Sharkoon Mask review

The Sharkoon Mask is a pleasingly neutral-looking case, with everything hidden behind plastic flaps. The front panel flap swings open to reveal two external 5 1/4in bays and one external 3 1/2in bay, for extras such as a card reader. The panel feels a bit fragile, but looks good. The flap opens to the left, so you should put your PC on your left of where you sit to easily access the disc drive.

There are two mini flaps at the top of the front panel. The one on the left conceals one USB3 and two USB ports, while the one on the right covers another USB3 port and the mic and headphone ports. It’s great that these upward-facing ports are protected, but the flaps’ hinges are fragile and the flaps stick up awkwardly when open.

The case’s interior doesn’t look as slick as some, but there aren’t any unfinished edges and everything’s sensibly laid out. Inside you’ll find a removable drive cage containing four 2 1/2in bays, which you can take out to install graphics cards of up to 415mm. If you take this cage out, you can still screw a 2 1/2in drive to the bottom of the case. There are three 3 1/2in bays in the bottom drive cage, and drive rails are provided for all the bays.

There are three fans: two behind the front panel that draw in air and an extractor at the rear. The bottom of the Mask has fine mesh grilles to help keep dust and fluff out and the rear blanking plates are held on by standard screws, so you don’t have to snap them out as with some cheap cases. There’s no extra sound proofing, but the sturdy side panels help to keep down the racket. We were surprised by how spacious the case felt, with plenty of room to route cables round the back of the motherboard tray.

The Mask has all the right features and good internal design. Unfortunately, its build quality feels cheap, particularly on its plastic parts. Although it lacks front panel USB3 ports, we still prefer the cheaper Zalman Z9 Plus with its sturdier build quality.