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Cooler Master Lab Test Bench V1.0 Review

Cases & PSU/Cases by massman @ 2009-11-05

Today we have a look at the Cooler Master Lab open casing, which is built and designed for people who switch hardware on very regular basis. Ideal for reviewers and overclockers and luckily I am both.

Evaluation and conclusive thoughts

Evaluation

Priced around €80, this products is actually one of the cheaper variants within the group of test benches as often you will pay €150 and more for similar chassis'. For €80, you do get the bare minimum, which can be a drawback for some people as there's no added space to mount fans or tighten the video card to a metal brace. In fact, when you look at the concept of the test bench, it actually is nothing more than a more compact and stronger cardboard box (e.g. motherboard box) solution.

As I do tend to lose too much space when using the cardboard box solution, I will most definitely be using this test bench in the future. However, would I buy it if it wasn't sent to me for review? Probably not as I'd stick to my free motherboard cardboard box. At a lower price point (50% off?) and with mounting options for cooling fans, this product will be a lot more interesting.

PRO
+ Very clean setup
+ Compact
+ Solid construction
+ Priced lower than most other similar test bench solutions

CON
- Still quite pricy as a cardboard box alternative
- Adding a second hard disk not easy

Coolermaster Lab Test Bench V1.0

Conclusive thoughts

Recommending this product as 'must-have' for every single reviewer and/or overclockers, no, that's in my opinion not possible. For those who really want a cleaner desk when testing new products, but want to spend as little as possible and are the proud owners of two left hands (or no hands) then this may be a good choice. However, if you're not the mother or girlfriend of an IT enthusiast, you'll probably either continue using the cardboard box (which comes with the hardware anyway!) or a more elaborate test bench which can handle extras such as additional hard disk drives, fans and water cooling gear.

We thank Cooler Master for giving us the opportunity to bench on their latest product, we hope to see a revised version in the future that will meet our more extreme demands.

Thank you for reading and until the next time!!

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/06

I must say it would have been nice if you had compared this to the HSPC Tech station, which is cheaper, plastic (special insulation material), and just plain simpler (which is good).
There is no need to any screws (at least I don't bother with them). It is taller, which means you can stack more components.

Since you reviewed the Cooler Master, would you have a go at the HSPC, too?

Comment from JimmyJump @ 2009/11/07

I thought the review was good; comprehensive and explanatory, which is what a review should be, right?

That there's no manual included is no surprise to me, as things should be pretty clear to folks who tend to use these set-ups for testing.

The complaint about the rudimentarity and the fact that the rig hasn't space for a second hard drive, to me doesn't hold ground, because the rig is for testing/overclocking purposes, so, how many discs do you want to hang onto a test set-up? Granted, if/when you would be testing a new PSU, a multi disk set-up could come in handy. But then again, if the discs are already built into the case, it could prove easier to just connect the new PSU to the computer harbouring the discs, instead of disassembling your computer to connect the lot to the testing rig...

My two Eurocents.

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

having space for multiple disks does come in handy, especially for benchmarks, some apps work better under a certain OS, with multiple disks installed you don't need to swap them out, just connect the sata/power plug differently

@Faiakes: we have another test bench incoming for review, not a HSPC though

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

@ jmke
Thanks, that will be interesting!

I forgot to add that even the buttons are not necessary. Quite a few boards have them onboard now or you can buy a very cheap set for your motherboard

Here is my old setup.

The cooldrive contained a Raptor and as you can see I could easily add a second one.

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

effective setup

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

Thanks jmke

I know you're not a fan of no case 24/7 setups

Since I'm showing off...I might as well show what the whole setup looked like:

(that's my 24" BenQ FP241W, Accoustic Energy - Aego Series M 2.1 speakers, Enermax Aurora keyboard)

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

never said I'm not a fan of it

if I were to test motherboards, ram, hard drives, it would be an essential part of my test gear; but for case, cooling and video card tests it's not needed

you got a clean desk, was that on purpose for this pic?

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

never said I'm not a fan of it

if I were to test motherboards, ram, hard drives, it would be an essential part of my test gear; but for case, cooling and video card tests it's not needed

you got a clean desk, was that on purpose for this pic?

Fair enough

No, I'm a bit of a neat freak. I like minimalistic, clean environments.

Plus when I play I don't want anything interfering. I tend to set the keyboard to the left and use the arrow keys instead of WASD, so I need the space.

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

my desk is a little bit more... uhm.. populated?

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

JESUS H. CHRIST !!!

But that is a working space, right?
(please tell me that it is. Otherwise I may fly to Belgium just to sort that room out).

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

on the left 2x24" for VGA benches, on the right case/CPU cooler test bench hooked up to 20"; in the middle 24"+22" for workstation. yes it's working space

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

on the left 2x24" for VGA benches, on the right case/CPU cooler test bench hooked up to 20"; in the middle 24"+22" for workstation. yes it's working space

Few...I feel better now

Why would you need 2*24" to test a graphics card?
I fact, why do you need more than 3 monitors?

