Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower Case Review

We were taken back a bit by the overall dimensions of this beast but it really does prevent a lot of cracked knuckles. With 3TB and 4TB hard drives and more cloud based storage coming out, 13 hard drive spaces is probably a bit of overkill but it is great to have if you do want a massive RAID array all in one big rig. The X-Docks are really slick and we wished they made some of the internal drives with the same setup and possibly minimize some cable clutter. We loved the thinking and included hardware to change the bottom hard drive space to a 240mm radiator area, something that is a hot topic for modders for other full tower models (looking at you, Corsair 800D). The sheer amount of zip tie mount points in conjunction with the included cable ties should make even the most compulsive cable manager happy. The grommet placement is very thoughtful and helps keep things clean and tidy. The door panels are a breeze to use and feel more like a car door than a PC case with their solid feel and closure. Finally, the space for 4-way SLI / X-fire and the longest cards as well as space for extra long PSU’s makes this a case for people looking to do an ultimate build.

Cooler Master did a great job on the redesign of the Cosmos series but there were a few things that we think they could have done a bit better. Plastic hard drive trays with holes for SSD’s seem to be the norm these days but given the originals aluminum trays we were a bit disappointed they went plastic on a $350.00 case. As someone who had to lug this monster around to install gear and try to snap photos I have one word for Cooler Master: “Casters”. The rubber feet on the bottom rails prevent any type of sliding or pivoting which is reccomended against anyway, but an option for some wheels would really make this case a bit more livable. Once you place it and load it with water cooling gear and your 13 hard drives, good luck moving it without help. We also are not sure we like the top sliding panel since it doesn’t fully cover all the I/O ports but that is purely subjective. Lastly we were hopeful that the new version of the Cosmos would have some type of window option to show off your monster build but as of this writing it was only a consideration but not a commitment.

It is impressive that case manufacturers continue to release cases in the $300.00 plus category which tells us there is significant demand at this upper end. The Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower is clearly targeting this enthusiast builder but it has some stiff competition as well. The recently reviewed Case Labs M8 has many more options and is all aluminum construction but many of those options are for charge items but as a hard core water cooler the M8 is probably the better way to go. Still with a two year warranty and a MSRP of $349.99 the Cosmos II is a great case with tons of space and plenty of options to statisfy most people which is why we are giving it one of our recommended awards.

Legit Bottom Line: The Cooler Master Cosmos II is a massive case with room for tons of hard drives and extreme water cooling with a rich option set that makes it a great choice for enthusiasts that are not put off by the $349.99 price tag or the weight.