Software:
For the majority of computer cases you do not need to have any software, but if you have a VFD or similar option on your case you need to have some way of controlling it. Cooler Master has included a piece of software that will allow you to customize what is displayed on the VFD.
After running the installation application (standard install requesting name, company, and install location), it auto-configured many options. The below left image below shows the initial section of the software which allows you to select the functions that will be shown on the VFD. Items such as the date format and the text for a stand-by message can be set here. The last option is configuring how sensitive the equalizer options are. Speaking of the equalizer, the menu shown in the below right image allows you to choose the source of the equalizer. If you have multiple sound devices, they will all be listed, you need to select the appropriate one, then you choose which audio stream it will react to.
 
Next we have a menu which will determine which system information is shown. The OS Information will show your operating system's version (such as XP Professional, Service Pack 2). Login Information shows the name of the currently logged in user. CPU and Memory Information will show the specifics of your CPU and memory configuration. Hard Disk Information will give the total and available space on your hard drives. Speaker Information will display what your speakers are configured for in your sound properties. The final option is Network Information, which shows the amount of data sent upstream and downloaded. The next menu show which of the three supported media players are installed, and details what it is showing on the VFD.
 
This software will automatically scan your configured email account (or multiple accounts) and will tell you when you have received new messages. The required information to configure an email account includes; an account name, the POP3 configuration, user name, and password. Unfortunately, this only scans POP3 accounts, which may be the most popular configuration, but other email types would be nice.
 
Next, we have the Daily News menu, which can be configure for the system to connect to the Associated Press for updates. There are no options to choose which news outlet you check. If you prefer Fox News, CNN, or any of the other news outlets, you are out of luck. Perhaps Cooler Master will make updates and allow you to choose your own news outlet.
The below left image shows the menu option I liked the best. Here you can select from any number of major cities to monitor the weather. It will tell you the weather conditions (sunny, rainy, snow, etc.) and will also give you the temperatures of the chosen cities. My first concern was that it would only have major cities in select parts of the world. I was happy to see that there is a high number of cities available to choose from, and it appears that every US state capital is listed.
 
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