Corsair Carbide Series 400R Case Review

Exterior Impressions

Exterior Impression of the Carbide Series 400R

Corsair does a nice job of making a simple sleek design of this model. The sleek design also will easily appease to the PC gamers and builders. Of course it will suit these end users because it does borrow some of the key essentials of the more expensive Obsidian and Graphite series respectively. Let’s take a look around all six sides of the Carbide Series 400R.

The Front Side

From top to bottom of the front of the case it screams sleekness and elegance. This is on par with the other series that Corsair has released. At first this design may seem a bit ordinary but don’t let that fool you. It may just lore you in and let you ask your self what else does this case have to offer.

The slightly curved top shoots down two graphite gray race ways on either side. The Front I/O ports are just below on this initial curve from he top. From left to to right we see a typical circle power button over the HDD LED activity light. Next over are two USB 3.0 ports with mic and audio ports to follow. The is also an IEEE 1394 Fire Wire port. Lastly, you have the case fan’s LED power button and case reset button.

Below the I/O ports are all honey comb style bezels. The bezels start with four 5 1/4 inch covers for external drive. Below is the bezel for the two 120 mm case fans. This final bezel has the Corsair logo handsomely set on the bottom.

The Side panels

The side panels are identical. The design reminds me of a mild angled ramp that flattens out and ends on a sharper angle. It’s a nice design to compliment the front of the case. The primary panel does have one distinguishing difference. On the top of the trapezoid again is a honeycomb design. The design allows for up to two fans to be installed at either 120 mm or 140 mm supported. Also the thumb screw can be unscrewed with out being unattached from the panel. This is great for builders like me that once in a while come up one screw short.

The Top Panel

Again I can not emphasize enough that this case in it’s simplicity is also very much functional. Above the I/O panel is a simple hand hold. This is such a great idea. How many time have you gone to a LAN party and realized… hmmm how am I going to carry my mid-tower and everything else. It’s the simple things sometimes that help make buying a part easy and I love the idea of making this easily portable. The weight of the case is not bad at all. The Corsair Carbide 400R weighs 15.6 pounds and that isn’t bad for a steel mid-tower that stands 19.8″ in height.

The rest of the top of the case is in a honeycomb design again. There are mounting points on the top that are very much in the same style as the primary side panel. No fans come installed on the top but it would be very easy and temping for a builder to add them as a feature. Two 120 mm or 140 mm fan mounts, drilled to support 240 mm radiators is what a builder would be able to use. The Corsair Hydro Series H100 is also compatible. There are a lot of cooling option here!

The Back Panel

The back panel certainly is set up for easy of functionality. The top left of the black steel design is the standard I/O cut out. To the right is the installed Corsair case fan. The installed version is 120 mm and can be upgraded to 140 mm. Corsair states that this mounting point is compatible with their H50, H60, H70, and H80 fan models. Eight expansion slots are below with support for multiple GPU setups. Four circular ports are next to the expansion ports allowing for liquid cooling options. The final bottom spot of course is for the power supply. Again this looks to be a solid design.

The Case Bottom

The Case bottom is not missed for function. The four corners have a trapezoids shape foot with nice rubber bottoms. The majority of bottom is designed for good airflow and has a sliding, washable filter for the power supply that can be removed from the back of the case.