I feel like this is the best aspect of this channel with little care for opinions of anyone but your selves and us you make mods and talk about your honest options regardless of the potential of the manufacturers getting butthurt
As you have seen with Cooler Master, they didn't get butthurt when GN did the H500P review but took their complaints serious and released an updated case with a mesh panel. That's why you need people like Steve who just show everyone what's possible to improve on and maybe some manufacturers listen.
@@bepbep7418 I never tried to use a hacksaw to cut a hole in a case, too hard to start the cut. A Sawzall I did though, that was not pretty. Not pretty at all.
@@spastictuesdays340 hammer and nail to punch a hole then using just the blade cut out what ever you don't need. (Before we had rotary saws) way easier then using a 4" or 7" die grinder.
First thing I did with my CM H500 was to use a jigsaw to mod the steel front panel where the fans are mounted, to remove a bunch of material that was partially blocking the included 200mm fans. Second thing was limo tint on the glass side panel.
I cut a hole in the top of an old OEM hp case with needle nose pliers years ago. My power supply mounted in the top but the fan needed air. I peeled that razor sharp shit like a soup can. I miss the days when 4 cores at 4.4ghz was considered crazy.
Step bit tips: 1. Get a fast powerful corded drill 2. Drill fast without much pressure 3. Don't go reverse 4. Look cool doing it And as always, may your frametimes be low.
Get a block of wood like a 2x4 and cut it to the size of the inside of the case at the front panel. Then press it up against the back of your front panel for support so you don't warp the metal when you drill through it. Also, I'd recommend figuring out your fan placement first, then getting a 4-inch hole saw and using that to cut out three big holes where you want your two intake fans and the PSU fan. This will give you completely unrestricted airflow, and you won't lose any structural strength after you screw the fans and PSU in. A four inch hole is big enough to let all the air through a 120mm fan but small enough to leave the screw holes.
Just Dremel the entire front panel except for 4 holes, one on each corner. Then design a front panel with good airflow and 3D-printed it. Screw it to the 4 holes and you are ready to go.
agree with you but... don't say "and you won't lose any structural strength after you screw the fans and PSU in." any loss of material in this situation will reduce structural strength. whether or not you needed the strength is a different story.
A centerpunch for damaging the starting-point where you want the hole drilled. Otherwise your bit will just dance around and make an uneven hole while it's trying to penetrate the topmost-layer
I have a CM-Stacker case from years ago and it' still working just fine, I don't use the hinged side fan assembly so I get much better airflow. It's a huge case overall so never seem to see anything over heat.
@Techdude HD The early 2010s HAF Cases were great. I love my 912, it's a little bit outdated but is still a great case and the airflow is fantastic too. I bought 2 Megaflow 200 fans and set the fans to 5V instead of 12. I still prefer the 2011 ish front mesh + steel side panels instead of an useless glass front and side panels.
Plus running the drill in the high speed setting and not the high torque setting. Man I hate to say it but when these tech tubers start picking up power tools it's debacle.
@@grennellusmc well, depending on the tool and their competency...it might. But in general they do look pretty timid. Glad I had a dad who is a master carpenter for that among many reasons
If you use enough tape, it also acts as a stop. If you use double sided tape and wrap sanding/polishing paper on the end, it also does that for you, too. ;D
seconded. It should be known that step bits are meant to be run at much high rpms to cut cleaner holes than what Mr. Burke was doing. He did say it was his first time though.
If your going to mod this case, just cut two 12cm holes for the fans and then use the filter. That would keep most of the structural integrity as well as improve the air flow. I recommend getting a case with better airflow from the start, one that you dont need to mod. (but sometimes you have to make due with what you got)
True. I own the Q300L. But it's more of a necessity because of space issues and I wanted the cables to Go upwards instead somewhere else. I could use a mITX case, but there is plenty of room for the Q300L and it's damn cheap. Still need to drill two holes.
I bought this case after watching this and the previous video because I wanted a horizontal small format factor case that could support an ATX mobo and large gpu. Drill bits are probably more exciting, but a set of tin snips works a heck of a lot better. My airflow is better than my last case.
depends who is in PR, I guess. Some take it well, others get offended that you want to 'personalize' their precious creations, lol. I don't waste my time modding cases I don't like, there is to much junk out there and not enough time in a day to bother with stuff I don't like.
I used a 4 1/2” hole saw (perfect for 120mm fans)to cut two big holes in the in the front panel of my q300l. It turned out great. And was much easier and faster.
