CoolerMaster MasterCase Pro 6 Review

Conclusion

So this is the “New” CoolerMaster Master Case Pro 6.  If you’ve read the introduction, and the review you’ll already know why we’ve put the “New” in speech marks, if not, then best we explain.

But first, let’s have a quick overview of the case.  Well for starters, the Pro 6 doesn’t just come in a box, it comes in the largest bag for life you’ll ever own.  In all honesty though, this simple measure makes the pro 6 so much easier to get out of the case, and, if you’re the sort that frequents LAN parties, it’s going to make it so much easier to carry there.  Well done CoolerMaster, it’s little details like this that let us know you’re thinking outside the box, but inside the bag.  And so to the case.  In simple terms, the Pro 6 is a mid-tower case, able to take Motherboards up to ATX, It has storage for 5×3.5” drives, and 2×2,5” drives, with an extra 5 shared with the 3.5”.  and, should you need it to, it will also take in those old and lonely 5.25” drives that you sometimes see wandering around all lost and lonely.  It’ll take CPU coolers up to 190mm and a GPUs up to a length of 296mm, increasing to 412mm with the HDD cages removed.  We’ll talk about the rest of the “Make of it what you will” interior later, but for now, let’s switch our attention to the exterior.  The word sleek doesn’t really come close enough to describing it, just the off little gap, elegantly positioned to suit both aesthetics and airflow.  OK, so at first view airflow doesn’t appear to be this cases biggest strength, but the Pro 6 has a trick up its sleeve, you see at the lightest touch of the hand, both the front and top plate pop out about 8mm and open up an increased air gap.  For some reason, the effect reminds me of my old VW beetle back in the early 90s, where a trick to get better airflow to the air-cooled engine in the rear was to use a set of boot (bonnet) stand-offs to slightly stance the lid outwards a little, but I digress.  On the down side, it only taking the lightest touch to release these magnetic spring pistons means that the case is a sod to review as you’ve got to be very careful about where you touch it to pick it up and move it.

So why the Speech marks?  Well, if you’re an OC3D frequent flyer you’ll already have noticed that the interior of the Pro 6 is basically exactly the same as the MasterCase5, the MasterCase Pro5, the Maker5 and the Maker5t.  It is perhaps for this reason we’re struggling with why Coolermaster have labelled it “New” and called it the Pro 6, as to do so, to us, implies that it’s bigger, and to a degree a different case from the 5 series altogether.  After all, the Pro 3 is smaller so it would follow that the Pro 6 is bigger.  

We do understand that Coolermaster aren’t exactly the first manufacturer ever to release a chassis with varying exterior trim, and we do understand the benefits to the company, and ultimately you the consumer that are achieved through minimising the increased R&D costs involved in designing and tooling up for a new chassis.  It’s just that to us it the Pro 6 name possibly implies that it’s something it’s not, and that’s our only problem.

Actually if we’re honest, it’s not our only problem, when we reviewed the original 5 series two years ago we made two large criticisms of it, criticisms CoolerMaster were actually aware of before its launch.  We didn’t like the large hole at the front of the anterior floor, and suggested they make a panel that could be inserted or clipped in place to obscure it when not needed.  We also raged that the top radiator bracket, although a brilliant idea, was too short to take a 280mm radiator of any pedigree.  Appreciating that CoolerMaster couldn’t realistically re tool the top of the case and the bracket, we suggested that they either make the top rad bracket 7mm shallower, or provided as an option, 7mm stand-offs.  Both of these solutions would allow for 280mm rads to be fitted inside the case, with the fans in the rad bracket sure you would need longer screws but you could easily include a set of the most popular imperial and metric screws to please to bulk of users.  So it’s been two years, and this is a “mod-able”, Make it yours” case that is marketed on its ability to swap things about and be all things to all men.  Have they taken on board the comments and made either of these two, really cheap, really simple changes.  Have they buggery! 

Don’t go thinking g the Pro 6 is a bad case, it isn’t, it’s as good as any of the 5 series cases and has an interesting aesthetic.  It’s just that name is potentially really misleading, but then they couldn’t really call it the “CoolerMaster Masterlookwe’vestrappedanotherexteriortoit 5” could they? 

  
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