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Late last week we got to show you the MasterBox Q300P in an unboxing review. Today we are going to see what we can back into the Q300L. Essentially this is the “light” version of the Q300P.
While the two variants of the Q300 share many similarities they both have key features that keep them unique. Let’s dive in and see what’s in store with the Q300L.
Packaging, Contents & Pricing
Arriving in a Vanilla cardboard box, safely packaged in plastic and Styrofoam, the essentials of the Q300L posted on the backside and specifications on the side.
Opening it up we are initially impressed with the full-size magnetic dust covers and the new location of the I/O panel. To our surprise the I/O panel can be placed in six different locations.
This is a great feature, to manipulate the position of the I/O panel means that regardless where your rig is housed you should have no problem reaching the panel for expedient access. Speaking of the I/O panel it houses 2x USB 3.0 ports, your standard audio jacks, and a reset button.
The Q300 series is suited for mATX and mITX, while still supporting a normal ATX PSU. You can pack a lot of power into this 370mm squared chassis.
Around to the back you’ll notice that the four panel-screws have rubber housing. This tells us the case is also free to lay horizontal if you prefer to give it that table top look which is quite popular when building a HTPC. However, keep in mind this chassis has no preset space for optical drives.
As far as the specs go everything is pretty standard for mini motherboard chassis’. Things to look out for to ensure this is the case for you are your cooler height if you’re using an air cooler (max height: 157mm) or your radiator size if liquid cooling. The specs state a max of 240mm, however we tweaked around and fit a 280mm, you’ll get to see that later.
Aside from the included 120mm exhaust fan, there isn’t too much to say about the interior of the chassis and it’s pretty straight forward from the specs.
Around back you’ll see there is a decent amount of depth for cable management, a large cut out for mounting coolers without having to uninstall your motherboard as well as a dedicated, removable HDD spot for easy install.
This chassis comes with the basic hardware for installation but as far as any extras, there really aren’t any.
At the time of this review the Q300L was available for $40 on Amazon!