So I purchased this case before the original review. I probably would not have done so if I had seen the review first but I am actually very happy with the case. I moved my AMD R7 -1700 with a Nvidia 1080 Ti to this case. It has a dual fan radiator to cool the CPU venting out the top and 2x 120mm fans mounted low in front and another in the back. Modest overclock on both and the whole setup runs cool and quiet. I accept that the air flow sucks but it is apparently adequate for this use case. I also have a Firewire card and a Elgato HD60 plus an 3.5 hard drive in the case as well. Overall I still like the case a lot. It's size for a full ATX board is the main reason I got it and for the money I think it is still a good deal.
Just did a build with this case because it was my wife's fav. She didn't want any other one. Honestly it's easy to fix the air flow mount 2 fans on the front move in 2 holes from where your screws are and make a line you'll end up with 2 small square to Dremel out of front then go to top and cut out a large rectangle in the center. The 2 fans on front with the new square cut out looks nice with and without the filter placed back on and same for the top, more so when your inside lights are going. As well as fixed air flow plenty no need to mess with the bottom. The case honestly I more for a light gaming build small motherboard like rog B450-I gaming with let's say the ryzen 5 2400 with vega 11(meaning no gpu) leaves plenty of room for ample air flow. Those 12$ coolmaster fans that light up blue are good fans for the case. If your looking to build a full on top of the line gaming pc in a mini case (for some reason)go with like the mini consair case. Btw vega 11 onboard graphics can run most everything at Perfectly fine res.
he said it in the begining. He is looking for a method cooler master could copy. This way they have to change a drill bit. and not change tooling. So a change that could be easily included in the assembly line
It's like cutting out the stamped grilles on OEM cases and replacing them with wire grilles, but with an aftermarket case that isn't supposed to need such treatment. Good going Cooler Master!
Also maintaining speed and 90 degree angle as best as you can will ensure cleaner cuts and less deformation of the material being drilled. And the drill doesn't need to be put in reverse to ease it out as it's not a directional flute path.
Great video. I have the Q300L and I'm considering putting a dremmel to each part where there's a fan, making 4 small square holes per fan (kind of like a window).
Step bits are great for very thin materials like computer-cases or sheetmetal, their cutting surfaces are almost fully perpendicular to their victim so they don't push or pull like a normal twist-bit leaving a big, scarred hole with a giant leftover lip on it.
Considering you can install that nice mesh filter in the front (and it actually looks good), might aswell cut two big holes, leaving a bar in the middle to ensure the stability of the front part of the frame (you can even screw an L section horizontally) no need to re-drill all those holes imo.
I was on the CM page for this case. This is intended to be a bottom intake case. Putting bigger holes on the front, will mainly aid the PSU cooling. Needs bigger holes in the bottom.
Drilling tip - wrap black or white electrical tape (ar apply a permanent ink marker) around where you want the drill to stop so it is easier to see when you have reached the diameter you want.
TIP: when drilling multiples.....nail polish, marker, tape etc.....as a marking on the step bit will help you know when to stop, w/o checking every time....... Adding a foam backing, or grout/tile sponge behind the holes when drilling also helps “collect” metal shavings a little. Always wanted someone to drill holes in their case, glad was Steve😉
Fantastic video. Thank you for the follow up. It means a lot to go through the effort to try to make improvements. It's maybe not "worth it" in terms of money, but a lot can be learned here.
I bought this case because of ur review. It's a beast, if you like to mod the crap out of it. So I did. The temps on an 3770k @ 4,5GHz under stress test stuck @ 60°C. The temps for my 980Ti @ 1400MHz stressed are max 72°C. All tests in full silent mode. And on top of it, it looks just awesome in my livingroom and its really quite... full silent system is need for watching films. Here are some pics, in case you are wondering how and what I did: @t It got a self made fan control, since this cheap "UpHere" RGB fans had no controlling and were way to loud. Otherwise really good fans.
I'd love to see more modifications done to other cases, even if they're not terribly limited by design. Just to see what other improvements can be made to bad, decent and excellent designed cases. Good work as usual!
Metal is very soft. Easy to cut, but also easy to warp. Safest cutting method is dremel with re-enforced cutoff wheels. Soft metal cuts fast with high dremel rpms. Makes lots of dust. Line the case with plastic and tape off first.
Thanks for the review, I bought a master oven box q300l recently, now i know why it has bad thermals (85% area of solid steel). At the moment still waiting for an am4 mount for my old noctua nh-d14 cooler, also decided to get 3 of those fans, put 2 in front and change out the one in the back. I guess it is called masterbox for a reason, as you have to be a master handyman to fix the case. Still I really like how the case looks and since usually i don't DIY things i might buy a second one if i mess up the first really bad, also planing to drill a few holes the plastic cover at the height of the graphics card(and also from the info i gathered im going to need a dremel to cut big circular holes, the size of the fans, out in the front). To be honest, if I was a reasonable man I would just buy an another case and not waste money on extra expensive fans and tools to fix the geometry of the case. But Im kinda of a jack4ss, this the 1st pc i build all by myself, and also what else to do during the pandemic. My specs: ryzen 5 3600, gtx 680 lightning and it turns the master-box into a master-oven (ikr, going to swap out the card nxt year once there is stock of the 3000's and the 2000' series drop in price).
