14 DAY TRIAL // Since new CPUs have and are coming out, case makers decided to follow their own routine and launch some enclosures, with Cooler Master being, this once, the company to step forward.
What Cooler Master built is a smaller than usual mid-tower case, but one which still has enough room for large CPU coolers and a bunch of fans.
That said, it serves well multiple system types, like home servers, workstations, common personal desktops, etc.
Two of its main assets are the durability, given by the steel construction, and the possibility to upgrade to high-end components later.
Another feature is the classic, understated look with clean lines, though Cooler Master still figured it would install a windowed side panel.
That way, the lighting from the 120mm fan, with blue LED, can pervade the immediate vicinity, not just the PC's interior.
Speaking of the interior, the Elite 431 Plus, as the chassis is called, has five 3.5-inch drive bays and three 5.25-inch drive bays (for ODDs).
One of the latter is occupied by a 5.25-inch bay X-dock, which can let people quickly put in a regular 3.5-inch HDD, so as to not need to open the case and do it the hard way.
Furthermore, while the Elite 431 Plus is not as large as some other beasts, it still is roomy enough that long graphics cards like NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 or AMD Radeon HD 6990 will fit in just fine.
This month, December, 2011, is when sales are supposed to commence, for the price of $59.99, which is about as much as 44.75 Euro.
It falls to buyers to figure out if they want to populate all available fan positions.
In addition to the one on the front (up to 140mm), consumers may or may not elect buy a pair of front spinners (120mm), one on the back (80/90/120mm) and another one at the bottom (80/90/120mm).