Outside
At first glance the exterior of the Cosmos II looks just like both of the past models. The large bars on each corner on the top and bottom are the signature style from the Cosmos line and really help give the case its style. Really in photo it’s hard to spot the biggest change from the past models to the Cosmos II, but in person it is clear as day. The size of the Cosmos II is just amazingly large, even when compared to the past models that were also large. This is the largest case we have had in to review, ever!
The right side panel is traditionally the boring side of any case. The Cosmos II for the most part is no different, but you do get a nice vent on the lower half of the door. In each of the four vents there is a honeycomb grill to keep good airflow while making it hard to see inside.
Up top the style bars are a little more “styled” than before. Before both bars would come up about an inch and go straight across. The new bars up top have more of an arch to them. In between the cars you also have the top mesh vent. The top panel is held down by a thumb screw on the rear, once removed the top panel slides off to give you a good view of the three fan mounts. With the top panel off you can also see the supports that make the top two bars capable of being able to hold the weight of the Cosmos II and your components.
Also on top is the I/O panel and control panel. Cooler Master has broken to two up and put the control panel on top and the I/O panel just under the control panel on the front. That design will help prevent anyone bumping the power button while plugging in their flash drive. Also to help prevent bumps there is a cover that slides over top of the control panel when you don’t need to access it. This should prevent cats and kids from turning your PC off mid game; that is of course if they can even reach the top of this monster case.
The front I/O panel has four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports for good speed and the ability to hook anything you need up. You also have an eSATA port and your front microphone and headphone ports.
The control panel uses real buttons rather than the touch free design used on the Cosmos S. You have a total of six buttons. The large power button in the middle is surrounded by four different fan controllers for different zones along with one button that controls your fan LED lighting and lastly the reset button. The most interesting part of everything is how similar the control panels buttons look to an old razer cell phone. On the plus side we know it will hold up.
The front of the Cosmos II is almost a combination of the original Cosmos along with the S. The Cosmos II has a front door like the original but is designed with a long mesh front. The front door is unique, with a slight push it will slowly open itself relieving the exterior drive bays.
For drive bays you have a total of three 5.25 inch bays and two 3.5 hot swaps. Each of the bays is easy to access with the left side having a small handle that you pull on. The hot swaps have additional protection with key locks to prevent someone from pulling your OS drive out with the PC running.
The left side panel lacks a side panel window to see inside of the Cosmos II but does have additional ventilation when compared to the right side panel. It would still be nice to see a side panel window here.
Around back on the back panel there is a lot going on. For cooling you have one 140mm fan but also each of the PCI slots are vented as a way to move air. Speaking of the PCI slots, there are a total of 11, 10 normal and one another the others sidewise. That is an impressive amount of expandability and the reason the Cosmos II is capable of supporting quad SLI and Crossfire. Down at the bottom the PSU cage is oddly shaped and sticks out over an inch from the back panel.
For water cooling up top there are three water cooling grommet’ed holes. You will also notice that the entire back panel has a nice black finish to match the rest of the case. Last but not least are the door latches. On the past models the doors are opened using latches at the top of the back panel, this time around the latches are in the middle. To open you push down on them and the door will swing open.
The bottom of the Cosmos II is where you can really see its size. The bottom has the same bars across them as the top. Unlike the past models Cooler Master has placed rubber feet on those bars to keep the case from sliding around, we will see how that works out. There is also a fan filter that can be reached from the rear that filters the PSU intake air.