Excellent. I did a similar thing to my N200 case and it also improved the noise! The air going through the metal holes was making quite a horrible part of the case noise at high fan speeds.
FYI; Put a decent sized magnet on the inside of the case when drilling, and it will basically make the slivers stick to not just that, but the now magnetized cover. Makes cleanup a lot easier.
I'm still running into this problem in 2024, stupid me picked this up in 2021 for $30 thinking I was getting a deal, little did I know that 7 fans wouldn't do diddly or squat, the fix I decided was using a soldering iron and melting a 120mm fan size hole in the acrylic and super gluing a 140mm fan filter and Noctua fan in exhaust config. Temps immediately dropped 15C.
If you want to drill through soft metal, this way, ALWAYS put a block of wood against the back of the metal. This will prevent the buckling Steve ended up with. Another pro tip, when using unibits/step-bits, put electrical tape around the bit at the target measurement. Makes it easier than double checking every hole.
Tip: wrap electrical tap around the bit below the size you want. It will act as a simple stop so you can go faster without worrying about over drilling.
For future use of step bits I recommend some masking tape above the depth you want so it is easy to gauge for more than one hole without making a huge mistake or being paranoid with them and it is a 30 second hack that saves time.
Fans can't breathe properly when something is right behind it. I had this case, you need to mount the fan about an inch away from the front panel to get proper airflow. I zip tied them on to the hard drive brackets. And had much better results.
I see a lot of people mentioning hole-saws in the comments. That's fine if you make a rig once and a while- if you plan on doing it often like you make and sell rigs. Get yourself a "punch driver set" aka "knockout kit". Electricians use them all the time. They can be a little pricey but they will never go bad- are fairly quick and they don't make a huge mess.
Almost bought this case in November for my mATX build. I ended up buying a worst what had a plastic shroud covering all the front-which is similar to this. Only with one tiny hole on it on the bottom end, roughly 1.5x10cm small. And! The elevated mounting holes for 92mm fans on the case ended up braking my 120mm CM fan blades at the first start. Might have been better with this bad case.
😒 forget that, i recommend just cutting out that whole front panel, throw it away, install a mesh panel from a different case, something like a bug screen from a home 🙂🏠
Unibits are the best! Quickly cutting to the size you need, while also de-burring the hole once you've drilled it. If you can't afford Irwin Unibitis, you can get step drills from hf for about 1/3rd the cost which do a very nearly equal job.
I have seen so many UA-camrs pretending this was a good case. Well known channels it really shows whichever channel you can trust and who's 100% in it for the $$
A little old and late, but what ever. Add a simple stop collar to non christmas tree step bit, or a metal drill bit and collar, that keeps you from going deeper then you want. Then put some rigid hard insulation board 1", behind the steel mesh. This reinforces the mesh for drilling. Drill through mesh and into foam, works great. Never reverse step bits. And may only have to do light sanding inside. Brush on some enamel paint, and looks factory. Unless the holes are over a fan, doubt it will help your results and you can also glue in or bolt in some thin metal reinforcement brackets if needed. I have done this many times to cases in the past. I would also replace their mesh filter with a better one if possible, I am sure somewhere on Amazon they have a magnetic cover that breathes better then the one that comes with. The bottom needs love and fans also- you can also just add larger feet by taking out the old, and add in new ones with a larger screw. Hey, it is a 60 dollar case after all, but I do love cases with the video card near the bottom so they can get fresh air. And the power supply either behind the mobo, or up near where the optical drive bays once were.
screw in a block of Wood behind the front panel next time to keep the panel flat while you drill the holes. then you also avoid metal inside the case and can then spray the front black again to look nice. Also taking a wire wheel to it would smooth up the rough edges before painting. Just my 2 cents on the next time.
