Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review

Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review

Introduction and Specifications

[Note – Most of this review was written after Cooler Master gave us an estimated retail price of £59.99. This was a mistake on Cooler Master’s part, as the MasterBox 540 actually costs £109.99 in the UK. Please look at our conclusion for our final thoughts] [TLDR, this case is BAD]

ARGB lighting has proven to be incredibly popular amongst PC builders, allowing for a layer of customisation that was previously impossible with fixed-colour RGB LEDs of older products and lack of a market for nice colour schemes. While many gamers love the rainbow options that many RGB products provide, the beauty of RGB comes in the form of user choice, be it to turn RGB off, to utilise a fixed colour scheme, or to create something entirely custom. 

With their new MasterBox 540, Cooler Master has decided to do something different with their RGB lighting setup, creating a custom front panel that offers users of the 540 a unique look and feel that’s unlike all competing products. Behind this front cover is a case that supports up to a 360mm radiator in the roof and a 360mm radiator in the front, and motherboards that are up to EATX (up to 12” x 10.7”) in size. 

While the MasterBox 540 has a lot of internal space, it lacks a lot of space for airflow at the front of the enclosure, a factor that we will test thoroughly later in this analysis. TLDR, those front vents are not enough. 
  

Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review  
Meet the MasterBox 540

The MasterBox 540 is a standard ATX-style case design, offering users support for all mainstream motherboard sizes, seven expansion slots, large liquid cooling radiators and full-sized power supplies.

What differentiates the MasterBox 540 from other mainstream offerings is the case’s support for top-mounted radiators, as many cheaper cases sacrifice this space to lower the enclosure’s material cost. This often forces users to mount AIO liquid coolers at the front of their enclosure, heating up intake air before it can reach components like your graphics card and motherboard heatsinks.  

At stock, the MasterBox 540 ships with a single 120mm ARGB fan, a factor that is somewhat disappointing for a case that costs £109.99. While mother users of this case will utilise an AIO liquid cooler in their systems, it would have been nice for Cooler Master to include at least one more fan in their MB 540 enclosure. 

Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review  

Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review Â