Don't Be Fooled! Cooler Master Q300L V2 Review.

[@fac3308]

I love it. I'm a builder and the factual pattern looked goofy in my opinion. This case was perfect for my shop at home because its compact and I have limited space.

[@michaelmcconnell7302]

Built my pops a new office pc with this case. Literally perfect. Stock cooler, no added case fans. Went from a 4440 haswell to a 5600g, a hard drive to RAID1 nvme storage, 8gb ddr3 to 16gb ddr4, and 1080p to 4k. This man is sending emails like nobody's business 😅

[@Sykxezn]

Dude is playing eMAIL sports

[@ghosttheoremproductions5469]

On the plus side, the V2 has a tempered glass side panel. Which will deaden the noise from your fans struggling to keep things cool.

[@User_2051]

Right he failed to mention that

[@dessywizardplayz625]

‘Oh no the thermals are worse than an OPEN AIR TEST’ no shit

[@ElevatedSystems]

No shit. One of the only MATX cases I've tested that was so far above the open air baseline. Any case with just adequate airflow will at least bring down the CPU temps, definitely take several degrees off the motherboard.

[@johnalogue9832]

I'm shocked and appalled that a case with a real brand name and supposedly an iteration on an existing case would lack the ability to properly mount fans. That's shameful. I've learned to expect this from most companies. But it deserves to be called as it is.

[@ethanshenk2058]

I don't see the issue with the case 4 degrees is not much and it looks great

[@JuanFmTech]

One wonders why not just make the holes at the front larger, is not like it cost money to make a punch press have larger ones

[@josephoberlander]

My solution was the same as every cheap case I've owned: Take a dremel and cut out the holes required for the exhaust fan (all but the very top and bottom rows, basically, file and de-burr the mess, (clean up of course, plus a little black paint with a q-tip to cover the exposed silver marks) and end up with a fan-shaped hole in the case. Then the fan can actually work as intended, with no airflow restriction due to that idiotic series of holes stamped in the metal. The difference is absolutely massive and fan noise drops by half. EDIT - my entire design is all fans going out the back. No intake fan, and no front screen. But the Dremel hack is the big game changer.

[@Midori_Ringo]

Yeah a bit of DIY is in order - you shouldn't have to but it's not catastrophic. The problem I have is CM went out of their way to mislead. Why print a pattern on the mesh like that? They could've replicated that pattern of the metal grill instead of putting it on the mesh or cut out 2x120mm squares with additional mounting points for 140mm , it would've been faster to produce and cost less.

[@Senchronize]

got a picture on how you cut it? Thanks!

[@linuxpirate]

I upgraded my fiancée’s PC into the V2 of this case just for the tempered glass and it’s been fine (no fan screw issues). We elected to keep the V1 dust filters though. R7 5700X/6700XT. Tempered glass and faster IO is worth $20 over the original IMHO. If*** you like the design, of course.

[@Chris.Brisson]

That USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is the differentiator. I wish to see actual tests demonstrating that port's performance. Given the deceptive front filter screen, I generally don't trust their marketing claims.

[@da_pawz]

the USB and Tempered Glass hmmm I am considering this case and also vs Master Elite 301 Mini Tower...

[@GuyManley]

Got the Q500L, it's the ATX version. I took dremel and cut out 120mm circular holes in the metal where I planned to mount fans. It was fine after that mod.

[@helljester8097]

I think you’re totally right. You can see just how much is blocked off when looking at the case from the front and on top of that comes the magnetic filter. I usually look forward to cooler master’s V2 updates but I was NOT expecting this.

[@solomonshv]

the first Q300L is awesome. you can still get it for $40, $30 when on sale. best low budget mATX case you can get. as long as CM doesn't stop selling the V1, i'll be happy. i bought 2 of those in the past, will not hesitate to buy again

[@jaykrown]

I believe I've been misled by their advertising. The advertising clearly states it can fit a 360mm GPU (which it can). The advertising clearly states it can fit a 240mm AIO in front (which it can). BUT can it fit both a 360mm GPU and a 240mm AIO in the front of the case?

[@loftyblond]

A pity this is only mini-tower on the market that offers a 20 Gbps front connector.

[@ElevatedSystems]

No it's not.