I was considering the case exactly for the small form factor (would fit below my printer on my table and thus be space-efficient). I also like the design, though that's the least I worry about. I somehow second the feeling that Gamers Nexus wanted to make this case perform well thermally but seeing the abysmal results even after heavily modding it, I will looks for an alternative :)
Here's a hint for drilling holes like this: put electrical tape to mark your desired depth (which in this case is also width) IT doesn't make drilling any easier, but it makes it easier to see what you're doing, which makes it a bit faster...
nice! Maybe now Linus finally uses step bits for sheet metal work. :P I really enjoy this channel for the mods and crazy in depth content. (the more in-depth the better :)
i did this to my corsair carbide 275r white drilled 14 holes in the front to help airflow for my AIO, i used tape to mask how big of a hole i wanted on the drill bit
it's really either to widen or add more holes, like keep the holes as is and add small holes in between them, or just pure smaller fine holes all over...sorta like a mesh like a polkadot vector monochrome thingy, but at that point we do lose structural integrity
I think vertical Slots instead of a whackton of holes would be a good compromise between Airflow, Structure, and mounting flexibility. As screws still bite into Slots plenty sufficiently for how heavy Fans aren't, and that still removes a lot of material. Now that doesn't work for pull through rubber mounts, but horizontal Slots would then achieve that. Horizontal Slots can even be a bit wider and still bite well so come to think of it, they might be more ideal. Slots look cooler too, anyways?
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Our original Cooler Master Q500L review is here: ua-cam.com/video/F3n80GxU-Zs/v-deo.html
I wonder why nobody uses aluminum foam except NVIDIA DGX.
Drill that crap OUTSIDE
@@allansh828 Price probably
ThermalTake View 71 is still the best overall case IMO.
Or you know... you could have literally just used an couple of Noctua Industrial 12v 3000 RPM fans.
I feel like this is the best aspect of this channel with little care for opinions of anyone but your selves and us you make mods and talk about your honest options regardless of the potential of the manufacturers getting butthurt
Agreed
That's why this is the only journalistic technology channel I take seriously. The rest I see more as entertainment than factual or having integrity.
As you have seen with Cooler Master, they didn't get butthurt when GN did the H500P review but took their complaints serious and released an updated case with a mesh panel. That's why you need people like Steve who just show everyone what's possible to improve on and maybe some manufacturers listen.
Back in the olden days it's wasn't your own PC until you touched it with a die grinder.
Or a Dremel if you were a little more... delicate...
Hack saws and files
@@bepbep7418 I never tried to use a hacksaw to cut a hole in a case, too hard to start the cut. A Sawzall I did though, that was not pretty.
Not pretty at all.
@@spastictuesdays340 hammer and nail to punch a hole then using just the blade cut out what ever you don't need. (Before we had rotary saws) way easier then using a 4" or 7" die grinder.
First thing I did with my CM H500 was to use a jigsaw to mod the steel front panel where the fans are mounted, to remove a bunch of material that was partially blocking the included 200mm fans. Second thing was limo tint on the glass side panel.
I cut a hole in the top of an old OEM hp case with needle nose pliers years ago.
My power supply mounted in the top but the fan needed air.
I peeled that razor sharp shit like a soup can.
I miss the days when 4 cores at 4.4ghz was considered crazy.
Step bit tips:
1. Get a fast powerful corded drill
2. Drill fast without much pressure
3. Don't go reverse
4. Look cool doing it
And as always, may your frametimes be low.
Get a block of wood like a 2x4 and cut it to the size of the inside of the case at the front panel. Then press it up against the back of your front panel for support so you don't warp the metal when you drill through it.
Also, I'd recommend figuring out your fan placement first, then getting a 4-inch hole saw and using that to cut out three big holes where you want your two intake fans and the PSU fan. This will give you completely unrestricted airflow, and you won't lose any structural strength after you screw the fans and PSU in. A four inch hole is big enough to let all the air through a 120mm fan but small enough to leave the screw holes.
Darn. You beat me to it.
Just Dremel the entire front panel except for 4 holes, one on each corner. Then design a front panel with good airflow and 3D-printed it. Screw it to the 4 holes and you are ready to go.
agree with you but... don't say "and you won't lose any structural strength after you screw the fans and PSU in." any loss of material in this situation will reduce structural strength. whether or not you needed the strength is a different story.
i would just use a dremmel instead, I don't think using a drill would be good against this flimsy material
Steve never put a stepbit in reverse unless it gets jammed otherwise you are leaving a partially cut chip and burr on every hole
And use a faster speed and less pressure to make cleaner holes with less warping
and stop buying shitty cases so you don't have to do this in the first place
Same for a normal twist drill bit
@@jubeh But that's the fun
A centerpunch for damaging the starting-point where you want the hole drilled. Otherwise your bit will just dance around and make an uneven hole while it's trying to penetrate the topmost-layer
Quick pro tip: put a couple magnetic tool bowls in the case when modding a case to collect and trap the metal shavings.
Any tips for removing the metal shavings from the magnetic tool bowl?
@@jackjones6936 put a paper towel in the bowl before you start moding the case.
Oooh snacks
@@jackjones6936 as said above, put some tissue over the magnet
Tissue paper is annoying. Put tin foil in there.
