Our Verdict
Pros
- Performance
- Storage support
- Fan / ARGB hub included
- Value
- GPU support actually functions well
Cons
- No BTF compatibility
- Some will miss the lack of ARGB-included elements
Should you buy it?
Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing
It was only after Cooler Master had reached the prototype stage of the new Mighty 40 fan, a 220mm x 40mm behemoth, that the HAF II 500 was conceived. During the two-year development of the HAF II 500, Cooler Master hosted several sessions to gather and implement feedback from enthusiast focus groups. The case underwent performance and reliability testing across multiple laboratory facilities, and this extensive process informed the design choices: a focus on oversized, ultra-quiet fans, no ARGB lighting, a low-air-resistance gaming design, and several other premium features.
The HAF II 500 features an overall aerodynamic design and MasterRail fan mounts inspired by the Cosmos Alpha. There are dual-GPU support brackets, should you be lucky enough to run two cards, an airflow divider for GPU cooling, and, not to mention, three Mighty 40 fans: two 220mm for intake and one 180mm for exhaust.
Popular Now: Crucial refuses to send back a user's defective RAM, also denies warranty replacementCooler Master is launching the HAF II 500 for $199.99, and with the focus on cooling, it should perform well, especially with the huge fans that come preinstalled, so let's take a look, see how it is to build in, and how it performs through testing.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Model | Cooler Master HAF II 500 |
| Form Factor | Mid Tower |
| Dimensions | 557mm x 262mm x 548mm (L x W x H) |
| Weight | Not listed |
| Materials | ABS, Tempered Glass, SGCC |
| Color | Black |
| Motherboard support | ITX, M-ATX, ATX, E-ATX |
| BTF Motherboard Support | No |
| Cooling Compatibility | Top: 3x120mm, 3x 140mm, 2x160mm/180mm or up to 360mm radiator I Front: 2x220mm (Included) or 3x 120mm, 2x 160mm/180mm or up to 360mm radiator I Rear: 1x 180mm (Included) |
| ARGB / FAN Hub | Yes |
| Drive Support | 3x 3.5"" / 6x 2.5"" |
| Front I/O | 1x USB-C, 2x USB-A, Power, Reset, 3.5mm Combo Audio |
| CPU cooler height (max.) | 221mm (Intel) 220mm (AMD) |
| PSU Length (max.) | 210mm |
| GPU Card Length (max.) | 430mm |
| Warranty | Case: 2 years, Fans: 5 years |
Packaging
The Cooler Master HAF II 500 arrives in a large, mostly plain box, with a full-color sticker to provide details on the case itself.
Best Deals: Cooler Master HAF II 500 ATX PC Case
While there is a little damage from transport, you can make out all the specifications of the HAF II 500. Cooler Master is including a two-year warranty on the case itself, with five-year coverage for the fans.
The back of the packaging is really plain, just noting the middle tower sizing of the HAF II 500 in a range of languages.
Opening the top of the box, I was greeted by the accessory box nestled within the open-cell foam. Taking the case out, we have the usual packaging for protection from bumps, along with a clear plastic bag.
Our Latest Mid-Tower Cases Review Coverage
Outside the Cooler Master HAF II 500
Removing the packaging, the HAF II 500 looks huge, coming in at just under 80 liters of capacity and measuring 557mm x 262mm x 548mm (LxWxH). It features aggressive styling, and I like the aesthetics Cooler Master has employed here.
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How many drives can the HAF II 500 accommodate and how does PSU length affect drive sled configuration?
How does the MasterRail mounting system work and what cooling/radiator sizes can the top panel accept?
What cable management features and clearance are provided behind the motherboard tray?
How did the HAF II 500 perform in the reviewer's CPU and GPU thermal testing compared to similar cases?
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The top of the HAF II 500 features a large vented center with the panel being angled towards the edges. All the ventilation around this case features Cooler Master's traditional hexagonal pattern for a familiar feel.
