The HARD MODE of PC building - Cooler Master QUBE 500

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PC building can be challenging, but Cooler Master wants to give you the chance to prove your grit with their new QUBE 500 flatpack case that makes you build the case while building your PC. Will Adam have the skills and assemble everything correctly the first time? Find out on today's episode of ShortCircuit!
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Is your life TOO EASY?
0:42 Different build options and the confusing instruction booklet
1:50 Mounting the motherboard and PSU
4:36 Does this save shipping costs?
5:14 Front panel and concerning mesh filter
7:03 Sponsor - Enlisted
7:26 Bottom and top panels
9:11 Feet and harddrive mounting
9:35 Integrated handle and cable management space
10:33 Side panels and additional radiator mounting
11:48 Additional Maracon edition colours and accessories
12:24 Thoughts on the building experience, thermal potential, and sustainability
14:08 Pricing and final thoughts
15:24 Outro

[@Triflixfilms]

The idea of a company releasing 3D models for attachments is absolutely amazing! The modular holes is something I've never seen before. I need this.

[@DukeNuggets69]

Thermaltake did it years ago

[@Triflixfilms]

@@DukeNuggets69 what was the model?

[@BrianHolbrook-fy2te]

@@Triflixfilms Core P3 is the wall mountable one that is flat packed and fully modular

[@Gamepadder]

@@Triflixfilms All of Thermaltake P series cases support this. They have a 3d Maker site that's been around since 2016.

[@Kevin_7_11]

Cooler master also made a bracket for the nr200 that allowed full ATX power supplies, and they made the 3d model available to download as well.

[@justinbouchard]

legitimately best new case in years. i was completely expecting this to be 250 usd.

[@shadi3993]

I came down to look for this comment, never in a million years would i guess that something like this is less than 200 usd and whithin my budget

[@Daemione]

I watched the video guessing at the price the whole time - I was way wrong, thought it was going to be MUCH more, so I think $90 is extremely fair. Definitely a product targeted at an enthusiast with experience building PCs. Usually that means a ludicrous price, happy to see this one is really reasonable!

[@Lord_zeel]

I agree. It's not super cheap, but I think it hits the price point I would hope for in something that's "some assembly required." I was worried it would end up going the other direction, and be more expensive due to the R&D and/or lower production volumes. While I think they probably could have gone even lower, I'm not disappointed by the price.

[@--_DJ_--]

I was thinking the same thing, I figured around double what it actually costs. Either way, not for me, but the price isn't too bad for what you get.

[@Kyle_VanMan]

Came here to comment this as well. I was surprised it was less than $150 USD

[@Verchiel_]

With poor knowledge of PC case prices and the similar expectation of "enthusiast markup" i was honestly thinking something around 300-400 bucks. It's kinda weird to imagine PC cases being that cheap compared to something like keyboards, just by the apparent material costs.

[@KDannXII]

As someone with a caselab, building the case is just part of the pc building experience.

[@maolcogi]

This looks cool enough that I may consider trying it if the thermals turn out to be even remotely close to my old Corsair 5000D Airflow. I've never built a case, and honestly this looked like more fun of an experience than trying to shove everything into a prebuilt box.

[@DoctorX17]

I love the option. Hopefully we’ll see more DIY cases going forward, maybe options where you select only the parts you want and they don’t ship you extras [I, for example, would never use some of the colors in the featured package, so it would just be a waste for me]

[@ying20000818]

Reminds me so much of the sadly now failed winter one SFF case. Flatpack honestly makes so much sense for SFF cases. For my water-cooled NR200 build, it required me to take it apart as much as I could before I started where if it was flatpacked, it would not only have been easier (more access) but also faster.

[@Cassienope]

It was great building in it. Being able to easily remove the panels and adjust / make connections was so good.

[@FairlySadPanda]

Getting a new PC, assembling it as a test bench and then finishing the case another day sounds pretty cool

[@Jobey_99]

Another year*

[@--_DJ_--]

@@Jobey_99 I rebuilt my pc early this year, I still haven't bothered to put either side panel on yet.

[@kbhasi]

It reminded me of my own PC build before I was able to get the case I wanted.

[@panykfelidae9018]

So a little bit of insight from the shipping industry; couriers work on what's called 'dimensional weight'; the weight of the package is compared against what the weight of a given density of material would be for that space, to avoid undercharging for bulky light items. The dimensional weight is almost *always* used for something the size of a PC case; to use the example of a CM mastercase 500, the package (at 61cmx57cmx31cm) weighs 9kg, but would be billed as 22kg of dimensional weight. Cutting down the empty space would ABSOLUTELY reduce the shipping costs.