This is one HAF-Baked product.
Please Cooler Master, don't make me LAF.
Don't think Cooler Master will listen. They are DAF.
the name of the company is LAFable anyway, cooler MAFster? they aint really master of anything
I have a CM-Stacker case from years ago and it' still working just fine, I don't use the hinged side fan assembly so I get much better airflow.
It's a huge case overall so never seem to see anything over heat.
Do you HAF to make me LAF?
@Techdude HD The early 2010s HAF Cases were great. I love my 912, it's a little bit outdated but is still a great case and the airflow is fantastic too. I bought 2 Megaflow 200 fans and set the fans to 5V instead of 12. I still prefer the 2011 ish front mesh + steel side panels instead of an useless glass front and side panels.
„Hairy nerds drills tight holes“
He converted it from the Cooler Master Q500L to the Crumpled Metal Q500L, a/k/a "Steve's Job™".
Why didn’t you test X?
Y U X
Test the hottest XXX to go with the hottest case.
because he gon give it to ya
Just like to point out when using a step bit, if you wrap the bit at your depth with tape it makes it much easier.
Plus running the drill in the high speed setting and not the high torque setting. Man I hate to say it but when these tech tubers start picking up power tools it's debacle.
@@durstroyer3924 I always think it's hilarious the way they're so timid with the tools. It's not gonna bite.
@@grennellusmc well, depending on the tool and their competency...it might.
But in general they do look pretty timid. Glad I had a dad who is a master carpenter for that among many reasons
Gottech You should watch NFC (Not From Concentrate).
"No need to afraid, Steve, the Milwaukee Hole-Hawg won't hurt you."
you can tape the bit so u know when to stop visually
If you use enough tape, it also acts as a stop.
If you use double sided tape and wrap sanding/polishing paper on the end, it also does that for you, too.
;D
seconded. It should be known that step bits are meant to be run at much high rpms to cut cleaner holes than what Mr. Burke was doing. He did say it was his first time though.
(Slaps top of case) "This boy is gonna get drilled"
I'm gonna destroy this case's poor airflow.
*slaps top of case*
This bad boy can fit so many peanut butter cups.
Timestamp pls!
Any case is a good case when you have a 4.5 inch hole saw.
You know you’re a hardcore gamer when your PC is full of Bullet holes.
where can we donate to the drill press fund?
Buying merch I guess
and support patreon
If your going to mod this case, just cut two 12cm holes for the fans and then use the filter. That would keep most of the structural integrity as well as improve the air flow. I recommend getting a case with better airflow from the start, one that you dont need to mod. (but sometimes you have to make due with what you got)
True. I own the Q300L. But it's more of a necessity because of space issues and I wanted the cables to Go upwards instead somewhere else. I could use a mITX case, but there is plenty of room for the Q300L and it's damn cheap.
Still need to drill two holes.
@@Deinorius how is thermals for the Q300L? Is it anywhere near the Q500L in performance?
Solid. When in doubt, put bigger holes in it.
-USMC, but also Steve.
Another possibility is to make fewer holes. You know, remove the metal between them.
I wish that the thumbnail for this video was a reference to 'Holes.'
Send it.
I love how Steve holds back the slightly noticable chuckle after saying gaping hole @6:34.
I bought this case after watching this and the previous video because I wanted a horizontal small format factor case that could support an ATX mobo and large gpu. Drill bits are probably more exciting, but a set of tin snips works a heck of a lot better. My airflow is better than my last case.
And now Cooler Master won't talk to you again after you had to "fix" another one of their cases.
The last time they took the criticism pretty well and fixed the product.
depends who is in PR, I guess. Some take it well, others get offended that you want to 'personalize' their precious creations, lol.
I don't waste my time modding cases I don't like, there is to much junk out there and not enough time in a day to bother with stuff I don't like.
I used a 4 1/2” hole saw (perfect for 120mm fans)to cut two big holes in the in the front panel of my q300l. It turned out great. And was much easier and faster.
Interesting. I'd like to do that too. But I prefer to rent it somewhere. ^^
Hope you read this after 9 months. I have this case too and would like to know, how did you not bend the plate while sawing two big holes in it?
Either with very high RPM and not forcing the holesaw, or with a backing material like a chunk of wood
"We actually did math on this"
This is why I'm subscribed
So I purchased this case before the original review. I probably would not have done so if I had seen the review first but I am actually very happy with the case. I moved my AMD R7 -1700 with a Nvidia 1080 Ti to this case. It has a dual fan radiator to cool the CPU venting out the top and 2x 120mm fans mounted low in front and another in the back. Modest overclock on both and the whole setup runs cool and quiet. I accept that the air flow sucks but it is apparently adequate for this use case. I also have a Firewire card and a Elgato HD60 plus an 3.5 hard drive in the case as well. Overall I still like the case a lot. It's size for a full ATX board is the main reason I got it and for the money I think it is still a good deal.