A single thumbscrew at the rear holds the top panel in place, and with it removed, you can see the MasterRail design Cooler Master has used here. This is their new, next-generation mounting solution inspired by the rail system in the Cosmos Alpha. The MasterRail design can accommodate a wide range of fan diameters simply by sliding the rail and mounting the fan bracket into place. This makes the build process much easier, and by using this system instead of standard stamped steel panels, you can use any fan size while keeping an unobstructed air intake or exhaust, as the rails do not get in the way. The top can accommodate 3x 120/140 mm or 2x 160/180mm fans and up to a 360 mm radiator. Up to 58mm is available in depth for a fan-and-radiator combination here.
Underneath, the top panel includes a non-removable fine-mesh filter, and I would like to think that most people will use it as an exhaust, given the large intakes on the front of the case.
The front of the HAF II 500 is aggressive, and I love it. The large curved fins and openings are similar to the top, while the front features a Cooler Master badge centered.
Case IO is located at the top, above the removable front; a single USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port is positioned to the left, with two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports surrounding the central power button and LED. On the right, there is a 3.5 mm Headset Jack (Audio + Mic) and reset switch. Overall, it's well laid out and includes enough front ports for quick connectivity.
Cooler Master includes HAF detailing on either side of the removable front panel, and you can see the thickness of the fins within the panel.
Removing the ABS front exposes the 40mm thick, 200mm fans. Cooler Master uses Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) in the construction of the Mighty fan. LCP is twice as rigid as plastic, helping maintain the blade's intended shape and allowing the fan blade tips to be closer to the frame. This improves performance while reducing air leakage, turbulence, and noise. The front fans weigh 500g and provide a maximum airflow of 203 CFM, operating between 200 - 1050 RPM.
The magnetic front panel includes a removable dust filter to make cleaning a little easier.
The SGCC rear side panel is plain. It does the job intended; time to move around the back.
Three non-captive thumbscrews are located at the top for removing the side and top panels. Cooler Master has vented a lot of the rear above the basement area, while the 180mm exhaust fan takes up a lot of the space to the side of the motherboard IO cutout. CFM of the rear fan is reduced compared to the front, at 161.5 CFM, with the fan speed also deviating, this time between 250 - 1370 RPM, and weighing slightly less at 425g.
PSU installation is internal, rather than using a mounting bracket and fitting from the rear.
Underneath, the PSU filter is fully framed and removed from the back. While not ideal for ease of access, the inclusion is good to have. Rubber feet help keep the case from sliding around, and the clearance for air intake underneath isn't the largest I've seen, but it should be adequate for keeping the power supply cool. You can also see the storage sled locating points on the bottom. Depending on the size of the power supply, these can rotate and be fitted in a different position to accommodate larger units.
Inside the Cooler Master HAF II 500
After removing the tempered glass side panel and the top to let in more light, I can now take a good look inside the case. The first thing that strikes me is the use of the airflow divider; however, it's not the first time I have seen this. The other case that has implemented this feature was the HAVN BF 360, which performed very well indeed, so I will be interested to see how it compares to this, as it uses similarly sized fans and layout.
Given that this is an interesting feature, we will start the interior tour here, showing the basement area with and without the removable magnetic air scoop that provides access to the front of the basement. The rear portion of the basement features a vented top and a rubber grommet for passing GPU cables through. Remember, you can fit two GPUs here, so the grommet is quite large.
With the removable air scoop shown, you can see its proportions and the magnets used for tool-free installation. Airflow from the bottom front fan is directed up the scoop and towards the GPU to help cool the card with plenty of fresh, cool air.
Along the front, a removable panel gives access to some of the included storage sleds.
The motherboard tray features a large cutout for rear-access cooler installation, with 221mm clearance for Intel coolers and 220mm for AMD coolers. Cutouts are provided at the top and bottom of the motherboard tray for routing cables to where they need to be, with rolled edges on the steel to prevent cuts or nicks in cables. BTF compatibility is missing from this case, but we are still in early adoption for BTF motherboards, so it's not a big deal, though it would have been nice to have it included. The two intake fans occupy the front portion of the case, while the rear exhaust fan is also visible.