[@LinusBerglund]

The pegboard thing is nice. I mounted an Ikea "skådis" to my case and I use it every day. If I want more desk space for something not computer related I can just hang every perephial on my computer (top is already taken). Not only that, a couple of small boxes on the side of my case to store pencils, thumb drives, screw drivers, and things like that is really handy.

[@gregor2436]

I build a pc "case" out of skadis :D

[@jonevansauthor]

@@gregor2436 that sounds like a way to start your own KZbin channel.

[@Zalcens]

Just the price point of this is amazing, and including 3d models for "extras" that you might want to add to your case for free is also just amazing. Just that gives alot of room for indepentent modelers to make use of the mounts and new ideas.

[@j-tibz8299]

Bought this for my first PC build and really enjoyed it. Very easy to figure out how stuff goes together, and building around the components makes it really easy to move cables around and such. I highly recommend this case for beginners.

[@pacmancoder]

Cool case! Also, I have a case with a similar concept in mind - Thermaltake Core V21. Sure, you can't build it wall-by-wall, but it is pretty configurable too - all panels, fan/rads bracings are detachable, so you start from a clean case frame and thi is very convenient!

[@-DM]

I really like that design. The price is also great. Is there no option to put the PSU on the bottom? A server rack mountable version would be nice too.

[@wherearemytesticles]

Yes, the PSU can be mounted in the bottom. I don't know why nobody shows it.

[@scuffedtech]

@@wherearemytesticles I believe Bitwit mentioned it in his video on the case, but I don't think he showed it in that orientation. (I could be wrong though, its been a minute since I watched his)

[@jnyc96]

A 9° difference with or without the mesh is crazy. Definitely one labs should test

[@galladex9813]

I actually just got this case and I'm very happy with it. I like how its more compact compared to a mid tower and I'm an avid 3d printer and already have my side panel cover with accessories (still leaving eanough space for airflow) 9/10 wish one more fan was included and the steel plates for front top and bottom were not as closed off.

[@Sizukun1]

Very cool case, conceptually. I love building stuff like this even if its quite complicated and customizable. Maybe I'm one of those guys LTT describes as "someone who likes to set things up" though.

[@mej13]

Built this for a dedicated streaming rig I wanted really small, this did the job fantastically. case feels real nice too.

[@macstmanj3]

Its ability to be a bunch of different case shapes, like a half cube, test bench, normal, etc, that's genuine innovation. And putting together the case looks at least as easy as an IKEA bookshelf.

[@psedog]

That is an awesome case for me and my daughter to build. I mean, the choice for pink and white cases are nill. It's priced right as well. So awesome.

[@MikeLeos73]

this is really cool. i have the Cooler Master Q300L for my server pc because their is a decent mod community for it. This case seems like it will grow into a massive customization community already. cant wait to see what people do.

[@TheDefaultgameer]

Looks are good enough, and I do like the idea of building the case. But now gonna need us some thermal and air flow testing!

[@bjrn-oskarrnning2740]

It'd be really cool if you made and showcased a few of the 3D-printable accessories, too! :)

[@Lakeside_Flower]

Loved the music choice for this video, it’s so calming compared to the typical ones.

[@elizabethamoroso4132]

Finished a built in this case 2 weeks ago and absolutely love it! Sadly mine didn’t come with the Lego kit! That was so cool! I wonder if I can track one down

[@user-pg5sz2vn1w]

i would love to see them make an itx version of this. or even an updated nr200p using this kind of design/system.

[@plumokin5535]

I'm in love with this thing, it's actually super affordable too!

[@purepix_fr]

Built it for a friend a week ago, it was a really cool experience. The quality is really good. and the "little" noctua NH-D15 fits perfectly !

[@rafaelcferraz]

I used to have a Q300L and this case is pretty much a modular Q300L with add-ons. And Im not saying it’s bad, because I loved my case!

[@Jobey_99]

I have this case still and love it, this might be my next upgrade

[@blackraen]

Volume is usually more expensive on container ships than weight.

[@luminatrixfanfiction]

I got this exact case a few weeks ago. It's a brilliant design. Whoever designed this is a genius. Because this can work as a testbench with only the motherboard stand or it can work as a full case. The fact that it can fit my old E-ATX motherboard is impressive, because those are one of the largest motherboards for gaming rigs which was designed to fit in a full tower case. I'm actually surprised Linus didn't review this, since this is a hidden gem.

