Tuesday 24 January 2012

Cosmos II: The Biggest, Baddest Case

Cooler Master Cosmos II
Just recently, Cooler Master has released their newest iteration of the Cosmos PC case, the Cosmos II. This is easily one of the largest, heaviest, and perhaps coolest (both literal and figurative) cases available right now. It also comes with a hefty price tag of $350.

The case is actually so large, standing at 13.5" x 27.7" x 26.1", that CM created a new term for it: the Ultra-Tower.

Links
Official
(flash) http://www.coolermaster.com/microsite/cosmos_ii/
(non flash) http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6792

Reviews
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5451/cooler-master-cosmos-ii-large-and-in-charge
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/50006-cooler-master-cosmos-ii-ultra-tower-case-review.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler-master-cosmos-ii-review/1

Generally speaking, besides a rich enthusiast who just wants to spend a lot of money, this case has a lot of potential for the water cooling community. Water cooling can take up a very large amount of space, so unless you want to have radiators hanging off the back of your case, you need to go big. Really big.

Corsair Obsidian 800D
In my own opinion, this case really has only 2 competitors that incorporate size, aesthetics, and features. They are the Corsair Obsidian 800D and the Silverstone Temjin TJ07. The 800D is actually the cheapest of the three, coming in at $299.99.

Official site: http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/obsidian-series-pc-case/obsidian-series-800d.html
Review: http://www.guru3d.com/article/corsair-obsidian-800d-review-test/


Silverstone Temjin TJ07
The Temjin series of cases comes in a few flavors, and the TJ07 is actually slowly disapearing despite being a legendary chassis. On Newegg it is listed as "deactivated". The sad news is that the only other Temjin case to feature a multi-zone interior is the TJ11, which is much larger and much more expensive ($600!). The TJ07 comes in at the same price as the Cosmos II - $350. The TJ09 and TJ10 just aren't as well suited for the water cooling crowd, so it's sad to see the TJ07 being removed from the market one retailer at a time. Being a long time runner, the TJ07 features a black model, a white model, and both window and window-less models.

Official site: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=92&area=en
Review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Silverstone/Temjin_TJ07/
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silverstone_TJ07