[@AQuirozR]

In design, it is nice, I like it, and of course the budget advantage is still there, this case always has had this issue, and the only thing it needs is to be able to put enough space between the case and the fans, in order to "breathe" correctly. I think the solution for Cooler Master in order to correct this kind of marketing issues (I totally agree with your opinion), could be just adding to the package, a bag with two, three or even four pc fan spacers (like those sold by Noctua, the Noctua NA-IS1-12), and longer screws. This, of course, depending on how economical and efficient they could add them, without increasing the price too much, or even they could sell them separated, as budget accessories for those who want to install higher performance components into this case, or other cases with kind of issues (there are A LOT in the budget market). Thank you a lot for your honest review, I was thinking of buying it now, but I'll wait to see if Cooler Master tries to read commentaries like this one, because also think, THEY SHOULD TRY ALSO, INCLUDE ANOTHER AESTHETIC FILTER, LIKE THE TWO INCLUDED FOR THE FRONTAL AND SUPERIOR PANELS, TO USE IT IN THE BOTTOM PANEL, WHEN SOMEBODY WANTS TO POSITION THE CASE HORIZONTALLY! Kind regards!

[@qianshi4891]

reading your review after I got my build. I am using a Ryzen 5 7500F and RTX 3070, with all closed, in a certain game, the CPU is reaching 95C, and GPU is about 80C. without the side panel, all good stable at 75C. huge difference. I am wondering if there is a replacement of side panel with holes in it? we cannot drill holes on it as it is a tempered glass.

[@b08m4rt1n]

I cut 140mm circles in the chassis at front fans.

[@losFondos]

I agree on the deceptiveness of the front mesh. The increased price is justified by the tempered glass side panel. The V1 is acrylic.

[@OriginalMergatroid]

I used the old case for a few builds. It was adequate but with zero real features. You could tell it was never designed for that glass side panel. However it performed OK. The V2 offers nothing more other than the USBc port for more money. For those low budget builds I will definitely be looking into other brands now.

[@DefenderTIM]

I'm comfortable calling that screen pattern legitimately deceptive. Glad I decided to check reviews before steering my son away from the V1 for his budget build. Even at just $10 more (today's price, with coupon) the only upgrade being a TG panel instead of acrylic still doesn't bring enough value.

[@joelplough720]

Got this on sale for 42.99 its a wonderful case. No its not perfect but my thermals have been fine with proper fan placement and i enjoy it having type-c vs the original. I also prefer the industrial look vs the original

[@danmagoo]

I'm just looking for a combination of: mATX size, USB-C port, removable/magnetic dust filter, and a tempered glass or other see-through side panel. And there is not a lot out there with all 4, even if there are many choices that have 3 of those 4.

[@PineconeTheory]

CJ, that's a real letdown of a review as I had been eyeing this case. Great information though, do you have any experience with the DeepCool CH370? It looks to be a similar style as the q300L V2, but no USB C, and a headphone stand, which is kind of cool. Thanks, Happy Holidays!

[@HUNrobar]

I bought the CH370 a few months ago and really like it!

[@MrJmanrey]

I want to get this case so bad ever since the V1, but the bad thermals keep me from jumping in.

[@lgmnowkondo938]

shouldn't the psu be upside down from where you have it?

[@biggsam117]

I just bought one for a budget build for $50 on Amazon. It’s tough to find a case with a usb type c front panel connection in that price range. I think for a budget case it’s fine. You’re not going to build a high end pc that requires a lot of airflow in this kind of case.

[@soucouyant]

Great video. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

[@noticing33]

take a metal cutter and make those vent holes big , cooling will be wayyy better

[@dannysmith713]

Step bit works well

[@Doobie3010]

Yeah,checked out this one likewise thinking it had far improved airflow than the previous version.Still did a low budget system for a family friend.Its still going strong.But your main point is 100% valid-fake "improved" airflow marketing.

[@marcruijs1039]

Smooth intro! Edit: I really appreciate the honesty! Some say it's the best policy 😜

[@AnalystAndy]

You might want to turn around your power supply .

[@ElevatedSystems]

No, the bottom ventilation is way to restrictive for a budget PSU with a always on fan. I should have explained that in the video. My bad.

[@Mjay1320]

no way, the temps were higher inside a case compared to open bench? no way...

