From the moment I removed the Centurion 590 from the box and unwrapped it, I couldn't help but notice striking similarities to another manufacturer's case I recently reviewed, the Thermaltake M9. Both are black mid-tower designs without side panel windows, a nine-bay mesh front bezel, removable hard drive cage at the bottom with blue LED fan and all I/O controls at the top front of the case. After working with both of them however I can honestly say that I feel the Cooler Master is the better of the two.

The Centurion 590 has much more cooling potential, although it comes with only two 120mm fans, just as the M9. But it has room to fit four more fans up to 140mm in size whereas the M9 can't add any, unless the side panel duct is removed or another drive cage added. The 590 has that option as well, in addition to the possibility for a cooling fan on the reverse side of the motherboard. The top fan positions would be perfect for throwing in a double size radiator, and the two side fans give additional cooling for the CPU and GPU.

Another area where the Centurion 590 shines is the tool-less riser clips which are far superior to the sliding things on the M9. The M9's bay locks weren't bad, but the 590's are unique and even more simple to use. The Cooler Master case puts the power supply at the bottom, rather than the usual position at the top as it is on the M9. This may or may not be advantageous to you, but certainly being able to fit four hard drives in the cage rather than the M9's three will be a big help to some.

The fit and finish on the Centurion 590 is just as good as that of the M9, and is an excellent representation of what we have come to expect from Cooler Master. There are also a number of added refinements, such as rubber grommets for the hard drive mounts, thumb screws used on both side panels and additional holes and zip ties for wire management.

To further throw salt into the wound, I found the Centurion 590 online for $70, which is $10 cheaper than the price of the M9. I don't know if it was Cooler Master's intent to design the 590 to be an M9 competitor, but in my opinion it comes out on top in every way.

The Cooler Master Centurion 590 is awarded the OCIA.net Seal of Approval.