Just did a build with this case because it was my wife's fav. She didn't want any other one. Honestly it's easy to fix the air flow mount 2 fans on the front move in 2 holes from where your screws are and make a line you'll end up with 2 small square to Dremel out of front then go to top and cut out a large rectangle in the center. The 2 fans on front with the new square cut out looks nice with and without the filter placed back on and same for the top, more so when your inside lights are going. As well as fixed air flow plenty no need to mess with the bottom. The case honestly I more for a light gaming build small motherboard like rog B450-I gaming with let's say the ryzen 5 2400 with vega 11(meaning no gpu) leaves plenty of room for ample air flow. Those 12$ coolmaster fans that light up blue are good fans for the case. If your looking to build a full on top of the line gaming pc in a mini case (for some reason)go with like the mini consair case. Btw vega 11 onboard graphics can run most everything at Perfectly fine res.
Too bad. I was really hoping for the case. The formfactor and pricepoint seemed really nice. Thank you GN for all the work you put into this.
Normally I skip over the ad at the start, but this time I didn't, to look at that sexy B-roll set.
Missed opportunity for Dyson sponsorship for those shavings. :D
I got a q300l with the intention of putting an angle grinder to the front and top where I am putting a 240 and 280mm rads.
Epic, man. Why can't case manufacturers save us the trouble of grinding, drilling, and sawing? smh
@@CaveyMoth I love grinding, drilling and sawing metal. You must ingest too much soy.
@@1pcfred Do you also love properly cleaning your metal computers?
@@CaveyMoth not really. But I do it.
@@1pcfred It's a dirty job
I have to ask, why not put 140 mm holes in front of the fans and ad fan covers?
tried that before, the fan sucks the filter into it and touches the fan. (unless there is enough spacing)
he said it in the begining. He is looking for a method cooler master could copy. This way they have to change a drill bit. and not change tooling. So a change that could be easily included in the assembly line
@FDMtech well I did not know that. But even then, CM did some whole case improvements after some GN suggestions. So they might retool the stamp:)
@FDMtech actually I used some in my current build that turned out nice that i got from Performance PC
@@TrigrH just a really sucky case.
Trypophobia Mod brought to you by Gamers Nexus
Null fr dude the thumbnail killed me
It's like cutting out the stamped grilles on OEM cases and replacing them with wire grilles, but with an aftermarket case that isn't supposed to need such treatment. Good going Cooler Master!
Wrap electrical tape at the depth you want to stop at. Repeatable results.
Also maintaining speed and 90 degree angle as best as you can will ensure cleaner cuts and less deformation of the material being drilled. And the drill doesn't need to be put in reverse to ease it out as it's not a directional flute path.
Overclock the drill for faster modifications
Came here for the lawls! Been waiting on this after seeing you drilling it 😄
During the original video where you mentioned drilling them out, a unibit came to mind immediately
Great video. I have the Q300L and I'm considering putting a dremmel to each part where there's a fan, making 4 small square holes per fan (kind of like a window).
When Steve decides to be funny, it's more than simple humor but irony delivered with sardonic wit.
I'm going out on a limb to say we'll see this case again on the 2019 Disappointment build.
Unibits are God's gift to man. Like butter.
Step bits are great for very thin materials like computer-cases or sheetmetal, their cutting surfaces are almost fully perpendicular to their victim so they don't push or pull like a normal twist-bit leaving a big, scarred hole with a giant leftover lip on it.
That's a really cool content, not just an ordinary review like hundreds out there. Keep going to be creative, Steve!
I used cutters and pliers on my oven master Q300L and it actually worked! Temps went down cpu and gpu 20c less.
I like the way the case looks all battle damaged and warped after the drilling. But I'm not normal.
A lot of folks go for the distressed aesthetic.
Considering you can install that nice mesh filter in the front (and it actually looks good), might aswell cut two big holes, leaving a bar in the middle to ensure the stability of the front part of the frame (you can even screw an L section horizontally) no need to re-drill all those holes imo.
Thanks Steve. No really, this is awesome!
The new B roll set is awesome!
Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into proving this!
Modders Nexus. Never disappointed in the content.
I was on the CM page for this case. This is intended to be a bottom intake case. Putting bigger holes on the front, will mainly aid the PSU cooling. Needs bigger holes in the bottom.
Lol all the plants in the ad spot, Hardware Canucks would be proud.
Drilling tip - wrap black or white electrical tape (ar apply a permanent ink marker) around where you want the drill to stop so it is easier to see when you have reached the diameter you want.
