PC Components

Cooler Master NR200P Max in review – ITX has never been easier

It has been known for a while that Cooler Master can develop excellent cases, and at least since the release of the NR200P it is clear that the manufacturer does not neglect the SFF segment. The NR200P could convince many reviewers. The main reasons were the small, though not ultra-compact, dimensions, the flexible interior, a very good build quality, and the low retail price of 80 Euros compared to the competition.

About 12 months later, Cooler Master has introduced a new model variant for the NR200P in addition to other color variants. This is called NR200P Max and hardly differs from the original NR200P at first glance. Besides the color, however, the Max variant mainly differs in the features inside. It comes with a pre-installed power supply and an AiO water cooling system with a 280 mm radiator. What other differences there are and whether the € 354.06 * expensive investment for the Cooler Master NR200P Max is worth it, you can find out in this review.

Technical Details

Model: Cooler Master NR200P Max
Case Type: ITX
Dimensions: 185 mm (W) x 292 mm (H) x 376 mm (D)
Weight: 5.10 kg
Material: Steel, plastic, tempered glass
Color: Grey
Front connectors 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x HD audio combo port
Drive bays: 2x 2.5″ (internal)
1x 3.5″ (internal)
1x 3.5″/ 2.5″ (internal)
Expansion slots: 3x vertical (via PCIe 4.0 riser card)
Form Factors: ITX
Ventilation: Lid: 2x 140 mm
Bottom 2x 120 mm
Radiators: Lid: 1x 280 mm
Max. CPU cooler height: 67 mm
Max. Graphics card length: 336 mm
Max. Net part length: 130 mm
Price: € 354.06 *
Features: Dust filter, optional panel with Tempered Glass, pre-installed 850W power supply, pre-installed 280mm AiO water cooling.

Scope of delivery

Unlike the regular NR200P, Cooler Master brings some color to the Max’s packaging. The cardboard box has been printed with different shades of purple, and the labeling also alternates between magenta and cyan. In addition to some product images, the packaging also features technical specifications and a short list of important features and package contents. Inside the box, Cooler Master has wrapped the NR200P Max with two blocks of soft foam and a plastic sheet. The manufacturer has placed the accessories in a large box inside. Included there are all the necessary mounting screws, mounting accessories for the AiO water cooling, a power cable, a short PCI 4.0 riser cable, optional power supply cables, thermal compound and, of course, an installation guide. The package also includes the pre-installed AiO water cooling with 280mm radiator and the 850W power supply.

External impression

As was mentioned in the introduction, the NR200P Max hardly differs externally from the standard variant. The main difference is definitely the color. Thus, the Max is only available in the color gray. In addition, the manufacturer’s logo on the front panel has been highlighted a bit. The front panel itself is still made of steel, looks very solid and can be easily removed thanks to the push-pin mechanism.

Inside the lid, everything has remained identical. A frame made of plastic encloses a fine mesh grille. After removing a screw at the back, the entire lid panel can be removed. The I/O panel remains in the front area of the lid and has two USB 3.0 and one HD audio port. Furthermore, there are two buttons for power and reset here.

The side panels have also not undergone any changes. The NR200P Max comes with two mesh panels including dust filter and an additional Tempered Glass side window for the left side. Removing the panels is also very simple with push-pins and allows quick and tool-free access to the interior. The steel has a thickness of 0.9 and the glass window of about 4 millimeters. These are good values.

A look at the back of the NR200P Max reveals the biggest changes. The trained eye should quickly notice here that Cooler Master has moved the motherboard tray down and completely eliminated horizontal graphics card mounting. Thus, there are only three vertical PCI slot bezels, two hinges and a few screws here. This design allows half of the back panel to be flipped open to the rear for easier mounting of longer graphics cards. Lastly, there are some vents above the graphics card here.

The bottom of the Max variant remains unchanged. Equipped with a large ventilation opening including a magnetic dust filter, the bottom element offers space for up to two 120 millimeter fans or a single 3.5″ HDD. The bottom panel can also be removed completely by loosening a screw at the rear. This could be especially useful for cable management. The feet of the ITX case are made of black plastic and serve their purpose.

Interior impression

If you remove the side panel and moreover the packaging material as well as the accessory box, you get a better look at the interior. This is already well filled from the factory. In the lid, Cooler Master has attached the pre-installed water cooling with 280 mm radiator. There is a grille in front of the fans and the pump has also been safely wrapped in a foam block for transport. To the right, the manufacturer has placed the already equipped PSU cage. All cables and hoses are perfectly presented and should make the assembly of the rest of the components much easier.

There isn’t that much to discover on the back of the motherboard tray. Only the fan of the power supply and a few eyelets for cable ties can be found here. The tray also has a large cutout for CPU cooler backplates. Through the mesh side panel, the PSU will have no problem getting fresh air.

Like the normal NR200P, there are a total of four mounting locations for data media in the Max. Two 2.5″ variants can be mounted directly behind the front panel and are decoupled. The mounting is done without tools via special screws and four rubber rings each. Two 3.5″ HDDs can be installed in the bottom or above the PSU cage. However, the latter is very impractical depending on the graphics card length. The mounting is done with four screws and also has a decoupling through rubber rings.

