[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
The new Cosmos II is a huge and heavy (48.5 lbs or 22 kg) full-tower case, dubbed “ultra tower” by the manufacturer. It comes with all the features you can imagine, such as support for big motherboards (E-ATX, XL-ATX, SSI CEB, and SSI EEB), a big radiator for liquid cooling solutions, and 10 expansion slots. Its price tag is also heavy: USD 350. Let’s explore this new release.
The Cosmos II follows the same design concept as the other members of the family, with sturdy aluminum handles that also act as feet for the case.
Figure 1: Cooler Master Cosmos II case
Figure 2: Cooler Master Cosmos II case
The side panels are thick and heavy, weighing 5.5 lbs (2.6 kg) each. They are constructed with a thick layer of plastic with an aluminum sheet on the external side. So, imagine how much they would weigh if they were manufactured in steel! Both panels have a huge air intake mesh with air filters. Unfortunately, these filters are not so easy to clean, as you will have to unscrew them. You can install two 120 mm fans on the left panel.
Figure 3: Left panel
[nextpage title=”The Front Panel”]
The Cooler Master Cosmos II has a sliding door with magnetic latches covering its external bays. It comes with three external 5.25” bays and two external 3.5” bays for hard drives with hot-swap connectors and protected with locks, in order to prevent unauthorized persons from removing your hard drives. These two bays are called “X-docks” by the manufacturer.
In theory, you can install 2.5” devices in these 3.5” bays; however, we found it very difficult to make this installation, because the SATA connectors are very distant from the entrance and there are no rails to support 2.5” devices. There is no wall or support between the two bays; the space between them is completely empty. For a case this expensive, we expected the manufacturer to have included a pair of adapters to allow you to connect 2.5” devices in these bays. In fact, a simple railing system inside the bays would probably be enough.
Figure 4: Front panel
Figure 5: Front panel
At the bottom part of the front panel, the Cooler Master Cosmos II has a 200 mm fan that glows blue when turned on. (The LEDs can be turned off by a button located on the top panel.) This fan is connected to an individual three-speed fan controller located on the top panel. When it is set at its maximum speed, it spins at 700 rpm and produces a 19 dBA noise level. This 200 mm fan cools down the motherboard compartment and the upper hard drive cage. You can install a 120 mm fan below it to cool down the power supply compartment and the lower hard drive cages. There is an air filter for these fans.
Figure 6: Front fan
The case comes with two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port, and the traditional audio jacks on the top part of the front panel. The USB 3.0 ports use an internal connector, so make sure you install a motherboard with an internal USB 3.0 header.
Figure 7: Connectors
[nextpage title=”The Top Panel”]
The Cooler Master Cosmos II comes with one 120 mm fan on the rear part of its top panel and space for installing two additional 120 mm fans. See Figure 9. You can also install a 200 mm fan on the top panel by removing the 120 mm fan that goes there, and there will still be space for one 120 mm fan. The top fans are installed to an individual three-speed fan controller located at the front part of the top panel. The top fan rotates at 1,200 rpm and produces a 17 dBA when set at its maximum speed. The case supports the installation of 240 mm or 360 mm radiators of liquid cooling solutions on the top panel. An air filter is available on the top panel.
Figure 8: Top panel
Figure 9: Top panel
On the front part of the top panel, the Cosmos II has a sliding plastic lid that covers the on/off, reset, and fan controller buttons. There are four three-speed fan controllers, labeled “front,” “top,” “HDD,” and “GPU.” The controllers labeled “front,” and “top” are connected to the front and top fans, respectively. The “top” controller can also control the two optional fans that can be installed on the top panel. The “HDD” controller is connected to the two 120 mm fans that cool down the hard drives located in the power supply compartment. This controller has one additional output, for controlling an optional 120 mm fan that can be installed on the side of the upper hard drive cage. Finally, the “GPU” controller is used to control the two optional side fans.
There is no controller designated specifically for the rear fan. Therefore, you can connect it to the “GPU” controller if you don’t have side fans. However, if these fans are installed, you will have to connect this fan to either an empty output of the “top” controller or to the “HDD” controller. Of course, you always have the option for installing it on the motherboard or directly on the power supply, using the adapter that comes with the case.
Each controller beeps every time you press it, and the available LED changes its color depending on the speed set: blue (low), purple (medium) or red (high).
There is also an on/off button for the LEDs of the fans. Only the front fan comes connected to this button, since it is the only fan with LEDs (blue, by the way), but this button can control another eight fans if you decide to install fans with LEDs.
Figure 10: Buttons
[nextpage title=”The Bottom and Rear Panels”]
The bottom panel has an air filter for the power supply fan.
Figure 11: Bottom panel
The rear panel and the interior of the Cooler Master Cosmos II are painted black.
On the Cooler Master Cosmos II, the power supply is installed at the bottom of the case.
The case comes with a 140 mm fan installed on its rear panel, which spins at 1,200 rpm and produces a 19 dBA noise level when set at its maximum speed. This fan is connected to an individual three-speed fan controller, as previously discussed. The case allows you to replace this fan with sealed liquid cooling solutions with 120 mm or 140 mm radiators.
This case has 10 expansion slots with vented covers. An eleventh slot located perpendicular to the main expansion slots is also available and can be used for installing a blower (i.e., a fan for pulling hot air from inside the computer to the outside of it).
The Cooler Master Cosmos II has three holes using rubber covers for hoses of liquid cooling solutions. These holes are 1” (25 mm) in diameter.
Figure 12: Rear panel
[nextpage title=”Opening the Cooler Master Cosmos II”]
On the Cosmos II, the side panels are released by pressing individual latches available on the rear panel. See Figure 13. The side panels are attached to the case through strong hinges, but you can easily remove them.
