Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T Review

By Jason Maxfield

Manufacturer: Cooler Master
Product Name: MasterCase Maker 5T
Model Number: MCZ-C5M2T-RW5N
UPC: 884102029837 EAN: 4719512053744
Price As Tested: $249.99 MSRP

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Cooler Master

Cooler Master has sent us their MasterCase Maker 5T, which is the newest in the MasterCase series of ATX towers. The MasterCase series features Cooler Masters innovative FreeForm™ Modular System, which allows you to fully customize your chassis with different exteriors, including top panels, case doors, and the ability to configure the interior of your case for maximum flexibility.

The MasterCase series offers many FreeForm™ accessories including tempered glass panels, extra drive bays, optional top covers, and PrimoChill custom window and case grills in your choice of red or blue. Cooler Master plans on having more accessories in the future.

In this article for Benchmark Reviews, I’ll be going over the differences between the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T mid-tower computer case compared to the rest of the MasterCase series. The MasterCase Maker 5T is the current flagship of the series. I’ll be showcasing this mid-tower with a build to demonstrate the features of this sleek case. How will the MasterCase Maker 5T fair? Let’s find out.

Product Name		MasterCase Maker 5T
Model Number		MCZ-C5M2T-RW5N
Available Color		Metallic red-black
Materials		Steel body, Plastic mesh bezel, Tempered glass panels (both sides)
Dimensions (LxWxH)		544 x 242 x 574 mm
Net Weight		13.5kg
Motherboard Support		ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
Expansion Slots		7
Drive Bays	5.25″	2
	3.5″	2
	2.5″	2+2
I/O Panel		USB 3.0 x 4 Audio In & Out (supports HD Audio) Fan Speed Control H/L LED light control button (light on, breathing light, light off)
Pre-installed Fan(s)	Front	140mm x 2 (1200RPM)
	Rear	140mm x 1 (1200RPM)
Fan Support	Front	120/140mm x 3
	Rear	120/140mm x 1
	Top	120/140mm x 2
Liquid Cooling Support	Front	120mm / 140mm / 240mm / 280mm radiator
	Rear	120mm / 140mm
	Top	120mm / 140mm / 240mm / 280mm (maximum 297mm radiator length)
Clearance	CPU Cooler	190mm / 7.48″
	PSU	200mm / 7.87″
	Graphics Card	296mm / 11.7″ (with 3.5″ HDD cage) 412mm / 16.22″ (w/o 3.5″ HDD cage)
Cable Routing	Behind Motherboard Tray	35mm
Dust Filters		Top, Front, bottom
Power Supply		Bottom mount, ATX
Lighting Support		Red LED strip x1 (pre-Installed) 4 LED connections in total available (3 available out of the package)
Extra features		MasterCase M-Port Graphics Card Holder
EAN Code		4719512053744
UPC Code		884102029837

Product specifications taken from Cooler Master’s site.

This case is loaded with features. I’ll be going over the basics of the outer design. Then the detailed features further in the article.

First we’ll start with the accessories. Cooler Master has thoughtfully included a tin tool box for all the screws and keys for the tempered glass door panels. It also has a foam bottom on it so it won’t scratch anything you set it down on. This is a very nice touch. One that I’d like to see other case manufacturers do more often. Since a simple cardboard box filled with baggies of screws has always felt a bit cheap to me on a premium case.

Also included is the user manual, which explains how to remove some panels and other features of the MasterCase Maker 5T. They also give you a nice micro fiber cloth with the Cooler Master logo imprinted on it, for cleaning those shiny tempered glass panels.

Here is the sleek looking front panel with a shiny raised Cooler Master logo that greets your eyes when taking a look at the front of Maker 5t. The front panel has a glossy black finish and is about a 45 degree angle with the front and top panels cut precisely and painted with a metallic red trim, with matching angles to the front panel.

The back of the Maker 5t has a pre-installed 140mm fan, 7 expansion slots, with the bottom most one being a cable lock. Also, there is a detachable PSU bracket allowing you to attach your PSU to the bracket, then slide it in to the rear of the case.

