Cooler Master is an extremely well-known brand for computer users and builders manufacturing a variety of components and accessories. Cooler Master's primary focus is on cases with the Cosmos and HAF lines being some of the best selling chassis made. The HAF line has been holding the top end sector of cases with models ranging from $60 all the way up to $250, but today we are looking at one of Cooler Master's very budget friendly cases in the Elite 430.
The Elite 430 is the top case in Cooler Master's 'Elite' line of chassis, offering the best features and appearance of the series with its massive 14x11" Plexiglas side window. The Elite 430 can be for anyone looking for a work chassis or just anyone on a tight budget who doesn't want a crazy looking chunk of metal holding their system. The very traditional Elite 430 is currently available at the $39.99 price point which is truly amazing for the specifications you find with this case listed below.
Features of the Cooler Master Elite 430 (RC-430-KWN1) PC Case
- Interior black coating makes stylish inside looks.
- Front 120mm fan with brilliant Blue LED provides the best airflow to HDDs.
- Rear 120mm fan for high-efficiency ventilation.
- Tool-Free mechanical design for quick assembly and maintenance.
- Side ventilation holes for better cooling performance.
- Large transparent side window included.
Specifications of the Cooler Master Elite 430 (RC-430-KWN1) PC Case
- Available Color: Black only
- Part Number: RC-430-KWN1
- Material: Steel Body; ABS plastic
- Dimension: 190 x 424 x 490mm / 7.5 x 16.7 x 19.3"
- Weight: 4.7 kg / 10.3 lbs
- Motherboard support: ATX / Micro-ATX
- Video Card Support: up to 315mm/12.4" -Any up to Radeon HD 5970, GeForce GTX 480
- CPU Heatsink Support: up to 163mm/6.4" in height
- 5.25" External Drive Bays: 3
- 3.5" External Drive Bays: 2
- 3.5" Internal Drive Bays: 5
- Expansion Slots: 7
- Top Cooling: 120 mm fan x 2 (optional)
- Front Cooling: 120 mm blue LED fan x 1, 140 mm fan x 1 (optional)
- Rear Cooling: 80/90/120 mm fan x 1 (optional)
- Side Cooling: 120 mm fan x 1 (optional)
- Bottom Cooling: 80/90/120 mm fan x 1 (optional)
- Warranty: 2 Year limited hardware
That's right; Cooler Master's Elite 430 $40 chassis can even house the ATI Radeon HD 5970 which is the largest video card available, with room to spare! I can hear some of you saying: "Well, why would I use a $40 case with a video card that costs between $600 and $700?" and the point is that you have the option, without ever having to worry about future graphics upgrades
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Retail Package & Bundle
The front of the retail box is very simple with one product picture and the 'Cooler Master' and 'Elite 430 Black' logos for identifiability.
The rear of the box again has the logos, as well as images for some of the primary features.
Cooler Master packed the Elite 430 just as with any other case; a plastic bag cover to prevent scratches and two big chunks of Styrofoam to keep it from moving in transit.
The great big piece of lexan (Plexiglas) comes covered by static plastic for more protection. The sheet measures in at 11" wide and 14" tall.
Ever wonder why some cases come with little bags inside bigger bags, sometimes also in even bigger bags? To prevent this: when I pulled the case from the box a few screws fell back into the box, and as I started to take the styrofoam and plastic off, screw after screw kept falling out of the chassis! Even after opening the chassis and picking out all the screws that I could see, several more screws fell from where they sat almost every time I handled the case. The culprit of this problem is shown below:
In transit from California this one bag managed to spring a dime-sized leak (who would have guessed, having a lot of screws and other hardware just in one thin baggie which was not tied down or in a box), so every screw included with the case was free to roam around the chassis and wreak havoc. I was lucky here as I see no distinguishable scratches throughout the chassis or cracks in the lexan from the hardware flying around the case in the back of the UPS truck.
For hardware you get:
- 9x Motherboard stand-offs
- 31x Coarse-thread screws
- 29x Fine-thread screws
- 10x Black 5.75" cable ties (zip-ties)
- 1x Security lock mount with additional coarse-thread screw
- 1x Buzzer (motherboard speaker)
- 1x screwdriver adapter for standoffs
The included manual folds out with installation instructions with text as well as images and lists the features and included hardware. The manual also states that Cooler Master backs the Elite 430 with a 2-year limited hardware warranty, for those wondering.
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