More affordable PC cases than ever can offer an impressive building experience and help you create powerful systems without forcing you to spend too much of an available budget. Cooler Master launched the MasterBox NR600 to fill this need with striking looks, tempered glass, and decent thermal performance.

It may not be the most expansive mid-tower chassis around, especially behind the motherboard tray, but for less than $100, there's plenty to appreciate. Sure, there's a lack of a USB-C port on the front I/O, and Cooler Master only includes two 120mm fans (one being on the rear), but the MasterBox NR600 is a case worth considering.

About this review: XDA purchased the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 for this review, and the company had no input into its contents.

Price and availability

The Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 is available for $100, though prices are closer to $90 at the time of writing. This is a good price for a mid-tower PC case with a tempered glass side panel and a sleek design. Cooler Master only includes two 120mm fans with the case, so the remaining four fan mounts must be populated with aftermarket case fans.

What I like

Great value and looks

First off, I appreciate the design of the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600. The chassis itself sports a clean, all-black look with a prominent front-facing mesh panel for maximum airflow. By default, Cooler Master includes a single 120mm blower on the front, which looks lost at sea. You'll definitely need two additional fans to make full use of the colossal intake. The right-side panel is completely bare, and the left is a removable tempered glass panel with a portion of the metal PSU shrouding at the bottom. There's no RGB lighting at all, which could be viewed as a blessing or a curse.

I appreciate the design of the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600.

The top panel has a magnetic dust filter for the 480mm long fan mounting area, and the rear panel is the usual single 120mm fan mount, along with various cutouts for motherboard I/O and the power supply. Speaking of the PSU, there's a small dust filter located below the tower to keep it free from particles. The materials used to construct the case are steel, glass, and plastic. This isn't the largest mid-tower ATX case around, but it won't command much desk space, should you be unable to place it below.

Both side panels can be removed without a tool, thanks to four thumbscrews. Once inside the case, you'll be greeted by a small package of accessories that consists of screws, HDD and SSD mounting parts, and zip ties. The main section of the interior where everything is installed is quite vast. This is where the NR600 can hold a GPU up to 410mm in length. Whether you're using the latest AMD or Nvidia graphics card, you shouldn't have an issue installing a powerful GPU inside the chassis.

The rest of the case is a fairly standard affair with seven PCI slots on the rear, support for CPU coolers up to 165mm high, and some points to tie cables behind the motherboard tray. Cable management isn't as good as what you can find on most NZXT PC cases, but they're also considerably more expensive than Cooler Master's MasterBox NR600. Up to six case fans can be installed, and I'd recommend replacing the two included blowers if you're buying more to populate the rest of the case. They're not bad, but not the quietest either.

Good airflow

I tested the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, Intel Core i5-13600K CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and an Asus Z790 ROG Strix Maximums Hero. This is a mid-tier gaming PC setup and should pump out enough heat to put the MasterBox NR600 to the test. The Intel Core i5-13600K was able to run at default turbo speeds without a problem, and the be quiet! Pure Loop 360 was more than capable of keeping temperatures in check. I didn't install any other fans aside from the three that came with the AIO, but I did move the preinstalled front fan up top.

There's ample airflow, but that's to be expected with three 120mm front-facing blowers sucking in cool air through a massive mesh panel.

There's ample airflow, but that's to be expected with three 120mm front-facing blowers sucking in cool air through a massive mesh panel. With just two case fans and an air CPU cooler, you'll see a considerable uptick in temperature readings, especially when running at higher loads.

What I don't like

Limited front connectivity

My primary concern with the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 is the front panel connectivity. There are two USB-A ports, which are the norm for a PC case costing less than $100, but there isn't any USB-C port. This may not be a problem for those with more affordable motherboards that don't have front panel USB-C headers, but more boards (even budget-focused ones) are starting to include one, which will be rendered useless with the NR600. It's a shame, but it can be easily addressed with a future revision.

Then, there's the limited space behind the motherboard tray. There are plenty of ATX mid-tower cases with considerably more space to work with for cable management, and this is another area where the NR600 falls slightly behind. It's not terrible, and you can easily tidy up the mess behind the motherboard with enough effort, but it would've been good to have a little more room here. Just make sure you're using a fully modular power supply.

Finally, Cooler Master (rightfully) markets the front-facing mesh panel but only includes one fan with three mounts available. This is easily remedied with a 360mm radiator AIO package, which should come with three fans to complete the loadout. It still would've been nice to see Cooler Master include a fan or two more for the front to aid those who won't use an AIO and are starting a PC build from scratch.

Should you buy the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600?

You should buy the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 if:

• You seek an affordable mid-tower PC case with good thermal performance
• You don't want to spend more than $100 on a PC case

You shouldn't buy the Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 if:

• You need a front-facing USB-C port
• You need more room for cable management.

Cooler Master's MasterBox NR600 is an affordable mid-tower PC case that gets all the basics right. It has a tempered glass side panel for showcasing your internal components, support for up to a 360mm radiator, and a clean aesthetic. So long as your chosen motherboard doesn't have a USB-C connector, you'll be singing. There's also a lack of space behind the motherboard tray, which requires additional time to focus on tidying up the cabling mess.

The MasterBox NR600 has plenty of mesh panels and great thermal performance for the price.

Building a PC inside the MasterBox NR600 is a straightforward process, much like all other ATX mid-tower cases. Even the largest of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs will fit inside, though you will need to buy a few more fans to populate all the available mounts. With the ability to install a 360mm radiator up front (or a 480mm on the top panel), there's scope for using the most powerful processors for a killer gaming rig. I was pleasantly surprised by the MasterBox NR600, which contains plenty of mesh panels and great thermal performance for the price.