Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Case Mod – Cable Management – Matt Black

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 │ Case Mod │ Cable Management │ Matt Black

Yes. Finally did it. I finally cut some holes and painted this case matt black. Also did some cable sleevings for fans, psu and front panel connectors.

It all started like this…

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Before Mod – Left side of case

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Before Mod – Right side of case

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Before Mod – Top of case, with cover

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Before Mod – Top of case, without cover

Okay, so the plan is to mark out where to cut on the motherboard tray area for cables to route to the back. This should provide better airflow & neater presentation. Some cable sleeving are in the plan as well, sleeving cables will improve the look!

After looking around for popular motherboard dimensions, seems like EVGA Classified is one of the biggest, length at ~ 265mm. To future proof this case. So I marked out the holes that can fit it, because I plan to sleeve the atx 24pins in black, the sleeve should help to blend in the cables to make up for the distance from the hole to the motherboard.

CM Cosmos 1000 – Before – Mark Out Cut Area – All Holes Location

CM Cosmos 1000 – Before – Mark Out Cut Area – Motherboard Holes

Blue dots are for pilot holes, then the boring tool will make the cut of the holes.

CM Cosmos 1000 – Before – Mark Out Cut Area – DVD Drive Hole

CM Cosmos 1000 – Before – Mark Out Cut Area – Audio, Fan Hole

After cutting the ends of all holes with boring tool, I used Dremel cutting tool to remove the remaining steel to make the slot. Not easy to cut will Dremel cutting tool, have to proceed slowly, patience is key. I broke 3 out of 5 cutting disc for all the slots. Haha… not pro at all. But it’s fun! First disc broke within secs. As I cut, the cutting disc became smaller in diameter. I am using Dremel 402 shaft with 409 cutting disc. Search high and low for the Dremel 402 shaft. Read forum, did research of where can I get some. At the end, went to a few Homefix branches, with some help. Got a few pieces transfered from a certain branch to Thomson Plaza Homefix. A very helpful and cute personnel named “Sarah” help me a lot. Want to extent my thanks to her. As acquiring the cutting disc mounting shaft is important for this project to proceed.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – All Cable Slot Holes

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Motherboard Holes

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – DVD Hole

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Fan Hole

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Cable Slot Hole

After filing to remove sharp edges. The case is ready to be taken apart for painting. More thoughts on whether to paint yourself or to send for powdercoating at the conclusion of the post. Use power drill or manual drill with drill bit of 2.9mm or 3mm; 1/8″ will do too (actually, they are about the same sized).

I used spray paints this time round. Got a few bottles of each type that I am gonna use. I went with the 3 layer combi. Primer, Paint, Top Coat. Of course, after removing all pop rivets, sand all surfaces and clean them, prep the surface. I used 1000 grit sand paper, just remove any imperfection. Since I am using matt black paint, not going for car shine effect, so not using 100 grit, 240 grit,….. and so for sand paper.

Spray Paints – Primer, Matt Black, Dull Clear Coat

I used metal wires to hang all steel plates then start spraying. Be sure to use an area where there is no wind, but with good air ventilation. Wear a face mask, don’t breath in the paint, be healthy. Take your time to paint.

I coat all plates with anti-rust primer, allow 1-2 hours to cure, then paint with matt black. dull clear coat comes after a few hours of the coloured paint. Best to have all panels dry under direct sunlight for at least half and hour. I find that matt paint dry faster and gloss. Allow drying of all painted parts 24 hours before fitting them together.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Matt Black Parts – All

I chose not to paint the door parts, only clear coated them.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Matt Black Parts – 01

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Matt Black Parts – 02

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Matt Black Parts – 03

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Matt Black Parts – 04

Some close up shots. Matt black is pretty clean looking.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Bottom Panel – Closeup

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Drive Panel – Closeup

After drying, time to rivet all panels back together. Some cases have to follow a certain sequence in order to fix back the case. As for Cosmos 1000 case, the right side panel release lever bar have to be one of the first to be fixed back before other parts can be fixed, if not, might have to remove rivets and install again. Best bet is to figure out the order which the parts will fit properly before popping some rivets! All in all I used more than 100 3.1mm or 1/8″ diameter flat pop rivets, aka blind rivets. Use short ones.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Riveted – 01

