Cooler Master's MasterBox Lite 5 is an affordable case you can customize

Cooler Master has added another case to its growing MasterBox series, one that is both affordable and features customizable trim. The level of customization depends on whether you have access to a 3D printer or not.

All we have at the moment to go on are press photos, but based on those, the MasterBox Lite 5 seems like an attractive case out of the gate. It sports a "DarkMirror" front panel with three different trim colors included in the box—black, white, and red. Cooler Master also provides downloadable 3D printing schematics for the top and bottom trim for users who want to customize things even further.

The MasterBox Lite 5 is a compact mid-tower with support for standard ATX components. It can accommodate CPU coolers up to 160mm tall, PSUs up to 180mm long, and graphics cards up to 400mm in length.

Storage options are a bit sparse here. There is a single 2.5-inch SSD mount plus two combo 3.5-inch/2.5-inch mounts for either two more SSDs or up to two HDDs.

For cooling, the case comes with a 120mm fan installed in the rear. You can add up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans up front, or liquid cool with support for up to a 360mm radiator in the front (up to 50mm thick without fan) and/or a 120mm radiator in the rear.

As with most modern cases, you'll find cable cutouts throughout for routing wires. The case also provides up to 35mm of space behind the motherboard tray to hide excess cabling.

The MasterBox Lite 5 is not an overly exciting chassis, though it's priced at just $50 (plus $6 shipping) on Newegg.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).