Installation and Performance
After taking at long look at both the inside and outside of the case it was time to start the installation process. One feature we noted on briefly earlier that made the installation process incredibly easy is the weight of the case, it is incredibly lightweight and easy to maneuver with one hand while running wires or setting up other things within. The first thing we installed was the power supply, once I slid it into the guides (the right way, it may or may not have taken me two tries) I tracked down the right screws out of the bag and got them installed. It was a little bit saddening that there were not thumb screws ear marked for the power supply, but you could easily replace them with some thumb screws from somewhere else.
Cable management was both difficult and easy at the same time. The difficulty came mainly from the power supply that we used, which was not modular combined with the small amount of room on the behind the motherboard. Everything did fit, but it was tight and making it look good was very difficult. That being said, the holes that Cooler Master cut out to make cable management easier were incredibly helpful in keeping wires hidden and made access to all of the components relatively easy. With a modular power supply, cable management in this case would be a breeze.
Installing an SSD in the unique hanging mounts was a little different than what I am used to but wasn’t too bad. The same goes for the 5.25 inch bay and all of the 3.5 inch hard drive mounts as well. There wasn’t really anything for tooless installation but anyone with a screwdriver should be able to get everything installed without any issues.
As for performance the N200 came with two 120mm fans, just what you would expect from a case this size and at this price point. That is more than enough to keep all but the most powerful rigs cool. The best part is there are three other locations you can install fans on if you need to beef up the cooling at all. Add a 240mm water cooling kit into the mix and you actually have a cool little rig. As for noise, there isn’t any sound dampening or overly thick metal to keep the noise down but the two fans provided weren’t too bad. You could still quiet everything down a little more with a couple high end fans but frankly two high end fans would double the money you have into the N200.
