i think what cooler master is doing here is to introduce a new air route, drawing air in from the bottom and exhausting them out from the top. not sure if this will work because the path might be blocked by graphic card. but then again the case is really nice and clean.
then there's the bottom placement of the PSU, predrilled holes for water cooling, aluminium rails stands, removeable filter for intake fan etc...

This post has been edited by webster: Nov 19 2007, 10:37 PM

hmm.. lovely case, lovely design... i love this casing.. shud i change? hehehe.. just joking..

This is the sight that greets you after popping off the side panel. See that big black bar across the middle of the case? That's the graphics card windtunnel as Coolermaster calls it.

















Let's remove the windtunnel to see how it works. Just push the tab on the front like this.
















Swivel it out on the hinge like this and just pull it out.














The windtunnel removed from case. It has a nice brushed aluminum plate with the Coolermaster logo on it. I haven't peeled the protective plastic sheet from it. The scratches that can be seen near the Coolermaster logo is actually just the plastic sheet. After peeling it off, it's a pristine brushed aluminum surface.
















The back of the windtunnel. It doesn't come with a fan.














Here's the windtunnel with a 120mm fan installed in it. This is the proper orientation for the windtunnel fan. It's meant to draw air in from the back of the case and blow it out directly on to the graphics cards. This should be really good for SLI set ups.

I don't think the wind tunnel would work flawlessly ..

If the user is using stock cooler found on 8800 series and 2900XT ..

the hot air that exhaust from the rear side of the case would be inhale by the wind tunnel to cool off the card ...

Apart from that it might even drag the hot air exhaust from the rear case fan ..

Imagine if a hot CPU is cooled with tower cooler and exhaust hot air through the rear vents. more or less the hot air might be drag back into the system through the wind tunnel ..

just some point to thought of ... probably u could prove my theory is wrong ... Ian ...

Well, I'll be testing the thermal characteristics of the case soon. After I finish the initial review of the case. I will install my hot hot hot hardware inside to try out the thermals.

I'll get back to the part where I said this case is really good for lazy enthusiasts. The Cosmos' ventilation system is totally filtered. There's not a single intake that sucks in unfiltered and dusty air. The intake of this case is right at the bottom. That's why the Cosmos sits off the table on those rails. It's so that nice cool, clean air can go through the bottom and into the case.

This is the bottom of the case. See those nylon mesh filters?










All you need to do for maintenance is to slide these filters off like this.










Filters off. You can now see where the intake areas are. On the left side is the intake for the PSU, the middle is for the directional louver intake fan I showed earlier and the right side is for the HDD area.







This is how it works when the case is in it's normal position when sitting on your desktop. Just put your hand under the front and back panels and pull the filters out.













All you have to do then is to wash these filters. They're actually the same exact material that's being used in our home air conditioners. Just flush it with water, fling off the water, put it in front of a fan for about 30 minutes and you should be good to go. Since all the intake air is filtered, you will not be cleaning the internals often like in normal PC cases. That's why I love this ventilation system so much. I live in a very dusty environment caused by contruction around my housing area so this is a rather brilliant system for people living in dusty places. I wont have to clean out all my fans and internals every month with a filtration system like this.











View from the top to show the intake vents for the PSU and the louvered fan. Take note of the foam lining on the PSU support. That is a very nice feature. This will help reduce vibrations between the PSU and case and also prevent our uber expensive PSUs from getting scratched. Very important not to scratch the PSU as a lot of enthusiasts own really expensive PSUs nowadays. These PSUs cost as much as mid range graphics cards at more than rm1k and it really hurts to see scratches on them.












The front intake vent can be seen under the HDDs section after removing all the drawers.











There's also an intake vent above the HDD cages.








You can purchase an optional louvered fan just like the one on the floor of the case and install it here to make sure the HDDs get enough fresh air through the intakes at the bottom of the case. Again, it's a tool free design. All you have to do is pop it into the slots and it's done.



This post has been edited by ianho: Nov 20 2007, 12:05 AM

like the fact they went the extra mile with the toolbox n esata, anyway for a casing that doesnt start with an L or S not bad actually plus it looks different in a positive way

uncle...can op1000 cabel all long enuf for this casing? btw this casing good enuf space for watercooling? i hope the air ventilation is good...

damn, this casing really puts down my antec p180b really bad lol, and just for an additional rm200 or so.

and ive really been very fond of acoustic casings with proper dust filtering systems, this really fits my needs. good review too man, looking forward to see your thermal review on the case, as the antec dont fare too well on the thermal department.

Shudn be a prob at all. OP1000 and all the other top end PSUs have very long wires.







I'll be sure to share the thermal results later on.

The 2x120mm exhaust on the top panel. It exhausts air out through the louvered vents on the top, this results in quieter operation as the louvers act as an additional buffer and directs the air and sound towards the back of the case. People who use water cooling will be able to mount radiators up there too. The case comes with only 1 fan at the top though. In my opinion this is a minus point. A very big minus point in fact.