On the top of the Maker 5t we have a carrying handle with rubberized grip. This handle supports up to 62.8 pounds according to Cooler Master. You’ll need every once of that carry weight. The case weighs about 30 pounds empty.

You’ll also notice there is a vented metallic red painted grill on top. This grill and handle can be removed with 3 screws to get to a top mounted fan bracket. I’ll discuss this in further detail in the following pages.

The bottom of the case features hollow raised feet, painted metallic red, and has a generous size PSU fan filter. Rubber strips adorn the feet, giving a solid grip on whatever surface you set this case on.

These shots of the tempered glass side panels just do not do this case justice. The MasterCase Maker 5T comes with not one, but two tempered glass panels. They are a good part of the reason why this case weighs so much when empty. The tempered glass is dark and it’s about an eighth of an inch thick. The panels are also interchangeable so you do not have to worry about which panel belongs to which side of the case.

They mount easily from hinges on the bottom of the case, and secured with a locking mechanism at the top of the case. These panels can be purchased separately for the other MasterCase series cases.

Moving on, I’m going to break things down and give a more in-depth look at the details inside the MasterCase Maker 5T.

There is a lot to cover in the break down of all the details and features of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T.

It might seem silly to some, but I wanted to show the inside of the tool box. The keys for the windows are a must, and having this box to keep them safely stored is a good idea. Included in the box is all the mounting hardware in the plastic bag. Each set of screws is indiviually labeled and seperated from the rest of the screws. This was very handy when building since I was able to quickly identify the screws needed for the job at hand.

You also get some zip ties and a couple adhesive back tie downs just in case you need a couple more tie down points.

This is the only means of keeping the tempered glass panels attached to the Maker 5t. I think some black thumb screws might of looked more appealing then a key lock, but it is certainly quick and easy to open and shut the panels.

With a close up of the front panel IO we can see the controls for the LED lighting, fan speed, mic, headphone, power, and reset buttons. You also get 4 USB 3.0 ports. If you are thinking about getting this case, I suggest a motherboard that supports dual USB 3.0 on board.

The Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5, has 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 connections for comparison.

Without the tempered glass panels on we can finally peer inside the Maker 5t. You’ll instantly notice the metallic red paint adorning the inside of this chassis. You can see a very generous CPU cut-out making it easy to swap CPU coolers without the need to take the motherboard out of the case.

Also, you can see 2 HDD cages in the bottom of the case. They also support mounting of 2.5″ SSD’s as well. On top of the PSU enclosure, there is 2 SSD mounting brackets. There is also plenty of grommet cut-outs from cable management.

You might notice a lack of an HDD drive bay in the middle of the case. For some reason Cooler Master opted to remove it from the Maker 5t. The MasterCase Maker 5, however, does include the extra drive bay.

The Maker 5t is compatible with ATX, mini-ATX, and mini-ITX motherboards.

At the top you have two 5.25″ mounting bays for optical drives, fan hubs, or perhaps a multi-media card reader.

On the back side of the case you have ample room for cable management. The included indent in the front of the grommets helps keep cables from stacking up and has three velcro straps to help tame the ensuing mess that comes with installing a PC. Overall clearance from the back of the motherboard tray to the glass panel is 35mm (1.38in).

The pre-installed 140mm fans from the front and back of the case, as well as the LED lighting bar are already attached to the fan/LED controller. I’ll get more in depth with that later in the article.

With the front panel cover removed you can see the front dust filter and the two pre-installed 140mm fans. Removing the front panel is as easy as flipping the top portion away from the case, then sliding the bottom out to get to the dust filter for cleaning. The front panel cover also moves forward to allow optical disk drives enough room to operate without hindrance.

The front of the case supports two 140mm fans, or three 120mm fans, which also includes radiator support for 240 and 280mm radiators. To support three 120mm fans, the bottom 5.25″ bay has to be sacrificed to accommodate the third 120mm fan.

