Translate to:

Reviews
Displays
Processors
MotherBoards
Graphics cards
Memory
Cases
Storage
MultiMedia
Cooling solutions
Optical drives
Power Supply Units
Peripherals
NoteBooks
Digital cameras
Gadgets
Configurations
Syndicate
Quotes

Canon FS11

At the moment we saw it, we knew that this was the love at first sight. Canon FS11 is in true sense of word, compact digital camcorder with innovative and attractive functions, futuristic design and 16GB of memory for storing recorded video material. Canon Company revived camcorder market with FS11 model. It uses built-in memory instead of MiniDV tape or CD/DVD media. Canon FS11, beside low power consumption and small dimensions, brings completely new approach in recording home videos. ...

 

Creative Aurvana X-Fi

We prepared a little surprise for you from Creative, and it is not mp3 player nor is sound card, neither one of products Creative is best known. For this test we got headphones attended primary for all air plane passengers, but also for all those who love great and crystal clear sound.  Aurvana X-Fi is their name and it’s obvious that name originate from words Audio and Nirvana. Well, name does tell it all. ...

 

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R

This time we have tested a middle-lower class motherboard but nevertheless an interesting model, Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R. Gigabyte was always, at least when it’s comes to DS3 series of motherboards, known for simplicity and real good production quality. ...

 

Logitech G51

Logitech G51 speakers were the first with prefix “G” (G as a short from gamer). Sound, as one of important component of any game, should be the best as possible, so engineers from Logitech did their best to satisfy expectations of most demanding users with this model. ...

 

Olympus E-520

Olympus E-520 is considered as ticket to D-SLR world and its price speaks for itself. When you take this model into your hands you really got the feeling that you are holding a quality pro model that can accomplish a lot. For testing purposes we’ve got two additional lenses: Zuiko Digital ED 50 mm Macro and telephoto lens Zuiko Digital 50-200mm (equivalent of standard 100-400mm). Olympus E-520 is available in two variants: kit with zoom lens Olympus Digital 14-42mm (we got this one also on test) and variant without this lens (just body). ...

 
Additional Translations
Forum Latest Posts
Forum Popular Threads
  1. PSU Calculator (9931 views)
  2. AMD Radeon HD 2900XT Review (9133 views)
  3. HTC Touch (6524 views)
  4. New World in Conflict Trailer (5206 views)
  5. Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse (4959 views)
  6. Is it true that if you buy 1000mhz+ RAM.. (4804 views)
  7. Installing Linux as a second operating system (4579 views)
  8. Half Life Two: Episode Two (3906 views)
  9. Can't Play MP3/WAV over HTTP (3873 views)
  10. Network problems (3779 views)
Home arrow Cases arrow Cooler Master COSMOS S
Cooler Master COSMOS S PDF Print
Written by Ivan Vujic   
Tuesday, 04 March 2008
Can a successor be worse than its predecessor? Usually not, since the engineers who make projects of the new model listen carefully to what community has to say and iron out all flaws. Why such an introduction? Is Cosmos-S better or worse than its predecessors?

  

When we opened the packaging, the first thing we noticed was the big linen cloth in which the case is contained, and in such a way that it is “grabbable” and easily pulled out from the box, which might be a small thing, but it sure makes life easier. Since the case is built of aluminium, it is much lighter than the steel Cosmos 1000, which is generally good, but also caused problems which we will mention later on in the review. Just like Cosmos, this case also has bars on the upper and lower sides which serves both as handles when moving it and an elegant way to keep it off the floor. The lower side of the case also has a dust filter which stops the dust from getting inside the PSU.

   

The upper side I/O panel is also coverable, so dust cannot penetrate there either. There are also a couple of filters on the front as well, so, as far as dust is concerned, you are completely protected. What is also very noticeable is the Power button, which is not a regular one, but a touch-sensitive surface. This solution is nice and very attractive, but still, we are unsure whether it will sustain heavy use and remain usable after several years of exploitation. Enthusiasts who switch cases often will not be bothered by this. The side panel can interestingly be set to a V-position, which is however quite unstable and thus not recommended.

   

Of course, this isn't really necessary either, since the side panel has a pre-installed 20 cm fan, which, in combo with three other fans scattered around the case (one on the front to cool HDDs, one on the back as an exhaust fan and one intake fan on top with two more spots to install additional ones), really makes you forget about the temperature inside the case.  The flaw of the side panel is that the massive 20 cm fan is bound directly to the plastic, which is in return tied to the panel itself, which can finally result in unpleasant vibrations. The possible amendment to this is that all of the fans have a 3-pin connector, so that the RPM can be controlled and vibrations decreased.

Of all the fans, only the front one has LEDs inside, and red ones exclusively, which might not be the best solution (red is often tied to a warning subconsciously), but tastes are not something to dispute over. The rest of the fans don't have this, so you won't be having a Xmas tree during the night. Cabling is perfect – the case was designed in such a way to enable the user to hide all visible cables very neatly. This version of Cosmos doesn't have a separate GPU cooling canal, which is not a bad thing at all, to be honest. The solution was only hampering any graphics card manipulation while providing negligible cooling benefit, and the case is lighter like this anyway.

    

As we stated in the very beginning, the material that the case is made of, as well as some design/technical solutions, lead to the case having a few serious flaws. First of all, whenever the user wants to install some of the 5.25” devices, he/she has to unlock two side mechanisms who cover the slot in order to place the device itself inside. The problems is that the mechanism has a high pressure tolerance, i.e. the user has to push it really hard to get it unlocked, which can ultimately lead to it getting stuck.

   

Those who change these devices often will certainly frown at this “feature”. What can also happen is that the tin panel which holds the entire mounting system together simply disables pushing the device to the end! This is a consequence of the very thin aluminium these parts are made of, which is prone to deforming. The HDD cage has a couple of rubber bands to separate it from the rest of the case and stop any vibration transfer. This is a good idea per se, but the problem is that the cage is screwed down from both sides and is really difficult to extract. Naturally, regular HDD removal or changing will make this a problem. The disks themselves are also connected to the cage with screws, which makes HDD installation a slow and painful process overall.

What else can we say except that we are disappointed that the successor of the great Cosmos is worse than its predecessor. CoolerMaster engineers were struggling hard to cut down on overall enclosure mass, but created so many other problems during the process that the ultimate benefit is negated, to say at least.
 
Related Articles
Contents copyright © 2007-2008 by Digital World. All rights reserved.
All trademarks used are property of their respective owners.
News comments and forum posts remain property of posters.