Figure 13: Latch for the left panel
Figure 14: The Cosmos II opened
Figure 15: Detail of the hinge
In Figure 16, you can see one of the side panels removed from the case. As already discussed, the side panels are constructed with a thick layer of plastic with an aluminum sheet on the external side, with a huge air intake mesh with air filters. To clean the air filters, you must remove several screws.
Figure 16: Side panel
Let’s now take a look inside the Cooler Master Cosmos II.
[nextpage title=”Inside the Cooler Master Cosmos II”]
The Cooler Master Cosmos II supports E-ATX, XL-ATX, SSI CEB, and SSI EEB motherboards, but not HPTX models. The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case, several holes for you to route cables behind it, and several clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.
For better thermal management, the interior of the Cosmos II is divided into two compartments: the motherboard compartment, where the upper hard drive cage is also located, and the power supply compartment, where the other two hard drive cages are located, behind the two 120 mm fans you see in Figure 17.
Figure 17: Overall look
Figure 18: A view behind the motherboard tray
In Figure 19, we have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using thumbscrews. The Cooler Master Cosmos II supports video cards up to 15.1” (385 mm) long and CPU coolers up to 7.5” (190 mm) tall.
Figure 19: Overall look
You can install a 120 mm fan on the side of the upper hard drive cage to cool down the motherboard compartment. There are two possible positions for this fan.
Figure 20: Place for optional fan
The power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. It can be installed with either its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you can decide if you want the fan of your power supply pulling air from inside the case or from outside of it. As already discussed, the case comes with an air filter for the power supply fan. Because this case comes with an extender on its rear panel, you can install power supplies up to 9.8” (250 mm) deep.
Figure 21: Power supply compartment
[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]
As already shown, the Cooler Master Cosmos II has three external 5.25” bays and two external 3.5” docking bays with hot-swap connectors and locks. Internally, the Cosmos II has three hard drive cages. The upper cage, located in the motherboard compartment, has five 3.5”/2.5” bays, while the other two cages, located in the power supply compartment, have three 3.5”/2.5” bays each. This allows you to have up to 13 3.5” devices or 11 2.5” de
vices with this case. All bays use tool-less mechanisms, except for 2.5” devices, which need to be fastened using regular screws.
Figure 22: The top disk drive bays
The bottom hard drive cages have two 120 mm fans in front of them. These fans spin at 1,200 rpm and produce a 17 dBA noise level when set at their maximum speed. You can easily remove the door where these fans are attached if you so desire.
Figure 23: The 120 mm fans in front of the bottom hard drive cages
Figure 24: The bottom disk drive bays
The bottom hard drive cages can be removed to give you space to install a 240 mm radiator for liquid cooling solutions.
Each 3.5”/2.5” bay is a small drawer. See Figure 25.
Figure 25: One of the 3.5”/2.5” drawers
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specifications for the Cooler Master Cosmos II include:
- Style: Full-tower
- Application: E-ATX, XL-ATX, SSI CEB, SSI EEB, and smaller form factors
- Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) chassis, aluminum parts
- Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
- Available colors: Black
- Side panel: Meshed
- Dimensions: 27.7 x 13.5 x 26.1 inches (704 x 344 x 664 mm) (H x W x D)
- Net weight: 48.5 lbs (22 kg)
- Gross weight: 56.5 lbs (25.6 kg)
- Bays: Three external 5.25” bays, two external 3.5” bays with hot-swap connectors (“X-dock”), and 11 internal 3.5”/2.5” bays
- Expansion slots: 10+1
- Maximum video card length: 15.1” (385 mm)
- Maximum CPU cooler height: 7.5” (190 mm)
- Fans: One 200 mm fan on the front panel (blue LEDs, 700 rpm, 19 dBA), one 120 mm fan on the top panel (1,200 rpm, 17 dBA), one 140 mm fan on the rear panel (1,200 rpm, 17 dBA), and two 120 mm fans in front of the lower hard drive cages (1,200 rpm, 17 dBA)
- Optional fans: Two 120 mm or one 200 mm fan on the top panel, two 120 mm fans on the left panel, one 120 mm fan on the front panel, and one 120 mm fan on the side of the upper hard drive cage
- Extra Features: Support for radiators up to 360 mm long, four three-speed fan controllers, on/off switch for the fan LEDs
- More Information: https://www.coolermaster.com
- MSRP in the US*: USD 350.00
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Cooler Master Cosmos II is the ultimate full-tower case for building the most expensive gaming machine you can dream of, with three or four video cards and a big motherboard. Its construction quality is flawless. The main problem with this case is its price. For the budget-oriented users, we think there are less expensive cases that will do the job. But if money isn’t an issue for you, you will be very pleased with the Cosmos II. Just don’t forget to rent a crane and hire four strong guys to be able to move your computer after it is built.
Strong Points
- Top-notch construction quality
- Thick side panels to reduce noise
- Latching mechanism and sturdy hinges for the side panels
- Air filter for the power supply, front, top, and side fans
- Four three-speed fan controllers
- On/off switch for the fan LEDs
- Supports radiators from liquid cooling solutions up to 340 mm long
- Vented slot covers
- Ten expansion slots
- Expansion cards are fastened with thumbscrews
- Support for 13 3.5” devices or 11 2.5” devices
- Tool-less installation mechanisms for 5.25” and 3.5” devices
- Anti-vibration mechanisms for 3.5” devices
- A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
- Holes for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
- Clips for fastening cables using cable ties
Weak Points
- Very expensive
- Should have an adapter for installing 2.5” devices in the external 3.5” docks
- Doesn’t support HPTX motherboards
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