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Cooler Master N400 Review


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#1 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 03:33 PM

Recently I had the pleasure of putting together a computer using the Cooler Master N400. Most of the computers I build are in the budget spectrum and go into offices, this one was no exception so I of course was looking at what could be considered the cheap end of computer case spectrum. Coming in at $59.99 for the Mid Tower and $49.99 for the Mini Tower, this is on the upper range of that scale, but still very reasonable. 
 
Lets talk specs.
2x USB 3.0 ports
2x USB 2.0 ports
1 Audio in
1 Audio out
2 External 5.25" Drive bays
1 External 3.5" bay
7x Internal 3.5" bays
2x 120mm fans

Cooling System:
*Top: 120mm fan x 2 (optional)
*Front: 120mm fan x 2 (one XtraFlo fan (no LED) installed, one optional)
Rear: 120mm XtraFlo fan (no LED) x 1 (installed)
*Left side: 120/140mm fan x 1 (optional)
*Right side: 120mm fan x 2 (optional)

Maximum Compatibility:
VGA card length: 320mm / 12.6 inch
CPU cooler height: 164mm / 6.4 inch

Full mesh on the front panel
Supports a 240mm liquid cooling radiator or two 120mm fans on the right side / at the top
Supports up to 3 SSDs - 2 on the tool-less 2.5" bracket, 1 at the bottom of HDD cage
Supports a 120mm liquid cooling radiator in the rear
Includes two XtraFlo 120 fans (no LED) arranged for optimum airflow with support for up to 8 fans
One optional 120/140mm fan can be installed on the left side panel to cool the graphics cards
Supports high-end graphics cards up to 320mm / 12.6 inch, including NVIDIA GTX 690 & AMD HD 7990
Dual Super Speed USB 3.0
Supports up to 8 HDDs (2 tool-less)
3 dust filters (top, right side panel, PSU) for easy maintenance. 
 
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On the outside, the case is a simple black monolith style. The front is mesh with a solid bar going up the right hand side that contains the USB ports and power controls.The metal is thick for this price range, and as a bonus the edges of everything are rolled. If you've ever spend time putting parts into a budget case, you can appreciate how horrible sharp edges are. 
 
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Inside is nice and open, again we see the quality of the steel, but also notice the lack of cable management. You get tool less latches for both 5.25" bays, a floppy disk drive (who still makes those?) and two for 3.5" hard drive bays. There's a header for USB 3.0 and one for USB 2.0, which is a very nice feature on a case in this price range. You also get a little bag of screws and goodies. enough for all your mounds and to fill every bay that doesn't have a tool-less connector. As a bonus, they're all black to match the case, a small detail that gets overlooked quite often, sometimes even in the more expensive cases. 
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On the back we see 7 expansion slots, a bottom mount PSU, and one of the preinstalled 120mm fans. The sides are held on by thumb screws that have been put in so tight by the factory that you'd need to be Hafþór Björnsson to unscrew them by hand. They were also rather hard to get back in place by hand the first time around, I imagine the tolerances didn't account for whatever coating may be on the screws and the case. 

 

Overall, I'd say this is a very good quality case for the price. Cooler Master has done a good job at bringing a competitive product to the price range. Although it cost a bit more than the budget case I generally use, an Antec VSK4000e, the Cooler Master 400N is easily a higher quality build. Build quality, along with the two different USB headers, tool-less bays, available cooling options, and overall look of the case makes this a quality purchase in my opinion. 


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#2 (V) (`m`) (V) ︵ ┻━┻

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 05:29 PM

That's a pretty nice looking case for the money.


Is the quality on the mini the same, or have you not been able to get your hands on one yet?


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#3 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 08:05 PM

From the one I messed with at the store, yeah the mini is just as good of quality. 


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