Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced review
Written by
Matthew Lambert
September 14, 2012 | 09:43
Tags: #cooler-master-mini-itx #htpc #mini-itx
Companies: #cooler-master
1 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced review2 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Interior3 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Cooling Performance4 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Performance Analysis and Conclusion
Manufacturer: Cooler Master
UK Price (as reviewed):£35.99 inc. VAT
US Price (as reviewed):$49.99 ex. Tax
Cooler Master might not be a name many people associate with small form factors and compact cases. We’ve previously been impressed by its larger offerings in the shape of the ATCS 840 and the more recent CM Storm Trooper, and of course, Cooler Master’s Stacker series still holds a special place in the heart of many a modder. Its latest mini-ITX offering, the Elite 120 Advanced, might seem like something of an oddball then, but it makes sense given the increasing interest surrounding this form factor in the enthusiast community.
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Thanks to the flexibility and power efficiency of Intel’s Z77 chipset, motherboard manufacturers are now able to produce fully featured mini-ITX boards that can handle decent overclocks and modern games. In turn, this has created a real drive for small systems that don’t compromise on performance. Powerful systems are normally hot systems, however, and case manufacturers therefore now face the challenge of building cases that can not only house components in very tight spaces, but cool them effectively too.
We’ll be adding more mini-ITX case reviews in the coming weeks, but recently we’ve seen the seriously impressive BitFenix Prodigy, which despite a few design flaws, is a stylish, reasonably priced chassis with excellent air cooling and great water-cooling support too.
Despite having relatively few competitors at the moment then, the Elite 120 Advanced already faces some stiff competition.
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Initial impressions aren’t too bad – the black steel chassis and the faux brushed aluminium front panel lent the case a simple but smart appearance in our eyes. Given the metal used elsewhere, it’s a shame to see a slightly tacky plastic front fascia, but given the incredibly low price of the case, such a niggle becomes essentially irrelevant. One criticism that has been levelled at the BitFenix Prodigy is that it’s rather large for a mini-ITX case, but the same certainly cannot be said of this case, which is small and light (just under half the weight of the Prodigy) by anyone’s standards, which should make transporting it to LAN parties a breeze.
The front panel is a pretty standard affair in terms of connections, although a second USB 3 port would have been a nice touch. The left and right side panels have long ventilated sections over the GPU and CPU areas respectively, and a similar, more meshed section is also found on the roof above the PSU’s intake fan.
Sadly, Cooler Master hasn’t provided a single dust filter for any of these, which will prove to be a costly oversight after a few months of use. A random rubber grommet can be found on the rear of the case, and though it stayed firmly attached during our trusty finger poke test, we’re still at a loss as to why it’s there at all.
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Out of the box, the Elite 120 Advanced comes equipped with a 120mm front intake fan, that blows air into the case across the drive cage. The lack of meshing on the front panel, however, restricts the air available to this fan. A side 80mm intake fan above the CPU completes the cooling that comes supplied with the Elite 120 Advanced. At first we thought we were missing something, but it seems Cooler Master have thrown their thermodynamics textbooks out of the window and decided instead not to provide an exhaust fan. Though an extra 120mm fan can be fitted to the rear of the drive cage to increase internal airflow, there’s still no solution for directly removing hot air from the case, which left us a little less optimistic about the case’s thermal performance.
Specifications
- Dimensions (mm) 240 x 401 x 207 (W x D x H)
- Material Steel, plastic
- Available colours Black
- Weight 3.3kg
- Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, stereo, microphone
- Drive bays 1 x external 5.25in, 3 x internal 3.5in or 1 x internal 3.5in and 4 x internal 2.5in
- Form factor(s) Mini-ITX
- Cooling 1 x 120mm front mount (fan supplied), 1 x 80mm side fan mount (fan supplied), 1 x 120mm drive cage mount (fan not supplied)
- CPU cooler clearance 65mm
- Maximum graphics card length 343mm
1 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced review2 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Interior3 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Cooling Performance4 — Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced — Performance Analysis and Conclusion
Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
- Details
- Category: PC Cases
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Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
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Packaging
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Exterior
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Interior
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Performance/Installation
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Overall/Final Verdict
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All Pages
Page 1 of 6
My first computer chassis was the Cooler Master Cosmos, a behemoth I lugged proudly from home to LAN party and back again.
Large, full towers are what first come to my mind when I think of Cooler Master cases, despite transplanting my LAN rig into the Cooler Master Scout, which coincidently is used as an HTPC when I’m home. Cooler Master has offered the Elite 100 as a mini ITX HTPC solution, but its thin, vertical form factor prevents it from dual-serving as a LAN rig. Can the Elite 120 Advanced meet both needs?
