Performance Tests

Our stress tests compare the cooling performance of the enclosure with the standard included fans to that of all previous cases we have tested with the same hardware since January 2007. We test with different fan configurations to measure the impact; we hooked up the 3x120mm and 1x200mm to a 5.25” fan controller which allowed us full control from 0 to 12v;

These are three test configurations we used:

• All fans at maximum speed (Front/Rear/Side/Top)
  
• Three fans at maximum speed (Front/Rear/Top), One disabled
  
• Two fans at maximum speed (Front/Rear), Two disabled
  
• One fan at maximum speed (Rear), Three disabled

These are the results:



The Cosmos S doesn’t fail to impress, performance or noise wise, it ranks near the top with different fan configurations, with component temperatures at all time lows!

If we take a closer look at the results of the Cosmos and Cosmos S you can clearly see this case is meant for extreme cooling:



The “S” improves component cooling all over the board compared to the original Cosmos, hard drive cooling gets the biggest drop, understandable as the original was lacking in this aspect. But also CPU cooling drops a healthy 6°C and VGA 5°C (at lower VGA fan speed!).

Noise wise the 120mm fans at ~1000rpm are noticeable in a quiet room but hardly disturbing, when you connect the side panel fan you will definitely hear it, as it’s the loudest source of noise in the case. Our single GPU test setup noticed a 2°C drop on the 8800 GTX while VGA fan speed was lower too.

Conclusive Thoughts

The Cosmos S, the Sport version of the original Cosmos delivers on its promise; it has a flashier exterior design, fancy new features and competes at the top end of component cooling performance. It is indeed true to the “Sport” tag Coolermaster gave it.

Expected to retail for $249 this high end EATX case is not cheap, and falls in direct competition with high end units from Lian-Li, Silverstone, Thermaltake and others. It can stand its ground feature and cooling wise. So your final choice will come down to exterior preference and/or particular features of the product.

Compared to the original Cosmos, which can be found for $180 and less, the price increase is quite steep, while the S uses more expensive material and has a more elaborate design process, the removal of the custom HDD bays can be seen as a negative, it reduces the standard amount of HDD that can be installed, and loses one of its unique features along the way. Nevertheless the addition of extra cooling power for dual/triple VGA setups is welcome, as is the expansion at the top of the case to accommodate bigger water cooling radiators.



Make no mistake: this case is at top end of the Coolermaster product range; only certain models in the Stacker series surpass it.

Coolermaster Cosmos S Recommended for



We like to thank Joost from Coolermaster for letting us spend more time with the review unit.