The front panel has sound dampening foam installed to help reduce noise. The open top and grill on the bottom of the panel allow good air flow to the fans and it actually does dampen the sound of the case quite a bit. The panel easily attaches and is held in place with a magnetic strip at the top of the panel and a simple plastic hinge at the bottom.

With the top panel removed you have access to the handle and top fan bracket. To get the top fan bracket out, you have to remove the handle. Then you can unscrew the four thumb screws to get the bracket out. This may seem like a bit of a pain, but once you have that bracket out, it makes mounting fans or a radiator a breeze.

The top bracket supports two 120mm or two 140mm fans and 240mm or 280mm radiators. The central mounting location of this bracket could make some radiators incompatible, so keep that in mind.

I took a picture of the top panel with the mesh cover off and installed. This is a nice feature. The mesh cover keeps the top of the PC clean from dust if you do not install any fans or radiators in the top of the case. The panel attaches to the top of the case with magnets, so it’s very easy to remove for cleaning the grill.

Here is a good overall picture showing off most of the cases features. Even with the side panels removed, the MasterCase Maker 5T is quite sturdy and doesn’t flex, making it quite nice to build in when moving the case around.

Detailed features continued on the next page

I’m going to point out some of the finer details below and explain some features that I alluded to in the previous pages.

Here are the PSU and front fan dust filters. They have fine mesh with good air flow and should help keep out large particles of dust, hair, and fur (if you have pets).

This is a close up shot of the GPU brackets. These brackets can be adjusted with the thumbscrews and glide up and down the rail to help support heavy graphics cards. The rail can be moved forward or back by loosening the top and bottom thumb screws, and even be reversed to make room for larger GPUs.

In fact, I had to do this to make room for the EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified Edition GPU to get it installed. The stock configuration had the rail just enough in the way to where it wouldn’t seat fully into the PCI-E socket.

Clearance for GPUs is as follows: 296mm / 11.7″ (with 3.5″ HDD cage) 412mm / 16.22″ (w/o 3.5″ HDD cage). This is plenty of space for even the largest GPUs on the market.

I removed the handle so you could get a look at it up close. Underneath the vents you can see the mesh grill to allow air to flow unimpeded through the top of the chassis.

Close up of the HDD drive bays. You can mount either 3.5″ or 2.5″ drives in either of these two bays. Mounting 3.5″ drives is tool less. They simply attach to the pegs along the inside of the HDD tray and snap in place. 2.5″ SSD drives require 4 screws to mount them.

If you so desire, you can easily remove this bay by unscrewing the two thumb screws. This will allow you to mount a water pump or reservoir for custom water loops.

Here is a close up of the included LED/fan controller. You can hook up 4 LED bars (one included), and up to 6 fans. They are controlled by the front IO panel on the case. Power is provided via a SATA power connector.

The included cover for the LED/fan controller simply snaps around the edge of the PCB. You can purchase more LED bars to lighten your case even more. The LED bars are solid and have a magnetic backing, making them easy to place in various places inside the chassis. Currently, I think the only available color is red.

The PSU sled is long and has felt padding to dampen vibration and protect your PSU from getting scratches while installing it. You have 200mm (7.87″) of clearance, which should be enough room for most PSUs.

These are the SSD mounting trays. You simply remove the thumbscrew and pull the back end out of the tab slots on the rear of the mounting tray. The SSDs mount upside down with this configuration. That can make SATA cable choice for your SSD’s important since 90 degree SATA cables would end up pointing up toward the top instead of down toward the PSU. This was a bit disappointing. Cooler Master could of easily made the trays so you could mount them from the side, but the trays don’t have mounting points to do so.

Lastly, we have the top fan mounting bracket. I like the slotted grooves. This gives you a bit of wiggle room when mounting your fans or radiator. Again, this bracket can accommodate two 120mm/140mm fans, and 240mm/280mm radiators.

Ok, we can finally move on to the build in this beast of a case!

