Cooler Master N200 microATX Case Review - PAGE 1

When it comes to putting together an enthusiast or gaming PC build, there are usually several common themes to the styling of the chassis. On one end of the spectrum is the rugged industrial route – think the Cooler Master HAF or Corsair Vengeance series of cases. Somewhere down the line, we begin seeing cases that look more streamlined yet still too gamer-centric to fit in a professional setting, like the Corsair Graphite or Cooler Master Scout series. There are also minimalistic cases meant to uniformly blend in alongside speakers, shelves, and other common home appliances. On review today is the Cooler Master N200 – a case that sits comfortably in the latter category.

The N200 comes from Cooler Master's relatively new N-series lineup of compact mainstream cases that offers extensive cooling potential combined with a simplistic streamlined design. What makes the N200 particularly special is that it is the only case in the N-series lineup that Cooler Master considers a "mini-tower". It supports both micro-ATX or m-ITX motherboards yet is roomy enough to mount a front 240mm radiator, CPU tower coolers up to 160mm tall, lengthy graphics cards, up to four 120mm cooling fans, and up to seven storage drives. There are four retail models of the N200 on the market based on two designs: a base model featuring a single USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports (with and without a side panel window), and an Advanced chocolate-colored model featuring two USB 3.0 ports and a single USB 2.0 port (again with an optional a side panel window). The window-less versions offer support for an additional 120mm fan, and this is the version we have today. It is marketed at a rather miniscule $49.99 price point.

Considering the enormous growth of the compact computing market amongst enthusiasts, it's great to see such a smattering of features in this relatively small enclosure. Let's see how well it all performs in execution as we go in-depth with the Cooler Master N200.

Specifications:

Information courtesy of Cooler Master @ http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mini-tower-n-series/n200.html