My god there are a lot of computer cases to choose from, if you’re looking you will have seen this already. There are cases that have wierd alien like fronts, ones that look like a shark bit into the side of it, ones with clear sides that you can have a visual light show comming from inside the case.

If you want it, it is there.

For me on the other hand I wanted a "classic" look of simplicity and beauty. Something that was needed because my computer is located in my living room and anyone comming to visit can see it. While soemthing with neon blue lights comming out would be cool for my gaming buddies and close friends, work aquaintences and relatives would think "how ungodly". Plus my wife wouldn't let me :(...

I choose the Cooler master atx mid-tower case centurion because it has clean looks, and for it's reputation, and it's functionality.

Read on to find the specifics.

Review

Ease of installation
Why are you buying a computer case? To build a new computer or transfer an older one. The cooler master atx centurion provides a great case with a lot of room inside. But here's the clincher, because a lot of cases offer a lot of room inside few offer tooless installation. Yes that's right, everything inside the coolermaster atx centurion doesn't require one tool to install.

All the screws are designed with just your thumbs in mind, the harddrives, floppies, cd-drives uses a pressure switch system that applies pressure to the side inabling zero screws for most of your components.

What it comes with
Some cases come with power supplies, this one does not. But if you are a gamer, or have serious video projects in mind for your computer this is a plus. Most power supplies are underpowered for gamers or serious users. You’ll have to buy a new power supply, I recommend 480watts or more.

The centurion comes with a 120mm fan and a 80 mm fan pre-installed. The 80 mm is located on the front of the case, you can mount your hard drives right in front of it. For me I have a WD Raptor which can get hot due to it’s 10,000 RPM speed. The 120 is located on the rear of the case. Both are quiet fans that provide adequate airflow.

In the case when you first open it is a brown box and a manual. The box contains all the necessary screws for installing the motherboard and the powersource. You will find them easy to use and pretty self-explanatory.

You will also find the wires for the power button, the reset, the hard drive indicator light and the on light all pre-wired and just waiting to be plugged into your motherboard. You will also see the wires for the fans easily seen.

Room for extras
This case can hold four hard drives, four main bay drives (cd-roms, and whatever else you wish to install in the main drive bays). The drive bay fronts are easy to remove and with the no tool installation of your drive bay items, you will find you can install them much faster than normal. The 80mm fan really helps actually have four harddrives which in a normal case without a front fan you would be running into a danger zone with overheating.

The case comes with a air tub on the side of the case, this allows for (and I installed) an additional fan on the side. I removed the air tube, installed another 80mm fan, and installed the air tube ontop of the fan. This puts the cool air directly on my motherboard. You could install one additional fan if you wanted to, maybe a 2nd, there is a space on the side where you could install one more, and on the back too. I am happy with my fan setup of 2 intake fans (80mm), and 1 exaust fan (the 120mm). But you will need to evaluate your heating/cooling needs and determine that for yourself.

Cooling
This case is a cooler master for a reason, the entire rear and front of the case is thick wire mesh. This lets a free flow of air go from the front to the back, but because of the setup of the drive bays the sound from your fans do not transfer much at all through the mesh. This was one reason I really liked this case. If you’re an overclocker this would be a great case for you.

The con’s
While the cons are nothing to speak of seriously there are two that I found with this case. The power button is not very sturdy, it hasn’t fallen off at all or anything like that, but it’s kind of loose. Maybe I’ll need to replace it with something else, but honestly it doesn’t bug me much.

I’ve heard from others that they think the metal side of the case is a little weak, it feels fine to me but I don’t make computers for a living.

Cost
Fry’s has this case for $55, newegg has it for $50. Pretty darn good for a case like this, the only detractor for this cost (and maybe why it is low) is that it doesn’t come with a power supply. Compared to other cases that offer a much more complicated installation involving tools, this is a steal for $50.
Conclusion
This has a very nice look to it, the price is great, easy installation involving no tools, great cooling capacity, plenty of room inside, room for multiple additional fans. Is there much more you want or need in a computer case?

I highly recommend it.


Recommended: Yes