My biggest complaint by far has to do with the side panel latch mechanism. Because the latch is hidden and the panels fit flush in the sides of the case, there is no edge to get ahold of and releasing the latch does not "eject" the panel. When the case was empty I could tilt it to one side and give it a little bump to get the panel off, but this isn't practical once you've installed all your hardware. The back side panel is just the opposite, when routing wires and cables behind the motherboard tray as designed, the added thickness prevents the panel from fitting flush and is more difficult to get it to line up properly and latch in place. Also Cooler Master has reported possible clearance issues between the side panel fan and some CPU coolers. Although I had no such problem, Cooler Master has offered an alternate panel for those that experience this.
In order to get the Cosmos to fit under my desk I had to remove both the top and bottom bars. Thankfully Cooler Master has made this easy to do. The bars are attached with screws and the mounts slide out through holes in the top and bottom panels. Removing the bars sheds four additional pounds of weight and the holes it leaves behind aren't too unsightly. The bottom panel also still leaves enough room for air to reach the power supply and optional fan intake points, drawing from an opening at the rear. The remaining issues I had with the case are minor: the slightly-too-tight drive cage, unfinished edges on the motherboard tray and push-to-open side rails on the front panel being too easy to open accidentally. You've also got to be careful when touching the top of the case, like when using the I/O panel. It's fairly easy to brush the power "switch" by mistake and shut the PC down.
There are many things I like about the Cosmos, but generally speaking, it's probably the overall adaptability to the user's individual needs. Like how the front drive bays go all the way from top to bottom and each one is available externally. If the user wants to put their hard drives at the top and the media drives at the bottom they can do that. There's plenty of room to install additional fans up front or even the top or bottom of the case if more cooling is needed. Top fans can be mounted inside or outside the case, allowing room to hook up a single, dual or triple sized radiator for water cooling.
The finish on the Cosmos S looks good, with a black/gunmetal color combination and a variety of textures from steel mesh to brushed aluminum to glossy plastic. I love the look of an aluminum case inside, rather than cheap, painted steel. Unfortunately there's no side window on the Cosmos to show that off. The abundant use of mesh on the front and side panel does allow light to shine through, although only one led fan is included. If you have a noisy chipset or CPU fan it's going to seem louder because of the mesh, but the included fans are all very quiet, even running at full speed. I had no heat related issues the entire time I was testing, and I do keep my computer running F@H 24/7 so that says a lot about how cool the case stays.
I've seen no word yet on cost for the Cosmos S, but judging by the price of the all-steel 1000 model, this new aluminum version could very well top the $200 mark. Hopefully Cooler Master can keep it under that, this case has a lot of great features and they've addressed most of the issues from the previous version. I'd hate to see it not sell well due to cost.
Update: Retail price for the Cosmos S is $249.99 USD
Thanks to Cooler Master for providing the Cosmos S for review.