[@ElevatedSystems]

Since sarcasm doesn't translate in text I'll just assume you are sincere and answer. Yes temps went way up. Most modern airflow focused cases provide thermal improvement especially to the CPU. Often dropping temps several degrees over an open air testbench, with GPU temps often remaining constant or only rising by a few degrees. This case has the second worse thermal performance of any cases I've tested in the past 5 years. If you'd like the supporting data just go to my PC case review playlist and watch each video. Any other questions?

[@Loppy2u]

Thanks can rule out this case for a micro ATX build. How does the Vetroo M05, GameMax Spark compare ?

[@Pagajewsky]

Yes you can

[@Loppy2u]

@@Pagajewsky thanks, checked other reviews now.

[@thegreatwarrior1239]

So they removed a sloped corner of the original design, and slapped on new front IO and sold it for $20 bucks more...genius! But LBH pretty horrendous tactic for consumers. I bought the original case(Q300L v.1) to do a build for my girlfriend.

[@tro7e]

holy fuck. those fake ventilation holes really got me. that's some false advertisement. i had v1, couldn't handle 3080 and 5600x.

[@Mark-qw8lc]

You're being generous to Cooler Master using the term "misdirection" on their updates to the Q300L, CJ. 😊 Thanks for the detailed review! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[@Bryan-T]

When you took the filter off the front I was flabbergasted. Deceptive as hell.

[@jfh2112]

Nah, this isn't a review. This is a hit piece. Just say you don't like budget cases at all and stop reviewing them.

[@GhostAcez]

Were you not paying attention? He was calling out how they didn't change anything outside of making the airflow worse and slightly changing the design and charging an extra $20 for it. This case is $60. That's literally only $15-$30 cheaper than premium cases and $20 more than the original q300L, which is basically the same case. This is not some good "budget" case. It's in the middle and is the cost of a pizza between this and far better cases.

[@KiraSlith]

​@@GhostAcezThe original was also ~$60 most of it's life too, which he'd know if he did his due diligence. He also installed an exhaust facing the flat side of his tower cooler (the most that'll do is choke the intake), and is comparing thermals against an open bench. Comparing to a bench is useless data, especially when he's overdramatizing a 4°C change, always compare to other cases, a bench will always have the best possible thermals because it's open air. In his latest video he also installed a 320mm AIO radiator upside down and bragged about it. He clearly doesn't know what he's doing.

[@chin4059]

Wanna eat it?😊

[@Kevin-vh6nn]

​@GhostAcez 1. The case is $50 right now, the old case is $40. 2. Type c is worth $10 3. As the guy already mentioned below your comment about the fan placement. 4. I want none if little rgb in my case, I'm not a 17 year old kid that needs bright lights, many other $75-100 cases only come w rgb

[@pretol1]

all of the "minuses" are PLUSES. Case is customizeable to your hearts content. with a minimalistic case, it's absolutely CRITICAL to have flexible mounting... And this case is absolute king, especially, if down the line you get a different component and have to move the fan 1/2 inch out of the way... Any mentioning of tampered glass side vs clear plastic on original case? Ventilation talk is just the reviewer VENTING. This case is a practically transparent to air flow... you can set the flow of air ANY WAY YOU WANT... front2back, down2up... go crazy back2front... Relocation of buttons is great, the addition of usb-c is great... is it worth the price difference? one is old, the other is new... noone questions why a 3 year old civic costs 7thousand less than a brand new one... they practically do the same thing.

[@JerryIsHairyandScary]

do you have one? and if you do how is it?

[@Midori_Ringo]

@@JerryIsHairyandScary I own it and it's ok. Not great not terrible. You basically have 2 options - modify the case or go without the filter. I modified the front metal grill instead. 30mins of work with a dremel and a deburring tool. I am however extremely unimpressed with what they did with the mesh as it's quite misleading and dishonest. That's actually my biggest problem with it. USB C is meh, if you use it a lot it's useful but I've used it like twice in the 6 months. My motherboard has it so it's no big deal. Tempered glass vs Acrylic is negligible in all reality to the end user. It is easy to work in but most modern pc cases of this size are. You can mount the case horizontally so if you have a behemoth size graphics card - 270-300mm it helps with that. There's better stuff in the price range and cheaper stuff too if you don't care about horizontal mounting. It's fine if you're running low end-midrange components stuff like a 1660/3050/rx6600+Ryzen 5500/i5--10400 , but if you're running 4090ti/7900xtx and a 7950x3d then I'd look elsewhere. The horizontal mounting is what I really like. But, I've upgraded recently and no longer use this case, it just houses my old rig for backup purposes. The thing with this is there's a lot of competition, for the price where you might not have to make the sacrifice to forego the dust filter or modify it. Stuff like the Asus A21, Antec Nx200m even the old Thermaltake H18 can be had for a similar price or cheaper. They were what I was looking at when I bought the q300 v2. There's also the Silverstone Fara but it was unavailable at the time. In hindsight I should've bought the A21 as it's more suited to high end components.