[@eTiMaGo]

Thanks for the vid, I was quite interested in this case, looks fun :D

[@pretol1]

I've built in this case twice, and can't say enough good things about it. The most important one is SIZE for a full size ATX board. If you have just a a couple of drives, there's simply no competition. The build quality is great, NO PLASTIC panels. Assembly is EXTREMELY simple. And access to everything as you build is AMAZING... I like it's little brother 300, but that's a different case alltogether. Another FUN to build case is thermaltake v1 and v21. More people should think about the looks and the experience, and different use cases.

[@RinoAP]

That might be the same size as their Q500L. I'm using the Q500L and love how compact it is for ATX case (and I don't paticulary like aquarium type case). Only hope that I have those feet since it is taller than Q500's pre-installed

[@dferrith]

I own this case and absolutely love it. Fun to build, super high quality and it looks awesome.

[@Stackali]

on the top i just removed the filter, no need to filter the air as its leaving the case. and the mesh isn't too bad honestly with an air cooler. fans spin at 800 rpm and cool just fine.

[@VK5014SWL]

He asks ‘what’s going to happen’ as the Yellowstone Supervolcano explodes.

[@doannhat808]

Can't wait for the Perfect Grade version of this

[@floriancupsan1246]

love this case and idea , and the end of the video was so funny to me lol

[@shlongest4437]

the struggle he was going through made this video so much more interesting. its nice to see that im not the only one who gets confused all the time with builds haha

[@wherearemytesticles]

CM said they would improve the mesh airflow! I hope to see the new filter tested when it comes out.

[@DracoDragon369]

Cooler master needs to make this idea actually cube shaped and have it be a nas option, i would buy that in a heartbeat, i love cube cases especially for storage options

[@furioustester4056]

This is the 2nd build I'm ever gonna make. First was h6 flow, which went amazing and worked perfect first try, lots of tutorials and testing using an old PC.

[@eidolusgad3818]

As a custom PC builder, I like this case as you can paint every piece before assembly.

[@xaytana]

I think this is a decent first attempt at the concept, either we'll see a mid-gen update or a massively improved second-gen product. I figure the airflow issue mostly comes down to rigidity, given that it's two sandwiched panels instead of the chassis and a beauty panel, there's no decent way around it, especially if you're hanging a radiator off of the interior panel. I also think they could get around the issue of extra panels if they just had a customization option, literally just choose your colorways and that's what gets packed in the box, rather than including multiple colorways in one product; this same mentality would also apply to other potential options, say if they went with a hex tessellation rather than the circles on a grid or even a HAF variant, or different interior components, or the potential for expansions on the base case such as doing a dual-chamber or extended case, etc. Teething issues aside, this is a _really_ good first attempt at a flat-packed modular case. Upgrading the case could also be fairly accessible, if you want a new colorway just order the panels needed, same with other potential parts if they expand the case's ecosystem. Now I want to see what other large manufacturers will end up doing within this space.

[@krysin]

I feel like a smart idea for a company would be to release a case similar to this, but where the panel holes just so happened to line up to fit the ikea skadis series with it. Now that would be a killer product.

[@shady420buddy]

CONGRATS!

[@asamson23]

That case reminds me a lot of the NR200p, which I really enjoyed building my PC in.

[@DannoHung]

If you want to mount a 280 rad in this thing, pay *very* careful attention to how *deep* the rad is. Rad depth is the primary factor of whether you can get it in with a SFF PSU. Also, you might find the default cables too short to run behind the motherboard.easily. I had to really work them. The fact that the case knocks down so quickly though really makes it easy to get everything laid out the way you want.

[@Zkrizt]

A cube doesn't have to be square. For emphasis: A CUBE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SQUARE

[@echos4240]

Honestly looks like a pretty fun case to build in. I'm too basic and use a Corsair 4000d airflow.

[@Bingzhong]

I've been saying for years there needs to be a case like this where you can start by making sure the parts work (ie: start as a bench) then once good go, just put the case together. The days of old-school acrylic cases were something similar but obviously, over time, it became ugly or unappealing, but the airflow wasn't good, or the case was too big. This is perfect; from the choice of color plates to the (extensive) use of holes/perforation, all the way down to what you want to put into the case vs. not having them be in there without a purpose. For $90, I can somewhat justify it considering all the features and options given. Yeah, at $70-$80 I can definitely see it being an extremely competitive case in the market.

