Fresh out this year, the Coolermaster Centurion 590 is a Mid-ATX case for both Gamers and Office users, at a low price for users with a limited budget.
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The Box, which seems to have been abused xD
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The case was bought in a well-packaged, securely foamed cardboard box, clearly showing the case's specifications and diagrams with the case's cooling system. However, the box looked like Mike Tyson had some fun time with it – it was squashed and smashed.
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The Exterior
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The cooling system
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Once opened up, no damage was found on the case. The box included an instruction manual and a bag with plastic cable ties and all necessary mounting screws, with loads of extra ones. The case's exterior is quite simple; no flashy lights or alien-esque features, and it weighs in at 9kg, being made of SECC steel. Very little plastic is seen on this case, infact the only plastic object on the case's exterior is the 'Cooler Master' text on top of the front panel. The front panel is simple, yet it includes 2x USB ports, Microphone, Headphones jacks and a firewire port. An elegant power button is available but no reset button. This is quite strange, but one can easily do without it.
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The front I/O panel with the Cooler Master logo on top, which is the only plastic part on the exterior. No reset button but a big shiny power button.
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Ouch! Plastic Feet
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The front bay drive bezels are made of steel mesh, each with an independent dust filter, which are very easy to clean. One may notice big air vents for 140mm fans to fit, 2 on the top and 2 on the side panel.
Turning the case on it's side reveals four plastic feet. Will this cause vibrations and noises? We'll check later on.
Time to get to the insides: The side panels are secured by two thumbscrews, which are very solid and are easily dismounted. The front face is removable by pulling it. No screws are used, but the face fits in its place firmly. The case's HDD cooling system is similar to that used in much more expensive cases; the entire HDD rack is removable, and has a 120mm fan in front, to keep those hard drives cool. Rubber grommets are used to secure the drives in place, which are not tool-less but are very easy to install, and have good anti-vibe properties. Optical drives are fitted without the need of screws, just by locking the drive in place with the plastic clips on the side.
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Interior - quite roomy
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Stripped out of all panels. This is done quickly and makes assembly much easier than other cases.
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The great hard-disk cage.
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PSU mounting bracket and air vent for it’s cooling fan.
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Rar Exhaust fan, tool-less devices, air vents, motherboard fan on the right and the watercooling holes.
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A feature that is instantly noticed is the bottom-mounted PSU. This improves thermal performance in the case and reduces cable clutter and eases airflow throughout the case. A 120mm rear exhaust fan is included to blow hot air out of the system, and another blue LED fan is included and fitted to the HDD cage. Also, an optional 80mm fan can be fitted on the backside of the motherboard to cool it from the other side.
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Ready to rock - notice how easy cable management is, and large graphics cards and power supplies fit without problems.
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Fitting the system was quite an easy task. Coolermaster recommend the PSU to be mounted first, which I did. Compared to other Mid-ATX cases, it is quite comfortable to assemble the components in the Centurion 590. As seen in the image below, large graphics cards fit without problems. Like a zillion other cases, tool-less systems for PCI cards do not work well with modern vga's, especially double-slot ones like the HD3870x2 in the picture. BUT, I managed to chip off the extra plastic on the tool-less connector, and as you can see, I managed to fit a graphics card without screws.. quite a rare sight nowadays. Holes for external watercooling system tubes are readily drilled and protected.
Large CPU heatsinks fit well in this case, but the top fan on the side panel cannot be installed, as it would clash with the heatsink. Cable-management is a breeze in the Centurion 590. The motherboard tray has openings for PSU cables to pass through, and cable clutter was dramatically reduced. Once all was set up, it was time for take-off =)
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Powered up.
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The case front, very eye catching, and the mesh lets you peep inside.
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I was amazed by how quiet the bundled cooling fans are, yet they provide decent airflow, although some fans can push more air at the same noise level. The case lights a warm blue, and the components in the case can be seen through the front mesh. I put the case on a wooden desk to see if the plastic feet are a problem. Amazingly, no vibrations or noises were caused due to the plastic feet. The power and HDD activity are very bright, which may bother night-users.
Regarding temperatures, the CPU temperature, in this case an Intel Q6600, where 27 degrees idle and 38 degrees whilst gaming.
GPU temperatues where a jaw-dropping 38 degrees Celsius on idle and 54 degrees on load.
Overall, the Cooler Master Centurion 590 case is a great case for high-end systems and less complicated systems, at the amazing price of €119, where other cases in that price range are of quite poor quality.
Here's a summary of pro's and con's to consider with buying this case:
The Good:
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Very little plastic used
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Elegant look
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Superb Cooling (4x 140mm fans [not included] + 1x 120mm fan and front intake 120mm fan)
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Fits huge graphics cards and CPU coolers.
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Silent (fans rated at 14dba)
The Bad:
The Ugly:
- This was bought from a Maltese shop for €119. In the USA, this case can be bought for $70 [~50€], but in Malta prices get so high due to shipping costs.
Rating:
- Build Quality: 9/10
- Innovation: 7/10
- Noise: 9/10
- Cooling: 8/10
- Availability: 6/10
- Price @ Performance: 9/10
Hope this review was helpful;
Until next time,
First Lieutenant Bobby :)
