The newly released Centurion 5 II by Cooler Master, is a perfect example of trying to put all the functionality that one needs into a case, without ending up with something you’ll having to spend your entire budget on in order to purchase. And yet even with the inclusion of all that functionality you are not losing out on any styling or grace. The Centurion 5 II is a very handsome case that will blend right in no matter what you are looking to build, be that a moderate gaming rig or just a simple office machine.
Provided By: Cooler Master
Price: $59.99
Closer Look:
Cooler Master’s Centurion 5 II comes in a white box with purple ascents. The front of the box has a Cooler Master logo along with the name of the product and a photo of the Centurion 5 II. Moving to the back of the box, there is a lot of photo with detailed specifications.
Taking the Centurion 5 II out of the box we see it’s secured between two blocks of fitted styroam and wrapped in a plastic bag.
The accessories included are user’s manual, motherboard standoffs, motherboard screws, expansion slot screws, 6 pairs of tool less hard drive rails, a numerous amount of zip ties, a 5.25″ to 3.5″ adapter bracket, and a short PC speaker.
The front is composed of mesh, including all of the drive bays. This will allow air to penetrate from various points for an overall cooler inside. To help eliminate dust from getting sucked, in the entire front’s mesh is backed by dust filter lining.
The front has five 5.25” bays, but only four are usable with the top being converted to the I/O panel. The I/O bay is comprised of dual USB 2.0, microphone and headphone jack and an also a eSATA port. On the far right there is also a knockout plate for a Firewire connection, but that is optional. The front’s midsection has an LED switch in which to control the blue illumination, as well as your typical power and reset buttons.
The top of the Centurion is pretty bland with the exception of the opening where a 120mm fan can be install if you so choose (as one is not included).
The left side panel is windowed; the window is fitted for the additional 120/140mm cooling fan. In the non-windowed models two fans can be placed in the side panel. The right side panel only consists of a small indention to aid in its removal.
From the rear, we can see the seven screwless card slots a 120mm fan and the base mounted PSU. All of the mesh should be noted, it adds a lot of air flow.
With the sides off, you can see all of the functionality of the Cooler Master Centurion 5 II. The CPU heat sink cutout isn’t found on many inexpensive cases and is a nice feature to have. You can also see the rail system for the 3.5″ drives along with the screwless clip in system for the 5.25″ drives. With the plastic card clips, this case should be pretty much screwless, minus the mainboard mounts and the side panel thumbscrews.
The Centurion 5 II offers a bottom mounted PSU to be inserted and starting breathing through the mesh.
Features & Specifications:
- Supports up to five fans and provide extreme airflow with substantial performance
- Removable I/O module for flexible adjustment to your PC placement
- Adapter for 2.5” / 1.8” HDD
- Front 140 mm Blue LED on/off fan provides excellent cooling to HDDs
- CPU retaining hole for easy CPU cooler installation
- Cable management for quick cable routing and neatness
- PSU bottom fan can be setup facing upwards / downwards (filter included)
Models:
RC-502-SKN1 (silver, no windowed side panel)
RC-502-KKN1 (black, no windowed side panel)
RC-502-SWN1 (silver, with windowed side panel)
RC-502-KWN1 (black, with windowed side panel)
Expansion Slots: 7
I/O Panel: USB 2.0 x 2 , eSATA x 1 , MIC x 1 , Audio x 1 (supports HD / AC97 audio)
Material: Body: Steel Bezel: Aluminum, Mesh and Plastic
Motherboards: Micro-ATX / ATX
Power Supply: Standard ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional)
Weight: Net Weight: 7.5 kg / 16.5 lbs Gross Weight: 9.2 kg / 20.28 lbs
Available Color: Silver
Cooling System:
Front: 140 x 25 mm Blue LED on /off fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 19 dBA
Rear: 120 mm fan x 1 / 1200 RPM / 17 dBA
Top: 120 / 140 mm fan x 1 (optional)
Side: 120 / 140 mm fan x 2 (optional)
Dimension (W x H x D): 202 x 440 x 485 mm / 8.0 x 17.3 x 19.1 inch
Warranty: 2 Years
Conclusion:
The Cooler Master Centurion 5 II case is a great solution for a fairly priced mid tower ATX case. The rail system for the 3.5″ drives is very improved from the first centurion 5. The 5.25″ inch quick lock system is fantastic. Adding or removing a 5.25″ device is a breeze. The side panels are fastened by high quality thumb screws and the PCI and PCI-E cards can be removed with the press of a button. The SSD 3.5″ converter is a huge plus, while the 3.5″ floppy to 5.25″ converter is a nice touch. Additionally, all of the internal fans come with an optional 4pin power to Molex power connectors; this allows for these fans to be powered via the PSU even when the mainboard may not have enough power points.
If you want a high quality mid tower case with all the bells and whistles, for a very great price, the Cooler Master Centurion 5 II is the way to go.