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

speeds up testing, I can test 2 VGA cards at the same time, head to head

Quote:

We used a VIP-844-BC 4 port PS/2 Keyboard Multicaster, which allows you to control up to 4 PCs simultaneously with one keyboard, for the mouse we used 2 Logitech MX1000 receivers and synchronized one MX1000 with both receivers, with this setup we are able to control both PCs 99% simultaneously. It proved a challenge to set up at first as every window and field in Windows has to match up 100% otherwise you would have to focus on one system each, using a HDD image copy we got a complete setup match and benchmarking could start.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=953

there are 7 working PCs in that room

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

OK, too many PCs for me...

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

I use only 1 for data, others are test

Comment from Massman @ 2009/11/07

I don't think you want to see my 'working space'. It'll give you a stroke for sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyJump

The complaint about the rudimentarity and the fact that the rig hasn't space for a second hard drive, to me doesn't hold ground, because the rig is for testing/overclocking purposes, so, how many discs do you want to hang onto a test set-up?

Actually, I have more than three harddisk drives to begin with: Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The reason is quite simple: when installing a new operating system, there will be no issues with the multi-boot options.

Having more than 1 space for a harddisk drive is, for me, quite a disappointment.

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Massman

I don't think you want to see my 'working space'. It'll give you a stroke for sure.

Yes. I'd rather you didn't.
I think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight, after seeing jmke's work space

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

our places are squeaky clean compared to some other bench setups

src:http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...52&postcount=1

that keyboard

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/07

Jmke I nearly threw up...

Did you have to do that? Are you purposely trying to keep me awake tonight?

Comment from JimmyJump @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

Sure, but when you're more or less in the do-it-yerself business, you can make a separate rig for hard drives, like the slip-in HD-area from an 'old' chieftec BA-tower, or the modules from some Antec or Chieftec Dragonmaster cases. The latter even have the possibility to build-in a cooling fan.

I like the CoolerMaster Lab Bench, but should I use a lot of my spare time (in fact, time is usually all that I have left) doing multi-testing, I would still build my own test-bench/rig/set-up/whatever, just like most of you guys 'n' dolls do.

I mean, why spend the better part of 100 euro, or more, on a rig that doesn't meet the general idea of what you need, when you can build it yourself and pretty cheap at that.

Okay, the above doesn't change one iota to the fact that indeed, there's no space for more discs in the CoolerMaster rig, but you catch my drift. I hope.

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

you can make a separate rig for hard drives

then you can also make a bench table without much problem

the aim of buying a pre-build unit is not to have to waste time building one

Comment from JimmyJump @ 2009/11/07

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

then you can also make a bench table without much problem

That was the general idea of/behind my reply...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmke

the aim of buying a pre-build unit is not to have to waste time building one

Absolutely correct amigo, so open-up the window and shout "pull" and we can have a

at the thing...

Comment from Gamer @ 2009/11/07

I haven't used a case in years.

This looks tidy isn't it ?

On the left :

And on the right :

Oeps

Comment from JimmyJump @ 2009/11/08

Hey Gamer, can I come over for a slurp of an overfull cup of coffee, in the close vicinity of yer rigs? yes-yes-yes-phulleeze???

Comment from Gamer @ 2009/11/08

With a zip of whiskey in it ?

Always welcome !!

Comment from leeghoofd @ 2009/11/08

Nutty professors and experts never have a clean desk

Sorry Faiakes... I won't even post my piccies of my desk under normal circumstances as it will scare you to death ( CPU's,GPU's, rams everywhere) only thing I put in boxes are the mobo's (unlike Massman)

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gamer

I haven't used a case in years.

This looks tidy isn't it ?

On the left :
And on the right :

Oeps

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

(although not as bad as jmke's

)

I like the glass but I don't trust myself not to break it.

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faiakes

(although not as bad as jmke's

)
.

thanks for that. You haven't seen the other side of the office either... imagine 120 heatsinks in a huge tower

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/09

No....no.....NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Comment from jmke @ 2009/11/09

well, at least in my office I can throw around a beach ball without worrying it will destroy my computer

Comment from nigel @ 2009/11/15

hehehe

love that one from Hipro

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/15

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeghoofd

Nutty professors and experts never have a clean desk

Sorry Faiakes...

That is not a rule, don't try to pretend that it is

The REALLY cool people have everything under control, neat and tidy (that's what I like to think anyway

)

Comment from Massman @ 2009/11/15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faiakes

That is not a rule, don't try to pretend that it is

Oh no! I thought it was a rule and made a mess of my room this weekend.

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Massman

Oh no! I thought it was a rule and made a mess of my room this weekend.

At best it might be a geek identification tendency but I think even that is a stretch.

Some people are just messy (and lazy

)

Comment from Massman @ 2009/11/15

I'm both multiplied by both.

Comment from Faiakes @ 2009/11/15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Massman

I'm both multiplied by both.

Hmmm......messy, lazy, technology obsessed and completely honest about it....definitely a geek

Comment from Massman @ 2009/11/15

I do indeed sound like one ... I described a characteristic of me in terms of a mathematical equation.

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