There is an adjustable cover on the right-hand side that can be positioned closer to or farther from the motherboard to help hide internal wiring. Adjustment of the cover/shroud uses a thumb turn at the top and a thumbscrew at the rear of the case; once positioned, it can be secured in place. The sliding cable cover also helps with airflow, as it is designed to reduce airflow interference, while shark-gill-inspired vents assist memory cooling by directing air from the top intake fan at the front.
Included within this shroud is the GPU support bracket rail, with a single preinstalled support. Cooler Master does provide a second bracket, so if you do run two cards, this can be used to prevent sag. Graphics cards up to 72mm can be installed when using two cards, or a total of four can be installed with a reduced height of 40mm each. Clearance to the front fans is 430mm when using the stock front Mighty40 F220 intakes.
Around the rear, the case offers a tidy layout, with the most notable element being a door covering the cable pass-through area to the front shroud. I have shown this both open and closed. The front fans are daisy-chained, with all three fans routed to the included fan hub at the top of the case. Below the fan hub, the top attachment for the front shroud is visible, while the door to the cable management area is secured with two captive thumbscrews. Cooler Master is calling this design a split layout, reallocating cable-routing space based on actual routing needs, and creating room for the oversized 180 mm exhaust fan.
The PSU basement includes three drive sleds that can be removed if not required. Three 3.5" drives or six 2.5" drives can be installed with a power supply up to 150mm, while this is reduced to two and four drives, respectively, with power supplies between 150mm and 210mm installed. This is where the repositioning of the sleds I mentioned earlier comes into play.
Cable management tie-down points are well-placed, with Velcro ties preinstalled around the edges of the motherboard tray and the rear of the case. Between 15mm and 40mm is available for cable routing around the chassis.
The included fan hub includes 6 ports for both fans and ARGB lighting. The Cooler Master HAF II 500 doesn't include any lighting as standard, so you are free to keep the case without it or add as much as you would like, with control available via the motherboard connection.
Finally, the included accessory box contains the manual, a cleaning cloth, an additional GPU support bracket, and screws for installation.
Test System, Installation, and Finished Product
While installing the test system, I found that the HAF 500 II provides plenty of space to work with; removing the top panel gave easy access to the top of the motherboard to connect power cables and any additional connections you may need.
In the back of the case, the cable channel is really useful to hide unused cables, while the basement provides more than enough room to tuck additional items away. While some of my cables were too short to use the included tie-down points, longer cables will be really easy to manage here. If you are adding ARGB, you don't need to worry about how to route them around the case, as there are plenty of options available.
The front, with the included cable grommet, provides an easy way to route to your graphics card, and if you do have two, then there is more than enough room to accommodate the additional cables. With the Cooler Master HAF II 500, I can make use of the GPU support bracket for the ASUS Prime RTX 4070 12 GB Super. While this is a relatively short card, the support is long enough to reach once the cable shroud is slid into position. This isn't the best support integration I have seen, and I would have liked to see a way to adjust the length further without having to move the shroud, but it's a lot better than some others I have used in case testing.
The system I have built for testing includes an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU, housed in an MSI B850 Tomahawk Max Wi-Fi Motherboard, paired with two sticks of 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 memory. Our CPU is kept cool using the be quiet! Dark Rock Elite. For storage, I am using a Corsair MP700 Elite 1TB NVMe M.2 drive. Finally, for graphics, I have an ASUS Prime RTX 4070 12 GB Super. Testing was completed with PBO enabled, AXMP1, and MSI Smart Fan configuration.
All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test v7.65.7400 for 2 hours. Other software used was HWiNFO 64 v8.32-5870, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.70.0, and CPU-Z v2.15.0 x64.
