Cooler Master's tool free philosophy continues with the PCI slots. As you can see above, after installing the motherboard, you slide the desired card into place with the plastic lock in the up position. Once the card is in, simply push the lock down until it snaps into place. These locks do a good job of keeping the card secure, though Cooler Master does leave you with the option of using screws as well, which is something we suggest if the PC gets moved often.

Aesthetics and Usage Notes

The combination of black, blue and silver makes for a pretty slick case, and I like the mean looking black facade of the case. The mesh looks pretty good and is quite functional here as well as it will allow for more cooling. Considering the increasing number of black coloured optical drives, you probably won't have any issues finding a drive and matching it up with the case. The only thing I do not like are the two silver bars coming down the side, but I will say they make transport much easier.

The power and reset buttons are well placed and easy to access. I tend to keep my tower on the floor, so the IO connections for USB and sound are in a convenient spot, though less so for those who keep their PCs on their desk.

As we've covered, installation is very easy with no tools required for peripheral installation. The interior is roomy enough that the loss of the motherboard tray was not an issue. As you can see above, Cooler Master clipped some of the wires out of the way, but didn't include extra clips for additional routing. The only time you need to crack out the screwdriver here is for motherboard and PSU installation.

Cooling Performance

Athlon 64 3500+, MSI K8N Platinum, 2x512MB Corsair XMS PC3200, Reference ATI X1800XL, Maxtor 120GB SATA 7200rpm, Swiftech MCX6400-V.

We'll be comparing the cooling performance to the Lian Li V1000 and Cooler Master Centurion 531. Understand that the Lian Li is targeted towards the enthusiast market, with the price to match, but it was the only case we had available with a similar size and was perforated as the Centurion 532. Since we were unable to use a large CPU heatsink with the Centurion 532 in it's stock configuration, we opted for the lower profile Swiftech MCX6400-V cooler.

Our usual heatsink setup (ambient temperature, thermal paste, etc.) was used, and to test the cooling features of the Centurion 532, we tested the case with the side panel vents exposed and closed off as pictured above. We also tested the case with the rear 120mm fan installed and uninstalled (stock). A Cooler Master Cool Drive was used to collect results of the video card.

Stock configuration with side vents exposed

	CPU	System	Video
Centurion 532	48	34	52
Centurion 531	48	37	53
Lian Li V1000	51	37	61

Stock configuration with side vents closed

	CPU	System	Video
Centurion 532	50	36	54
Centurion 531	51	38	54
Lian Li V1000	51	40	61

Rear 120mm fan with side vents exposed/closed

	CPU	System	Video
Exposed	46	33	50
Closed	47	35	51

The Centurion 532 was a slightly better performer than the Centurion 531 and a much better performer than the Lian Li V1000. The big cheese, Hubert, pointed out during our testing that the heatsink on the X1800XL was getting pretty toasty with the Lian Li, hence the high video temperature. I thought it was a glitch, but when I placed the my finger on the heatsink it was close to searing hot. We are both pretty sure this is due to the fact that the V1000 flips the motherboard upside down and the heat rose up from the North Bridge heatsink.

No surprise that CPU temperatures were much better with the fan duct exposed and a rear 120mm fan in place. There was little change in video card cooling though with the side panel open and closed.

Final Words

I've always been a pretty big fan of the Centurion series of cases and the 532 model is a very good case for the money. The case offers a lot of features that even premium cases seem to lack, and the overall look of the case isn't too bad. I like the mesh look, but I'll have to admit I do not like the two side bars much at all. That being said, they do make for convenient carry handles.

Our particular model can be found for around $65 USD. While it's pretty feature-rich, make no mistake... some sacrifices had to be made for Cooler Master to meet that price point. Unlike what is found in some of their premium cases, there's no aluminum door to cover the optical drives, nor are there any special stealth bezels for the drives included. An added cost to consider is an additional 120mm fan for the rear as Cooler Master does not include one.

On the plus side, it's tough to bemoan the fact that it isn't made of an exotic metal. Since the Centurion 532 is made from a steel based chassis rather than aluminum, the manufacturing costs are much lower. These savings are passed over to the consumer as a result. Installation is a breeze thanks to the tool-less design (save for motherboard, optional fan and PSU).

Noise wasn't too much of an issue as the case setup was no noisier than the other two test cases. We expected the perforations to allow more noise to exit, but this wasn't really the case. Cooling wise, the CPU fan duct does a good job of lowering CPU temps a bit, though owners of large air coolers will want to consider other options.

The real cheap cases can be had for under $40 these days, but for $20 to $30 more, we think you'll be hard pressed to find a better choice under $80. It is easy to work with, well built and has good cooling performance.