Cooler Master HAF 500 Homecoming Classic Review

With the exterior shell removed we can get a good look at the chassis design. The huge 200mm fans make a nice contrast for the black finish.

Each of the two 200mm fan is securely mounted and features a fully encompassing support ring attaching all of the fan blades together. It is an interesting design choice that may increase stability but it does look good lit up.

Thanks to the larger size of the HAF 500 we have room for multiple cooling options in the top and front locations. The top supports up to three 120mm fans or radiators in 120, 140, 240, 280 and 360mm sizes. Up front, you can replace those big fans or supplement them with support for up to three 120mm fans or radiators in 120, 140, 200, 240, 280 and 360mm sizes.

Cooler Master doesn’t call out the fan models but they are labeled MF200R ARGB on the back.  Removing one of these front fans exposes the case openings designed for smaller 120/140mm fans and 360mm radiators.

From the back its clear these fans overlap the fan/radiator mounts and reducing their effectiveness.  The amount of air these fans push is probably fine for most builds but, it is an easy cooling mod to make if no front mounted radiator is desired.

200mm radiators in the future anyone?

Between the motherboard mounts and the front fans Cooler Master has provided a riser to help hide the cable runs. It’s a nice touch but it’s not quite big enough to hide all of them.

The included ARGB hub is also mounted safely out of sight. Support for up to two more fans or three ARGB devices provide some nice customization options without any dependency on motherboard ARGB control. The lighting option supports all four of the major ARGB motherboard lighting systems along with any controller using the 3-pin ARGB plug.

Another nice feature is the adjustable internal 120mm SickleFlow non-LED fan.  This fan may fade into the background but it does allow for you to customize the internal airflow across your components and eliminate any hot spots in your build.  I hope this catches on though I can see many builds removing it for space.