right now for 179.99 shipped. There's a $90 rebate, and also by paying through paypal, 20% off discount will be applied.

the final total will be 179.99 - 20% - 90 = $54

link to newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... C8Junction

link to paypal promotion
http://promotions.newegg.com/paypal/101607/

jmke
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Post by jmke » Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:56 am

at $54 it's a steal for sure:)

my full review: http://www.madshrimps.be/gotoartik.php?articID=568

The dman
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Post by The dman » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:38 am

I ordered one form Newegg this weekend but ending up canceling. After reading different reviews I was concerned about heat in the case especially in the HDD area. Also after I really thought about the size and where I was going to put it I decided that it was just too big. Sure is perty though

jmke
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Post by jmke » Tue Nov 27, 2007 3:47 pm

Ive gotten 9 HDDs inside with room for more:)
all are cool to the touch http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/160007-post2.html

themadmilkman
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Post by themadmilkman » Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:54 pm

I'm planning a build based on this case sometime in the near future. Yes, there appears to be some issue with the HD cooling, but that seems to be easily handled without damaging the cooling of other components. I'll be sure to report back as soon as I have the funds to get started.

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