[@elbeetlebeasto]

if they had options for polygon cut-outs instead of circles i would consider it. And i don't think i like having the PSU up front

[@Jtw0912]

I just got one of these because I liked the form factor and the carrying handle. I have a little older (so bigger) PSU, and a pretty large GPU so I was limited on fans and ended up with an intake 140 on the top and bottom, and 120mm intake on back and top aswell and have great thermals.

[@Jtw0912]

I would put another intake on the bottom and front, but I have hdds and my big ass PSU in the way so I just have to let the case have a little negative pressure to suck air in from the front and wherever else it feels like

[@evilcab]

the first flatpack case that I built in is a Formd T1 case. I honestly think it's better to build your own case, especially for mini itx build because most of the time you will disassemble the case anyway.

[@RenatsMC1]

Fractal Design Terra is also a good case for its build small form factor and you can put in even RTX 4090 if you wanted to and i9

[@Jakob21371]

@@RenatsMC1 the Formd T1 is better tho

[@jonevansauthor]

@@RenatsMC1 sure but the Terra is insanely expensive compared to this, and quite importantly, is an ITX case not an ATX case. It might be interesting if they could take this case and do an ITX version of course - especially if some of the components were interchangeable.

[@seanryu5214]

Reminds me of my old coolermaster q500L case

[@Foremi]

I'm just saying, I would absolutely watch front to back a genuine, seriously made unboxing and build experience video of the lego kit

[@Plainsimplemitch]

They're definitely saving on the shipping, a lot of high volume shippers get pretty good deals and are often charged solely by dimensions unless you hit a certain threshold.

[@AdamSchlesingerD]

I'm extremely tempted to grab a few of these and then design and 3d print components to build a mini-sized rack.

[@beaglebbcbox]

really like that case MAN the hook thing! maybe a version where you "drop" the workbench version into a frame easily would be cool, but looks like a good job from Cooler Master and cool price too ;)

[@MarcusAlbers]

The case build is cool and all, but I really want to see that Lego Pico case!

[@agentcrm]

I'm amazed flat packed cases aren't more common. When you're doing freight, you always want it to travel on weight. An empty full tower case, might be travelling at double it's weight, because of the volume. Also you can fit a LOT more flat packed cases into a shipping container. So that reduces the per item bulk shipping cost too.

[@k2nezumi88]

Absolutely, hands down, most likeable and watchable presenter at LMG.

[@Brimmlinn]

I will say, those instructions are still better than what Caselabs used to include in their flat pack cases. Took me forever to build my SMA-8 and wound up never using it. Still sitting in a closet with a cover.

[@vgmaster-js2zv]

actual thermal testing as a second video would be cool if they decide to revisit this in the next few weeks. im looking for a new case and i like the concept. but im afraid it will run too hot

[@rdj0981]

Definitely considering 2 of these for my kids computers.

[@kurogaming5314]

for me it makes sense for an itx case to be self assemble since it removes the step of disassembling the entire case for an easy build. 8/10 itx case just need a full disassembly to be accessible.

[@bkofford]

When shipping packages, the cost is either volume or weight, whichever comes out more on the calculations the carrier uses. These calculations are intentionally designed to result in higher charges for larger boxes of the same weight, because the conveyance has both a max weight and max volume, and ideally they would hit moth maximums at the same time, but most packages take up too much space for this to happen, so they want to encourage smaller packages for the same amount of weight.

[@Reliissi]

I bought this a month ago and I found building the setup in the case very easy considering the size with a couple of caveats. SFX PSU is pretty much a must with long graphics cards and water cooling isn't quite as versatile as they say in the product page. Installing a 280mm AIO in the top competes with the same space as the PSU and front panel IO cables and CPU power needs to be routed through the front. Everything did fit just fine in the end, but the result isn't quite as clean as in some other cases. All in all, I'm still pretty happy with the case.

[@Natsukashii1111]

Yeah it seems to me to be a mesh case as in no glass panel since like you said hiding the cable is harder

[@ChristianHaake]

I have it for a week and I really really like it. :)

[@ThisRandomGuyYouDidntNotice]

next year "testing the first foldable pc case" - there is so much karagamii inspired stuff right now, would just make sense :D

[@SocialHardware]

I'm actually getting one of these cases to review and build in soon, psu at the front actually makes a lot of sense since drive bays are less common nowdays, the modularity is really cool but I wonder how many people will ACTUALLY buy this over some of the other cases..

