Put that boring, black PC case to one side, because it’s time to grab the Cooler Master Shark X PC case instead. After the recent launch of its top-end $7,000 gaming PC, built to resemble a shark, Cooler Master is now releasing the Shark X case as a standalone for gamers to use in their own builds, as long as the enormous price tag isn’t a problem.
Jimmy Sha, Cooler Master CEO, describes the Shark X case as “a masterpiece of technology and art” and, given the distinctive design, he isn’t wrong. Even the best PC cases like the NZXT H7 Flow RGB conform to a typical rectangular box shape, and there are very few of the best gaming PCs you can buy right now that break from that mould, either.
If you missed the Cooler Master Shark X PC the first time around, then it’s worth a look, as it’s a feast for the eyes. It measures 31.1 x 35.75 x 35.2 inches (79 x 90.8 x 89.4 cm), supports a mini-ITX motherboard, and has a black and white color scheme, supported by RGB lighting in the base, fins, head, and tail sections. There’s room for an AIO liquid cooler, as well as a full-size graphics card like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 that the original Shark X PC includes.
This isn’t the first time Cooler Master has experimented with a wacky design for a gaming PC, with both its Sneaker X and Sneaker X PC cases standing out. Now, just like with the Shark X, Cooler Master has recently offered up the Sneaker X case as a standalone option.
Selling these cases individually could help the company to offset what was likely a very expensive design and manufacturing process, but it’s also great for gamers, who can now grab very unique cases for their own custom builds. The problem with unique art, however, is that it’s expensive, and Cooler Master isn’t holding back on the price. The Cooler Master Shark X PC case is available in Japan in the Yodobashi Akiba store for around 658,000 yen, or around $4,300.
That’s less than the $6,999 that Cooler Master charges for the Shark X PC, but it’s still hugely expensive for just a case. Alternatively, you could pick up an entire gaming PC like the MSI MEG Trident X2 14th with an Intel Core i9 14900KF and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and still have $300 left to spare.
The Shark X PC case isn’t yet available internationally, and Cooler Master hasn’t announced anything just yet about a potential global release. That said, the recently-released standalone Sneaker X case is seeing a wider release in several countries, so it seems possible that the Shark X could get the same treatment, assuming it has the stock available.
For me, I like the Cooler Master Shark X as a standalone PC case. It’s niche, and at $4,300, it’s completely unrealistic for most gamers, including myself, but if the budget really wasn’t a problem and you’re spending thousands on a gaming PC anyway, I can understand why you’d want to go all-out. After all, if you want your gaming PC to really jump out at your friends, you can’t get much better than a PC built to look like a futuristic sea monster.
That said, there are plenty of other PC cases out there for you to consider if you’re thinking through how to build a gaming PC, such as the Fractal Design Torrent. The Torrent isn’t shaped like a shark, but it’s still one of the best looking cases you can buy, and at $190 on Amazon right now via this link, it’s also 96% cheaper.