[@EverythingisFire]

Damn. Glad I watched this. Completely thought the front ventilation holes were that big, haha. I'll pass.

[@psychoticgiraffe]

you didn't fully document the issues with this case, it actually emits a disgusting smell once you hit a high enough temperature, I'd suggest trying to force the temp to 80-90c so you can see what I'm talking about, it's really really unpleasant; although I greatly appreciate you mentioning how coolermaster lied to the consumer and made a garbage product, I was trying to find someone honest on this case and your video is the only honest one that pops up, everyone should watch your video before buying this disgusting disgrace of a case that should be recalled and I believe coolermaster should be sued over the prior case which does that I described even worse at 70c and above, and probably causes cancer. EDIT: coolermaster was even worse on v2 based on your review and should also be sued for making v2 and not fixing the toxic smell issue that you didn't detail in the video.

[@Yeltrah]

This is basically more airflow by adding a sticker, they could have at least tried to improve it.

[@justeddm]

Instead of making an nr200 upgrade..they came up with this 😪

[@Eternalozzie]

this is one of the easiest cases to build in. this guy is just griping. just use the case without the front and top dust filters and it has hella air flow. the airflow grid lets you mount your fans where ever you want. nothing but pluses in this case. most dust filters are just gimmicks in the case world anyways.

[@eric8249]

This case was a little disappointing... Thanks for the honest review though!

[@wyatt77777]

Thank you for doing this review. This is so slimy with how they have that fake vents on the air filter pattern! Also, wish they kept the acrylic glass. More shatter resistant is useful for moving/having kids and keeps it cheaper.

[@conyo985]

Cooler master is so stubborn. A proper redesign of this case would make wonders but they went with faking vent holes. So disappointing.

[@evilvash0]

god who thought of that design for air flow? the Sama ARGB-Q5-BK Black a 55$ case is better then this in every way. Edit: also that case I mentioned also comes with 3x 120mm ARGB Fans on Newegg like wtf Cooler Master and your lazy Cash Grab.

[@MrCrackowacko]

Yeah, its more like the Q300L Lite, not even a V2 at all

[@testinggameslol9782]

Almost double the price and the same case??? This is a huge scam!

[@capoo1337]

That's a bitch. I'm currently building a pc using this case. It's only just dawned on me that I can't fit my old dvd-rw drive. Now, I have an ssd and 2 3.5 HDD I need to install...

[@ElevatedSystems]

If your looking for a current matx case with 5.25" bays check out the Fractal Pop mini air.

[@GhostAcez]

Thus is why you should make sure everything is compatible on PC part picker before purchasing.

[@CaptCoutu]

Yeah and the I/O was better placed

[@HotTripod78]

all Im saying is building in this case has been the worst time of my life. I would I rather walked on molten glass and sleep on a bed of razor blades than build in this case.

[@krysin]

They have specific holes marked for the fans. lol poor review...

[@ElevatedSystems]

Yes, and I demonstrated they didn’t line up. Poor viewer.

[@KYSMO]

Oh, you hater! It couldn't possibly be that bad! The original was alright and unfairly hated more than it should, and the bigger holes are surely an improvmenet! ( 1:18 ) WHAT THE HECK?! How did this pass QA and marketing meetings? How was there nobody in marketing to say "dude, this is a BAD idea, reviewers will uncover the SCAM because the SCAM is just plain OBVIOUS"? And if somebody said it, how did nobody say "damn, they be right, abort mission!"?!??!?! HOW DID THIS PASS EVERY SINGLE MANAGER AND PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS AND MARKETING WORKER AND NOBODY PULLED THE BRAKES ON THIS?!

[@dax3605]

Promo sm

[@PlayingItWrong]

I see it as fraud.

[@agumoroelvis29]

no..... cant be......

[@pankothompson5903]

sad

[@el-niccolas]