The limited-edition Cooler Master Shark X mini-ITX case, a design originating from a 2019 competition, is now available for purchase in the United States. It is an unusually large and visually striking case that retails for $5,499.99, yet internally it only supports mini-ITX motherboards and includes a pre-installed 120mm liquid cooler that may limit high-performance CPU choices.
The case does offer reasonable compatibility for modern dual-slot graphics cards and comes equipped with an 850W SFX Gold power supply. Its exceptionally high price is noted as a major barrier, positioning it as a niche product for enthusiasts with significant disposable income.
Main topics: Product launch and availability, design specifications and constraints, component compatibility, and pricing analysis.
This shark case will take a megabyte out of your pocket — Cooler Master Shark X finally migrates to U.S. waters for $5,499
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Based on the Leviathan project from the 2019 Cooler Master Case Mod World Series, the limited-edition Shark X mini-ITX case has finally arrived in the U.S. market as a standalone product. Available in black and white, the Shark X retails for $5,499.99, a small fortune for anyone looking to splash money on a unique case that will certainly turn heads.
- Buy the Cooler Master Shark X white edition at Amazon
- Buy the Cooler Master Shark X black edition at Amazon
The Shark X, made of plastic and steel and adorned with RGB lights from head to tail, is an impressively tall case, measuring 31.10 x 35.75 x 35.20 inches (790 x 908 x 894 mm). Despite its large external dimensions, the case can accommodate only mini-ITX motherboards. Whether you’re planning an Intel or AMD build, you’ll be limited to the constraints of a motherboard with a small footprint, such as only one primary expansion slot, limited memory slots, and M.2 slots for storage.
The motherboard isn’t the only constraint you’ll face when building in the Shark X, though. Its unconventional design means it comes with a pre-installed, custom Cooler Master MasterLiquid 120 AIO Atmos liquid cooler tailored to fit the unique internal layout. The cooling capacity of this liquid cooler limits your processor choice for the mini-ITX motherboard. Although the MasterLiquid 120 offers wide compatibility with legacy and current Intel and AMD sockets, it remains a 120mm liquid cooler at the end of the day. As a result, it may struggle to cool high-wattage processors adequately.
When it comes to graphics card compatibility, the Shark X offers a reasonable amount of space. The case can house graphics cards with dimensions up to 11.97 x 5.39 x 2.4 inches (304 x 137 x 61 mm). While this isn’t as spacious as larger enthusiast cases, it still provides ample room for most modern dual-slot graphics cards with a maximum length of 12 inches (304 mm). You can choose from a broad selection of high-performance graphics cards, including popular models such as the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti.
In addition to the 120mm AIO liquid cooler, Cooler Master equips the Shark X with the V850 SFX Gold power supply. The fully modular unit boasts an ample 850W capacity, making it suitable for powering high-end graphics cards and multi-core processors. The 80 Plus Gold certification attests to its energy efficiency, and its compact SFX form factor fits seamlessly into the Shark X’s interior.
The hardest thing to swallow with the Shark X is its eye-opening $5,499.99 price tag. It's strange because Cooler Master was selling the Shark X in Japan for around $4,300 two years ago, so it seems it's gotten more expensive over the years. The manufacturer even attempted to sell a prebuilt dubbed "The Apex" for $6,999, which included a Core i7-14700F, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, 64GB of DDR5-6000 memory, and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Cooler Master has since modernized "The Apex" to a Core Ultra 7 265F, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, and a 2TB M.2 SSD to bump the price up to $6,999.99.
Like Cooler Master's Sneaker X case, which still sells for $699.99, it takes a very special consumer, and one with deep pockets, to spend $5,499.99 on the Shark X.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
Meridiano