TIP: when drilling multiples.....nail polish, marker, tape etc.....as a marking on the step bit will help you know when to stop, w/o checking every time.......
Adding a foam backing, or grout/tile sponge behind the holes when drilling also helps “collect” metal shavings a little.
Always wanted someone to drill holes in their case, glad was Steve😉
shouldve just cut out a giant rectangle so there would be zero restriction for the fans
Fantastic video. Thank you for the follow up. It means a lot to go through the effort to try to make improvements. It's maybe not "worth it" in terms of money, but a lot can be learned here.
Steve's first time with a uni-bit, cute.
I knew Steve was probably a metal guy.
Q500L: How dare you do that?
Steve Burke: Well...that's the real art.
I bought this case because of ur review.
It's a beast, if you like to mod the crap out of it. So I did.
The temps on an 3770k @ 4,5GHz under stress test stuck @ 60°C.
The temps for my 980Ti @ 1400MHz stressed are max 72°C.
All tests in full silent mode.
And on top of it, it looks just awesome in my livingroom and its really quite... full silent system is need for watching films.
Here are some pics, in case you are wondering how and what I did:
@t
It got a self made fan control, since this cheap "UpHere" RGB fans had no controlling and were way to loud. Otherwise really good fans.
I'd love to see more modifications done to other cases, even if they're not terribly limited by design. Just to see what other improvements can be made to bad, decent and excellent designed cases.
Good work as usual!
Metal is very soft. Easy to cut, but also easy to warp. Safest cutting method is dremel with re-enforced cutoff wheels. Soft metal cuts fast with high dremel rpms. Makes lots of dust. Line the case with plastic and tape off first.
Thanks for the review, I bought a master oven box q300l recently, now i know why it has bad thermals (85% area of solid steel).
At the moment still waiting for an am4 mount for my old noctua nh-d14 cooler, also decided to get 3 of those fans, put 2 in front and change out the one in the back.
I guess it is called masterbox for a reason, as you have to be a master handyman to fix the case.
Still I really like how the case looks and since usually i don't DIY things i might buy a second one if i mess up the first really bad, also planing to drill a few holes the plastic cover at the height of the graphics card(and also from the info i gathered im going to need a dremel to cut big circular holes, the size of the fans, out in the front).
To be honest, if I was a reasonable man I would just buy an another case and not waste money on extra expensive fans and tools to fix the geometry of the case. But Im kinda of a jack4ss, this the 1st pc i build all by myself, and also what else to do during the pandemic.
My specs: ryzen 5 3600, gtx 680 lightning and it turns the master-box into a master-oven (ikr, going to swap out the card nxt year once there is stock of the 3000's and the 2000' series drop in price).
Excellent. I did a similar thing to my N200 case and it also improved the noise! The air going through the metal holes was making quite a horrible part of the case noise at high fan speeds.
FYI; Put a decent sized magnet on the inside of the case when drilling, and it will basically make the slivers stick to not just that, but the now magnetized cover. Makes cleanup a lot easier.
I'm still running into this problem in 2024, stupid me picked this up in 2021 for $30 thinking I was getting a deal, little did I know that 7 fans wouldn't do diddly or squat, the fix I decided was using a soldering iron and melting a 120mm fan size hole in the acrylic and super gluing a 140mm fan filter and Noctua fan in exhaust config. Temps immediately dropped 15C.
If you want to drill through soft metal, this way, ALWAYS put a block of wood against the back of the metal. This will prevent the buckling Steve ended up with. Another pro tip, when using unibits/step-bits, put electrical tape around the bit at the target measurement. Makes it easier than double checking every hole.
It's beautiful 😍
Tip: wrap electrical tap around the bit below the size you want. It will act as a simple stop so you can go faster without worrying about over drilling.
For future use of step bits I recommend some masking tape above the depth you want so it is easy to gauge for more than one hole without making a huge mistake or being paranoid with them and it is a 30 second hack that saves time.
I celebrate xmas every year by decorating my step drills.
Thought this case looked really good at CES. If only they had a Steve and a step drill 🤩
This is exactly what i wanted to see...
Fans can't breathe properly when something is right behind it. I had this case, you need to mount the fan about an inch away from the front panel to get proper airflow. I zip tied them on to the hard drive brackets. And had much better results.
This case is great. You can mount all kinds of stuff with the normal holes.
I see a lot of people mentioning hole-saws in the comments. That's fine if you make a rig once and a while- if you plan on doing it often like you make and sell rigs. Get yourself a "punch driver set" aka "knockout kit". Electricians use them all the time. They can be a little pricey but they will never go bad- are fairly quick and they don't make a huge mess.
Don't forget that the magnetic front filter will be perfect for helping clean up all those shards of metal!