Kris' Test System Specifications
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (Buy at Amazon) |
| Motherboard | MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk MAX WiFi (Buy at Amazon) |
| GPU | ASUS Prime GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC (Buy at Amazon) |
| RAM | Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 16GB (2x8GB) (Buy at Amazon) |
| SSD | Corsair MP700 Elite 1TB (Buy at Amazon) |
| Cooler | TBC (Buy at Amazon) |
| Power Supply | TBC (Buy at Amazon) |
| Monitor | Acer Nitro XV322QK (Buy at Amazon) |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (Buy at Amazon) |
When it came to testing results, I was expecting good things from the Cooler Master HAF II 500, given my experience with the similar HAVN BF 360. It came as no surprise then, when I looked at the results, this case performs very well indeed. The ambient temperature for testing is 26°C, and the new Mighty 40 fans have done a great job of keeping everything cool. In the standard setup, there is positive pressure inside the case, with the rear and top fans acting as exhausts.
CPU temperatures reached a maximum of 77.6°C and settled to an average of 74.7°C. To put that in perspective, it sits 15th overall in my testing chart, with temperatures normalized to 20°C. If I had run an AIO to the top of the case as an exhaust, then I have no doubt this would have been even lower. It's not a bad result with my standard air cooler installed, but there is scope to improve further with a better cooling solution. Notably, the HAVN BF 360 in a standard configuration, using the same CPU cooler, came in at 66.6°C, compared to 68.7°C for the HAF II 500, with both cases adjusted to the 20 °C ambient baseline, so it's a close one here.
GPU temperatures change things up quite a bit, though, with the Cooler Master HAF II 500 now the new king of my testing results spreadsheet. With test results showing a maximum of 66.8°C and an average of 66.1°C, when again brought to a 20°C baseline, it sits a full 2°C cooler than its nearest competitor, the Antec Flux Pro Noctua Edition. Here the HAVN BF 360 managed 63.1°C and now sits in 4th place overall for GPU results.
These numbers are a real testament to the time and effort Cooler Master has spent on the new Mighty fans and the HAF II 500 as a whole, with the case design and fans working in harmony to deliver fantastic results.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I don't think I need to write much here, as the Cooler Master HAF II 500 has done all the talking; the results speak for themselves. Overall, the Cooler Master HAF II 500 is well-built, thoughtfully laid out, and includes everything you need to get a system up and running and keep it cool. It looks great with its aggressive front lines too.
There isn't anything I don't really like about this case; I would like to see a white version for sure, to brighten things up internally given the lack of ARGB, but you do have the option to add on what you want thanks to the inbuilt hub. That might be counterintuitive, though, and will take away from the hard work Cooler Master has done, because if you are swapping out the front fans for an ARGB alternative, you will interfere with the performance the Might 40s provide. Maybe a more tactful implementation can be made in other areas of the case, and you do have the top free to do with as you want.
I have mentioned the HAVN BF 360 several times during this review, and it's hard not to, given the similarities between the two cases. I loved the HAVN equivalent, but the HAF II 500 just goes that little further. Cooler Master gives you a bit more performance for a very similar price, with the HAVN version at $189.900 at the time of that review.
When looking at my testing results, the Antec Flux Pro Noctua Edition, NZXT H6+, and Corsair Frame 5000D are all up there and perform well, but when it comes to GPU temperatures, Cooler Master is going to take some beating. It's great to have some real competition in this space, as it will push other manufacturers to improve, and that can only be good for the consumer. I am in no doubt that we will see an uptake in the air scoop design, alongside other new cases, with HAVN and Cooler Master showing that it works incredibly well at keeping GPU temperatures low. If you think of F1, if a team runs a new aero package that works, it doesn't take long for other teams to come up with something similar and get it on their cars too.
It will be interesting, as a reviewer, to see how long the HAF II 500 remains at the top of the GPU temperature chart. I am sure other cases will get close, but I honestly think we might be waiting a while to see something that can improve this result. Well done to Cooler Master; the time and effort have paid off, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
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