Building a system into the MasterCase Maker 5T was a very fun experience. There was ample room to attach the motherboard to the motherboard tray. My big hands never felt cramped for space while building inside the MasterCase Maker 5T.

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 6
• System Memory: 32GB Ballistix Elite DDR 4 2666MHz
• Processor: Intel i7 6700k
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212 Evo w/ Noctua F12 PMW fans
• Audio: Realtek ALC 1150
• GPU: EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified Edition
• System Drive: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
• Storage Drive: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
• Backup Drive: Western Digital 2TB Black
• Optical Drive: Asus DVD Burner
• Enclosure: Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T
• PSU: Corsair HX850
• Monitor: AOC 27″ ISP Panel
• Operating System: Windows 10

The results are glorious. The motherboard and parts fit with the red and black theme of the Maker 5t chassis. The following images just don’t do justice for this case. It’s much better looking in person. Only the Noctua fans destroy the color scheme. Once the side panel is on though, the color of the Noctua fans is muted and isn’t as noticeable.

As you can see, the cable management inside the case looks clean. I just wish that the PSU shroud would cover the side where all the cables in the basement of the case are.

The two grommet openings on top of the PSU shroud are placed perfectly for the GPU and front cable headers for as minimal intrusion as possible.

At the top of the case you can see plenty of clearance for your 8 pin CPU power cable and room for radiators if you so wish.

You might of noticed I removed the bottom grommet where the SATA cables plugged into the board. I had to do this because I had two 90 degree angle SATA cables, and as mentioned before, using those ends on the SSDs would of looked bad. Removing the grommet allowed me to connect them to the board without stressing the connectors and bending the grommet flap back 90 degrees. They are on the bottom slots behind the two SATA cables you can see, hiding the 90 degree cables.

And you can see the GPU stand-off reversed and helping to hold that massive 980Ti in place.

Cable management is fairly easy to do with the Maker 5t. I usually get annoyed with this part of a build. With a bit more effort it would be easy to clean this up since this side of the case is also visible through the glass panel. Custom power cable sleeving would be a very good route to go for even better results.

With the power turned on you can see how bright the included LED bar is. I mounted the LED bar on the top inside portion of the chassis with the LED bar facing down.

With the tempered glass side panel on this build just looks sexy as all get out! By the way, keeping that glass spotless while building was easy. I just made sure to wear cotton gloves when handling the glass. You can grab the glass by the metal framing if you are careful and avoid using gloves. Just be careful not to drop this glass, clean up would be a nightmare if it were to shatter!

A shot from the front while the system is running. You can see the glow of the LED bar. With a few more of them you could even out the light in the case and show off all of your build.

This is what the front IO panel looks like when powered on. The button on the left controls the three different light phases of the LED bar. You have breathing, on, and off. The button on the right controls the fans speeds, either low or high (7v or 12v). The power button glows red when powered on and doubles as an HDD activity light.

There is a Molex connector that powers the USB 3.0 LEDs, while the fan and LED buttons are powered by a SATA power cable connected to the fan/LED hub. I would of rather had the USB 3.0 LEDs powered by a SATA power cable as well, since it’s the only Molex connector in the case. I would recommend using a SATA to Molex adapter to avoid adding one more cable to the clutter just for a single connection.

Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is the top of the line in the MasterCase series. This case is beautiful in design and executed flawlessly. There isn’t a single thing out of place on the Maker 5t.

I only have a couple minor gripes about this case. First, the weight of this thing could give you trouble when moving it once you have your PC built. I can see why Cooler Master opted to put a handle on this case! With the complete build, I’m guessing the PC weighs about 50 to 55 pounds.

Carrying this case fully loaded to a LAN party would not be all that fun. You can grip the handle and the bottom of the case while carrying it, but that’s kind of awkward. And grabbing the sides, forget about it. You wouldn’t want to put any load on the tempered glass, just to be safe, and not fingerprint the heck out of it!

Secondly, the PSU shroud is incomplete in my opinion. If they left a cut-out for the logo to show, then cover the rest of the side to hide the cables, it would of been perfect.