Finally, let's get to the aesthetics. Wire management will be superb with this case. Just take a look at this picture and you'll see why. All wires can be hidden behind the mobo tray and HDD drawers. There are 4 holes in the mobo tray(2 vertical slots and 2 horizontal slots) for wires going to and from the mobo to ensure there are no surplus wires hanging around inside the mobo area. I will experiment with wire management in detail once I get to installing all the parts in the case.
















I'll end the aesthetics part of the review with this shot again. It's just so nice I cant resist posting it again. This is the defining part of the Cosmos' design in my opinion. I'll be sure to install some red lights there later, to make it look like a rocket exhaust with flames.












Conclusion

This case is brilliant. It looks great in my opinion. However, this is a contentious point in many forums because many people have not actually seen the case in real life. They take a look at it in the pictures and just dismiss it as boring. I understand that as I too dismissed it as a boring looking design. That was until I saw it in real life at a shop. It kind of jumped out at me saying "Hey! Look at me". I actually did a double take and turned back around because I walked past it without realising it was the Cosmos. I then took a closer look at it and really liked it. Ever since then I have been waiting impatiently to review the Cosmos. I've finally got my hands on it and I'm in love.

The build quality is really good and solid. This is to be expected seeing as it's made with a steel chassis. Only the handles, side panels and front door are made of aluminum to give it an exclusive look. The heavy steel chassis may be a minus point in some people's point of view. I like it though. A good solid steel chassis keeps everything nice and sturdy. It also cuts out a lot of vibrations. Those of you who remember the good old Stacker STC-T01 will know just how good a solid steel chassis can be.

Sound insulation is absolutely fantastic. Those side panels are not just there to look good. They actually work to kill noise. The acoustic foam must be doing a good job of it. I actually tested the sound insulation property of this case. Problem is there's no way to put that in writing so I'll just try and describe how good the sound insulation is. I put a 90mm Delta screamer fan inside the case to test it. As you know, a Delta screamer sounds like a vacuum cleaner at 12V. So I reckoned that was the best way to check it out. As it turns out, the sound of the Delta screamer was about half of what it sounds like in free air, outside the case. This was tested by turning on the fan with the side panel open. Then I closed the side panel and the sound level dropped by half I reckon. There's no hard facts to quantify this unless I use a sound meter but I can assure you, the Delta fan no longer sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

Finally, the tool free mechanisms are just brilliant. I've never liked tool free cases until I got this case. They work really well and keep everything nice and tight after installation. No rickety, crickety noises and vibrations from the cheap tool free designs in all the tool free designs I've seen to date. This is the first time I'm actually endorsing tool free mechanisms.

After all that glowing praise, I do have one major gripe about this case. The lack of fans. For a case at this price point, Coolermaster should provide 2x120mm fans for the top exhaust, rear exhaust, windtunnel and also include another louvered fan for the top of the HDD cage. Other than that, it's just perfect.

I will be installing the hardware later to test the thermal characteristics and wire management results. Will update then.

This post has been edited by ianho: Nov 20 2007, 01:15 AM

hows the space for this casing? big? i hope airflow also good nia...feel wanna go for tj07...but this cosmos still i waiting for ur review uncle

wut's is da price?

would love to know temps for hdd & vga...

woot! priced at only RM799? this is actually a bargain for those looking for decent high end casing... about the look, the design of Cosmo 1000 is future proof, at least for a couple of years to come. It's nice to see makers like CM take the lead in designing radical and yet practical casing for the masses. Gone are the boxy, squarish, design...(remember the beige colour casing?)

Please dont compare this to those raidmax casing, Cosmo 1000 is completely in a different league in term of functionality and the internal design.

Just when I was leaning towards LianLi V1200 for my next casing upgrade, Cosmo 1000 suddenly made me re-evaluate my options...

i got q quote from one of the bulk sellers (can't remember who) for around rm690 for this casing../

The zhen_wei seller, if not mistake he offer this price.

okboy:
try Jy14... i bought my casing from him last time, nice seller with nice price... can try pm him...

ianho:
btw nice to have dai low Ianho back with this cool review... nice case

waiting for u to install hardwares in it and do some cable management on it...

bro ianho,
why my Cosmos 1000 are different with urs?
after i go through ur review and pictures, i found few difference between urs and mine.
1) i dun have fan mount in the VGA duct.
2) my HDD drawers dont have the thermal pad + the drawers dont have any surface, but only a hole at the bottom of the drawer and the size is as big as ur thermal pad
3) i have 3 fans that come with the case compared to u which is 1 fan only.
4) our cosmos box a bit different.

other than that, i cant see with my naked eyes
but anyway, mine is ES product. is there anything to do with our difference?
p/s: do you know how to change the magnet at the door? the magnet not strong enough. it easily open when i unpack the cosmos out from the box. is there any way i can replace the magnet screw?

thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by hafiez: Nov 20 2007, 08:31 PM

what is ES product?

bro waiting for more review fast fast very tempted to get a casing..between stacker 830 or cosmos