Product Name: Elite 120
Review Sample Provided by: Cooler Master
Written by: Adam
Pictures by: Adam
Specifications
| Available Color | Black |
| Materials | Appearance: Aluminum & Polymer front Case body: Steel Alloy |
| Dimension (W / H / D) | 240 x 207. 4 x 401.4mm / 9.4 x 8.2 x 15.8 inch |
| Net Weight | 3.3 kg / 7.3 lbs |
| M/B Type | Mini-ITX |
| 5.25″ Drive Bays | 1 |
| 3.5″ Drive Bays | 3 (internal) |
| 2.5″ Drive Bays | 4 (internal, converted from two 3.5” bays) |
| I/O Panel | USB 3.0 x 1 (internal), USB 2.0 x 2, Mic x 1, Audio x 1 (supports AC97 / HD Audio) |
| Expansion Slots | 2 |
| Cooling System | Front: 120mm fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 19dBA Side: 80x15mm fan x 1, 2000 RPM, 20dBA HDD: 120x25mm fan x 1 (optional) |
| Power Supply Type | Standard ATX PS2 |
| Maximum Compatibility | VGA card length:343. 0mm / 13.5 inchCPU cooler height: 65.0mm / 2.5 inch |
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In Win Mana 136 White Case
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Cooler Master Storm Scout 2
Case Cooler Master Elite 500 black without PSU ATX 5x120mm 4x140mm 2xUSB3.0 audio bott PSU — 1776682
PC Accessories >
Enclosures >
ATX
Case Cooler Master Elite 500 black without PSU ATX 5x120mm 4x140mm 2xUSB3.0 audio bott PSU
| Product code: | 1776682 |
| Manufacturer: | COOLER MASTER |
| Manufacturer code: | E500-KGNN-S00 |
| Availability: | Pending * |
* The product will be available for order within a few days.
The offer is not a public offer. nine0003
Features
| EAN code | 4719512118412 |
| Configuration | |
| Size | Midi Tower |
| Motherboard form factor | ATX |
| HDD location | cross/vertical |
| Number of expansion slots | 7 |
| 2.5″ internal bays | 5 |
| 3.5″ internal bays | 2 |
| Transparent side panel | YES |
| Cooling | |
| Rear fans | 1 |
| Rear fan size | 120 mm |
Number of add. fans 120 mm |
5 |
| Number of add. fans 140 mm | 4 |
| Connectors, interfaces | |
| Front USB 3.0 connectors | |
| Front audio connectors | Yes |
| Dimensions, weight, color | |
| Body material | steel |
| Maximum video card length | |
| Housing dimensions | 204x455x409mm |
| Color | black |
| Power | |
| Power supply | Missing |
| PSU location | lower |
Attention! The appearance of the goods, equipment and characteristics may be changed by the manufacturer without prior notice.
Check the declared characteristics on the official websites of manufacturers.
Compact yet functional Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced
Popular with PC enthusiasts, Cooler Master has announced a new compact PC case called the Elite 120 Advanced. As for the positioning of the Elite 120 Advanced, Cooler Master says it’s designed for HTPC and home server/network attached storage (NAS) builds. The dimensions of the novelty are 240 x 207 x 401 mm and, as you might guess, this case is designed specifically for the use of compact Mini-ITX form factor motherboards. Also, for the sake of compactness, space for a processor cooler was sacrificed: the size of installed coolers is limited to 65 mm in height, which, in other respects, should not be a particular problem given the new energy-efficient processors. It is worth noting that there are no other restrictions on hardware: the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced case supports the installation of full-format ATX power supplies (up to 180mm in length), as well as top-end video cards such as the Radeon HD7990/GeForce GTX690 (up to 343mm long).
So, in principle, based on this case, you can even try to assemble a compact, but high-performance gaming PC.
General view of the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced computer case
In order to build a home server, network attached storage (NAS) or HTPC on the basis of the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced, it provides enough seats for drives. The Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced can accommodate up to three standard 3.5″ drives or up to four compact 2.5″ drives, plus one 5.25″ slot for an optical drive, for example. nine0003
- Front view of the body
- Left side view of the case
- Case interiors without accessories
Making such a compact case (almost two times smaller than the BitFenix Prodigy), Cooler Master did not forget to think about cooling in it. So, three quiet fans are responsible for cooling in the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced: one 120 mm fan in the front of the case (1200 rpm, 19dB), one 80 mm fan on the right side of the case (2000 rpm, 20 dB), as well as another (optional) 120 mm fan blows over the carriage with hard drives.
In addition, it is worth noting that the perforation on the left wall of the Elite 120 Advanced case will significantly improve the cooling of the video card.
- Left view of the case with the «iron»
- Right view of the body with «iron»
- Top view of the case with «iron»
Like any other modern case, the Elite 120 Advanced has support for USB 3.0, screwless storage, and more. As for the materials of which the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced is made, most of the case is made of steel, while the front panel is made of plastic with a brushed aluminum insert.
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Back view of the case
- Cooling in the case
- Case Features
The Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced case should be available at the end of July, at a very affordable recommended price of 44.95 euros. If you are interested in this case, you can learn more about it on the corresponding page of the Cooler Master website.