One last thing I just thought of again. It’s a very minor quip about the SSD mounting trays forcing you to mount them upside down making SATA cable selection important if you want a clean look.

Honestly, that’s all I can really fault with this case. Everything else while building was easy as can be. This is hands down the best computer case I have built in. The NZXT and Antec cases I reviewed before this one, were pretty darn good too, until the Maker 5t came along.

To break things down with the MasterCase series to help you better understand the differences, here is a check list of what comes with each variant in the series:

MODEL	MasterCase 5	MasterCase PRO 5	MasterCase MAKER 5	MasterCase Maker 5T
TOP COVER	no	yes	yes	yes
LIQUID COOLING BRACKET	no	yes	yes	yes
WINDOW SIDE PANEL	yes	yes	yes	yes
ADDITIONAL DRIVE CAGES	no	yes	yes	no
FRONT DOOR PANEL	no	no	yes	yes
FAN CONTROLLER	no	no	yes	yes
LED STRIP	no	no	yes	yes
LED LIGHT CONTROLLER	no	no	yes	yes
MasterCase GRAPHICS CARD HOLDER	no	no	no	yes
DUAL TEMPERED GLASS PANELS	no	no	no	yes

I’m still scratching my head as to why Cooler Master didn’t include the additional drive cages with the Maker 5t, considering it is the top tier case in the series. Every other case in the series, even the base model, has extra drive cages included.

I can only guess that Cooler Master is thinking more about water cooling and custom loops for this case. It would make sense to leave that extra drive cage out in that scenario, as that space would be needed to place a pump or reservoir.

Performance of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is excellent. The included 140mm fans run nice and quiet, even on the high settings with the included fan controller. The GPU standoffs work as advertised. The giant EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified doesn’t sag. All the panels attach with magnets so removing them for cleaning or customization is easy.

Appearance of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is simply elegant. From the basic outer shapes to the metallic red paint and the killer tempered glass panels, it’s a knockout.

Construction of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is outstanding. I couldn’t find anything wrong with this case. The fit and finish is flawless. The case is constructed out of steel and plastic panels. With the plastic bits on the case nothing rattles or feels flimsy. Even when the case is empty the frame is very sturdy with little flex.

Functionality of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is almost perfect. Everything fits precisely, but I would of loved to have the options of mounting the SSD’s in an upright position instead of upside down. It’s simply a matter of what SATA cables you need to use for this configuration. 90 Degree cables will come out upside down and point toward the top of the case. I recommend using straight SATA cables instead.

Value of the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T is hard to figure. With the MSRP of $249.99 at the time of writing this article, the Maker 5t is anything but cheap. The MasterCase Maker 5 is selling for $169.99 at the time of writing. For an $80.00 premium over the Maker 5, you do get two tempered glass side panels, 4 USB 3.0 ports on the front, compared to 2 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 on the Maker 5. But you do loose that extra HDD cage, which in my opinion isn’t a huge loss unless you like to have a ton of storage.

If you were to upgrade the Maker 5 to a 5t, just the two glass panels would cost $100 dollars more, making it less of a value than the 5t. Even then, you would still be missing out on the metallic red paint that is standard on the Maker 5t.

I normally wouldn’t recommend any case that costs as much as the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5T. But with this case, it’s a show piece. If you have the money to buy a high-end PC, you should consider buying this case. You have options to add accessories from Cooler Master and customize it to your liking. There isn’t a whole lot of cases out there that can do that without needing to custom fit things yourself. Cooler Master saves you the time and effort making this easy, but at a cost.

+ Ease of building
+ Gpu brackets
+ FreeForm design
+ Tempered glass panels
+ Carrying handle
+ Fan and water cooling options
+ Fan/LED controller

– SSD mounting upside down
– Weight
– PSU shroud doesn’t cover cables

• Performance: 9.75
• Appearance: 10
• Construction: 10
• Functionality: 9
• Value: 7.5

Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award