[@HypMunkey]

Cube makes sense, all a cube is a 3D shape that has 6 sides and all meet at a right angle

[@Tulcas]

I really like this case

[@FavoritesAG]

Seems like a nice case. Cooler Master has good products indeed

[@rekalty4477]

*Points at things that are on the outside of the box* "It's really outside of the box."

[@Iandmacb]

Bought this case (Macaron) based just on the colours. The angled internal PSU connector poses some compatibility issues (ugly with my RM850e) and my tempered glass arrived scratched, and I wish I could add two handles to the top without blocking ports.

[@jeffreyparker9396]

Not too sure about this case specifically, but I do really like that there does seem to be at least a little trend towards flat pack cases. I always wondered why so few did this. The holes and 3d printed accessories is kinda nice but I definitely doesn't seem like a mainstream feature.

[@Raidou_]

For a lot of comments about temperature performance and noise i was a bit disappointed there wasn't any demonstration with the pc running, but i guess that is fair enough for a shortcircuit, tbh i was expecting something around the 200usd for that thing but for 100 idk i'm loving the looks of the case.

[@whiskeredgundam7765]

I would like to see what they could do with this style of case in an ITX format.

[@zodiacfml]

finally a case for PC building starting from the inside out. however, I'd be probably happy with the Test bench mode or an open air config for cheaper price.

[@vroomvroom4061]

waiting for them to offer cad profiles to upload to cnc plasma cutter gantries to cut out your own cases

[@michaeldesell7081]

Ah, the classic "putting the tempered glass on the wrong side to show off the worst side of the computer" routine

[@rxjvee3680]

Can this case be build with glass on reverse side to keep PC on left side

[@delxinogaming6046]

Kind of like a Lego that you get to play games on when you are done! I could see getting this for my kids to build their first PC “from scratch”

[@KenS1267]

I know that in SFF cases putting the PSU somewhere besides the back is common, one of several reasons I hate SFF, but in an ATX/mATX case I really want a rear mounted PSU. It just simplifies the whole build. Flat pack is much cheaper to ship as volume matters far more than weight until you get a load so dense that a fully loaded container exceeds the weight limit for such, which these cases will never even get close to. CM will get a lot more of these in each container and that makes each one cheaper to ship, likely why the price was so low. Shipping more per container is also much lower carbon usage, as again, there are simply more in the container. It looks like a good idea, and better than the last flat pack case I saw, Inwin IIRC, which was just mini ITX.

[@StuiWooi]

OMG I want that colourway of screwdriver! The whole colours look a bit too toy-like for me (though I did pick up a yellow in black Friday) but the end cap in black somehow makes it look more serious?

[@jpnrndr7983]

the Qube 500 seems like a great case for lan parties, especially cause of that handle

[@Mihnea729]

Cool !

[@krysin]

In Australia, shipping is largely focused on the space it takes, rather than weight.

[@ollod]

"Lets not let that, distract from the fact, that it is a flat pact computer." 🔥🔥

[@itsdeonlol]

Case of the year!

[@WowUrFcknHxC]

Just what everyone had on their 2023 bingo cards: IKEA, but computer.

[@KarsonNow]

For this price? Sure! Great idea and design solutions 👍 I love it!

[@chillydickie]

Always wondered why manufacturers couldnt slap on a hepa filter and a slightly more powerful fan. Then it cools + cleans the air in the room

[@MarkLohde]

yes

[@amshermansen]

This truly is an unboxing channel. You spend energy worrying about the noise... and never once turn on the damn PC to test.

[@festeezy]

you didnt show the front panel connector but its a single connector for the front panel and im trying to figure out how to hook it up to my motherboard...

[@challacustica9049]

It's reasonably priced and sized, it's flat packed and it's a nice simple case. I love it. Was a hard decision to make not to get this over the Mechanic Master C26.

[@VikingDudee]

I actually like this thing, I may end up picking it up, but Im just worried it may not fit all my stuff and Im not willing to go USB for some of my drives.

[@JaedenKing]

That cable management is supreme ;P

[@braydonvaal8354]

I just built my gf a pc with this exact case last week for Christmas. I was looking for reviews and you guys were the first one I came to. Guess I was a week early😂

[@Lord_zeel]

I like the concept, and the price feels reasonable. What I would have liked to see though, is an ecosystem of parts/options rather than just a handful of alternates in the box. For instance, what if I want two mesh side panels? Or two glass ones? What about more colors? The accessory system is cool, but I think they need to offer more in terms of the core components. It's also a shame about the mesh, I wonder if some regular screen material could be used instead to achieve better airflow while still keeping dust out.