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Riveted – 02

Took a while to rivet the case’s chassis back together. Fitted parts in the order that it does not fit properly, so got to drilled a couple of the newly popped rivets and refit the parts again. It’s okay. Next, is to fix all the outer shell back on.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Fitted

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Fitted – Top

Last few things to do to touch up the case. Started cleaning and sleeving the front panel cables.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Front Panel Cable Sleeved – Left

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Front Panel Cable Sleeved – Right

Because I am painting the whole interior of the case, I had to remove the original PSU support which is a flat piece of foam all around the PSU base plate. I can’t find any like it, so i just got myself some quality support feet, got a lot left, only used 4. Shown below.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – PSU Support

To prevent the newly cut holes from damaging any cables that are going through them, even though I have file them nicely, I got some black polyurethane tube, OD 4mm, cut 1 side so that I can slot them over the edge.

Polyurethane Tube

Fixing back more parts, including the hard disk cages, top cover, front door, etc.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Case Complete – Left

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Case Complete – Front

Case modding and painting completed!

Nearly Done! Power Supply ATX sleeving is not hard, it’s just require time, more so for first timers. I am not first timer anymore! Haha… Got myself some sleeves from Sim Lim Tower. These sleeves are consider low quality in the modding community. Since I can’t find better quality ones when I went SLT, I got these and just use them instead. Of course need to get some heatstrink as well. I used the staples and small screw driver method to remove the atx 24 pins. everything is well… yeah!

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – ATX 24 Pin Sleeve

Compare the below image with when it all started. Personally, I prefer this matt black interior version, not because of all the work, and cuts, bruises, painful fingers, time.. This matt black interior seems neater, cleaner, slicker.

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Compare

With all said and done. Time for my conclusion on this project.

Conclusion – It’s enjoyable to DIY small projects like this. Although this is not some hardcore mod that I have seen posted on the interweb. I personally prefer simple touch up mods.

I feel that Coolermaster should have made this case with a black interior all along, preferably matt black. As for those holes, they could provide them as well, the original holes for cables are too far for normal users that purchase this case. And I feel that the biggest flaw of Cosmos 1000 is the space behind the motherboard panel. I wonder who design this case, he/she left out space for cables to pass through for neat cable management. Coolermaster, please take a look at this design issue if you plan to have another Cosmos case. I am pretty sure the Cosmos S also have this issue.

Coolermaster could have release this case with full aluminium as well, just like the Cosmos S. The cost of both of these cases are quite similar, so why use steel for Cosmos 1000? This will be my last steel case, that’s for sure.

Thought of modding pc case yourself? Well, I think cutting the holes for cables for fan blow holes, you can decide yourself, and cut them if you have the tools. If you think of spray painting like what I have done, think twice. Spray paints are about S$5 per can, can be found at hardware stores, if you go to shopping centers’ hardware stores like Homefix, they are selling them for about S$8.90 per can. A full tower case will require about 3-4 cans per coat of different paint. Mid tower might be lesser, it’s always good to buy more than less, saves trouble. So all in all you are looking at about S$30 – S$60 just on spray paint. You still need your time to do it, an area that is suitable to do it. I would suggest that you send your case for powdercoating for less than S$90. Powdercoat might not have a wide range of colours to choose from, but the surface will be more durable. Just a side note, I heard you might have to re-tap the threads holes after powdercoating. Good to know I guess.

Rivets for Cosmos 1000 case requires about 110? get 150 to be safe. S$2 per 50 rivets. Power drill and Dremel cutting tools cost quite a lot, so you might want to ask around and borrow if you don’t have them. Together, they may coat upwards of more than S$500. For Dremel cutting tools, get enough supplies. Cutting disc and the shaft. Good to get diamond cutting disc, since cutting steel is not easy. Sparks are common.

If you have an aluminium case, you can consider anodising your case than powdercoating, coat around S$200 upwards, last I heard.

I have enjoyed myself throughout the whole process of this project. Learn a lot when you do some hands on. Might just pay people to do it for me next time. Haha… Thank you! Enjoy your day!

Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 – Final

P.S. Thank you Coolermaster for producing this case and other great products.

- Rongwen