Cooler Master HAF 500 Homecoming Classic Review

The open design of the HAF 500 offers easy access to almost everything from the front side of the case. As expected from a modern case, there are no external drive bays. 

With the glass panel removed we can take a closer look at the layout. Cooler Master has provided a large motherboard tray to support those large E-ATX boards. Three cable access holes with rubber grommets work with the metal plate to manage and cover cable runs. 

The back of the motherboard tray provides a massive access hole for heat sink installation. The open design extends to the back providing a pretty generous inch or so for cable routing and easy access to the back of the motherboard. 

There are also plenty of anchors to help with cable routing with some simple cable ties already installed.

Two additional 2.5” drive mounts are available behind the motherboard making the drive cage optional for many builds.

For a fit test we installed a Gigabyte Aorus Z690 Pro motherboard. This ATX motherboard measures in at a pretty typical 30.5cm x 24.4cm (about 12 x 9.6 inches) and fits like a glove. There is plenty of room for CPU coolers up to 167mm (6.5 inches) and graphic cards up to 410mm (16.1 inches).

To install the power supply you will need to remove the basement cover that just slides away.  The cover has a small opening for USB and front panel controls but everything else can be routed out the back pretty easily. I like the concept of a removable cover but it does make that surface pretty useless as a mount for cooling components and the like.

Here is a closer look at just how tight the fit is in comparison to the internal fan mount.  It might be worth exploring where that fan could mount with the drive bay removed.

The internal drive cage is accessible from the front of the case and to the right of the power supply cover.  These drive trays support both 3.5” and 2.5” drives and lock in place with a simple plastic lever.  The drive cage can be removed via two screws in back and one on the bottom. Removing the drive bays goes a long ways towards creating room for a nice pump reservoir or a fancy water distribution block.