System installation in the NR200P Max

Now we come to the system build. For hardware, we’re using an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X on a Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro WIFI with Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray 32 GB DDR4-3000. The Ryzen is cooled by the pre-installed 280mm AiO water cooling and runs at standard clock speed. A GTX 1060 6GB from Gigabte AORUS is responsible for the image output. The power supply is handled by the Cooler Master V-Series V850 SFX Gold 850W, which is also pre-installed. We also test the case once without AiO and instead with the Noctua NH-L12 Ghost S1 Edition as CPU cooler.

Compared to other ATX and ITX cases, the NR200P Max doesn’t require much installation at all. After removing all packaging materials and a repositioning of the pump block, the motherboard could already be installed and wired. Almost all the cables had already been pre-routed to the right place and just needed to be plugged in. The spacers were also pre-installed. However, the folding mechanism at the rear is particularly practical during assembly. This allows a problem-free installation of particularly long graphics cards. Regardless of whether the AiO water cooling or an air cooler is installed, a neat looking system can be created in any case.

Compared to the normal NR200P, the hardware compatibility of the Max has changed a bit. If an air cooler is to be used instead of water cooling, then it may only be 67 millimeters high. Since the graphics card can no longer be installed horizontally, taller tower coolers are no longer compatible. The graphics card can be up to 336 millimeters long and 3 slots deep. Even if the PSU is pre-installed, a replacement PSU may be up to 130 millimeters long.

The pre-installed 280 mm radiator was equipped with two Cooler Master Sickleflow fans with a frame width of 140 millimeters each ex-works. Both fans are kept completely black and feature a Y-switch for connection to the motherboard. At a maximum speed of 1400 rpm, the fans can be heard coming out of the case. The pump does its work pleasantly quiet at the maximum speed (2400 rpm).

Finally, we come to the temperatures that were reached in the NR200P Max. During the stress test, Prime95 and FurMark were run for 15 minutes at a room temperature of 21°C. Also, the test was run with different fan speeds and side panels.

Scenario
Temperature
CPU: 50% PWM (1200 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Air cooling, 2x 120mm case fans 50% PWM (1125 rpm)
Mesh
CPU: 95 °C (CPU throttles to 3 GHz)
GPU: 67 °C
CPU: 100% PWM (1850 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Air cooling, 2x 120mm case fans 100% PWM (1800 rpm)
Mesh
CPU: 88 °C
GPU: 63 °C
CPU: 50% PWM (1125 rpm)
Pump: 100% PWM (2400 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Water cooling
Mesh
CPU: 60 °C
GPU: 65 °C
CPU: 100% PWM (1400 rpm)
Pump: 100% PWM (2400 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Water cooling
Mesh
CPU: 57 °C
GPU: 63 °C
CPU: 50% PWM (1125 rpm)
Pump: 100% PWM (2400 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Water cooling
Tempered Glass
CPU: 63 °C
GPU: 68 °C
CPU: 100% PWM (1400 rpm)
Pump: 100% PWM (2400 rpm)
GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm)
Water cooling
Tempered Glass
CPU: 57 °C
GPU: 65 °C

Based on the test results, you can directly see that Cooler Master has clearly designed the NR200P Max with AiO water cooling in mind. A suitable low-profile cooler can only cool the Ryzen 7 3700X insufficiently, even if two additional case fans are installed in the lid. The pre-installed water cooling does this job much better. Even with reduced speeds, the CPU’s temperature values are in the very green range. If you prefer Tempered Glass instead of the mesh panel, you have to reckon with 2-4 degrees higher temperatures, especially for the graphics card. However, critical values were never reached even with a closed side panel.

Cooler Master NR200P Max review conclusion

Cooler Master has managed to make an already very good case a bit better with the NR200P Max, making it especially attractive for entry-level ITX users. With the pre-installed AiO water cooling and the power supply with pre-routed cables, the installation of all other components was done very quickly. In addition, the water cooling cools the processor excellently and due to the two different side panels (mesh, tempered glass), the buyer can decide for himself whether airflow or optics are more important. The overall package is rounded off by good workmanship and the well thought-out layout as well as the resulting hardware compatibility.

However, due to the slightly different layout, the NR200P Max is overall a bit less flexible than the normal NR200P. In case of a defect in the AiO, an air cooler can be installed, but logically it doesn’t do its job as well due to the compact dimensions. The use of a water cooler in this SFF case is therefore virtually a must. We can’t find any other negative points. Only an additional USB 3.2 Type-C port in the I/O panel would have been practical.

If you put the components together individually, you are about 50 € below the purchase price of the NR200P Max with € 354.06 *. However, if you then consider that the components still have to be assembled at the factory and the normal NR200P does not have the new layout, then the price seems justified for the overall package of a well thought-out case, powerful PSU and performant AiO water cooling. However, it is still not a bargain.

Cooler Master NR200P Max

Workmanship
Structure
Features
Cooling
Value for money

92/100

The Cooler Master NR200P Max is an all-around successful ITX case, which should be especially suitable for ITX beginners due to a pre-installed cooling solution and power supply. However, the new layout makes it a bit less flexible than the normal NR200P.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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It has been known for a while that Cooler Master can develop excellent cases, and at least since the release of the NR200P it is clear that the manufacturer does not neglect the SFF segment. The NR200P could convince many reviewers. The main reasons were the small, though not ultra-compact, dimensions, the flexible interior, a … (Weiterlesen...)

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