Almost bought this case in November for my mATX build. I ended up buying a worst what had a plastic shroud covering all the front-which is similar to this. Only with one tiny hole on it on the bottom end, roughly 1.5x10cm small.
And! The elevated mounting holes for 92mm fans on the case ended up braking my 120mm CM fan blades at the first start.
Might have been better with this bad case.
😒 forget that, i recommend just cutting out that whole front panel, throw it away, install a mesh panel from a different case, something like a bug screen from a home 🙂🏠
Yep thats the way I would have done it too....
I STEEL like the design
Because I know...somewhere deep down in my CPU...I steel love you.
The fact that surface area of the holes increases with the radius square means that, a little increase in the hole size would improve significantly.
Unibits are the best! Quickly cutting to the size you need, while also de-burring the hole once you've drilled it. If you can't afford Irwin Unibitis, you can get step drills from hf for about 1/3rd the cost which do a very nearly equal job.
It doesn't look like Steve entirely got the deburring technique down yet.
I'll just drill a complete whole for two fans. ✌🏼
I own that case. Will drill it this weekend.
Didn't you watch this video? Don't do it!
I have seen so many UA-camrs pretending this was a good case. Well known channels it really shows whichever channel you can trust and who's 100% in it for the $$
That's the second Cooler Master case you fixed. I hope you're sending Cooler Master consulting bills.💰💰💰
Been doing something similar on a bunch of Dell Optiplex's to install a front fan.
A little old and late, but what ever. Add a simple stop collar to non christmas tree step bit, or a metal drill bit and collar, that keeps you from going deeper then you want. Then put some rigid hard insulation board 1", behind the steel mesh. This reinforces the mesh for drilling. Drill through mesh and into foam, works great. Never reverse step bits. And may only have to do light sanding inside. Brush on some enamel paint, and looks factory. Unless the holes are over a fan, doubt it will help your results and you can also glue in or bolt in some thin metal reinforcement brackets if needed.
I have done this many times to cases in the past. I would also replace their mesh filter with a better one if possible, I am sure somewhere on Amazon they have a magnetic cover that breathes better then the one that comes with. The bottom needs love and fans also- you can also just add larger feet by taking out the old, and add in new ones with a larger screw.
Hey, it is a 60 dollar case after all, but I do love cases with the video card near the bottom so they can get fresh air. And the power supply either behind the mobo, or up near where the optical drive bays once were.
The Hit-by-a-shotgun-blast-case. Blyatifull!
I kinda dig the post-apocalyptic look of that.
screw in a block of Wood behind the front panel next time to keep the panel flat while you drill the holes. then you also avoid metal inside the case and can then spray the front black again to look nice. Also taking a wire wheel to it would smooth up the rough edges before painting. Just my 2 cents on the next time.
I was considering the case exactly for the small form factor (would fit below my printer on my table and thus be space-efficient). I also like the design, though that's the least I worry about. I somehow second the feeling that Gamers Nexus wanted to make this case perform well thermally but seeing the abysmal results even after heavily modding it, I will looks for an alternative :)
I cut a 280mml size rectangle in the front of my corsair 100r silent........works great
Here's a hint for drilling holes like this: put electrical tape to mark your desired depth (which in this case is also width) IT doesn't make drilling any easier, but it makes it easier to see what you're doing, which makes it a bit faster...
btw, the uselesness of freedom units never stop amazing me
Nothing that some RGB can't fix
Just look at the Masterbox Lite 5. It's got 3 RGB fans sucking against a 99% enclosed acrylic panel. Genius, CoolerMaster!
for me rgb is the problem
nice! Maybe now Linus finally uses step bits for sheet metal work. :P
I really enjoy this channel for the mods and crazy in depth content. (the more in-depth the better :)
i did this to my corsair carbide 275r white drilled 14 holes in the front to help airflow for my AIO, i used tape to mask how big of a hole i wanted on the drill bit
it's really either to widen or add more holes, like keep the holes as is and add small holes in between them, or just pure smaller fine holes all over...sorta like a mesh like a polkadot vector monochrome thingy, but at that point we do lose structural integrity
quality content!
good for recovery from Sanic trailer
you could paint the drilled holes using spray paint from up to down with some fading color like from purple to orange
I think vertical Slots instead of a whackton of holes would be a good compromise between Airflow, Structure, and mounting flexibility.
As screws still bite into Slots plenty sufficiently for how heavy Fans aren't, and that still removes a lot of material.
Now that doesn't work for pull through rubber mounts, but horizontal Slots would then achieve that.
Horizontal Slots can even be a bit wider and still bite well so come to think of it, they might be more ideal.
Slots look cooler too, anyways?