One of my favorite cases that Corsair has ever released was their Crystal Series 680X. I actually used this case as my main rig up until about a year ago. The 680X was one of the first dual compartment cases that were really designed to show off your build. Since then we’ve seen an explosion of these type of cases, specially highlighted by Lian Li’s O11 Dynamic. Corsair’s 680X came out in 2019, so it just seemed a bit dated compared to a lot of newer cases and I had been wondering when we would get an updated version. Well that time has come as Corsair is launching the 6500D Airflow and 6500X cases today! These cases feature and updated design, lots of room for cooling, tool-loss side panels, and even support for reverse connector motherboards. We are taking a look at the 6500D Airflow today, which as you can guess is focused on airflow. Let’s take a look and see what this case is all about!
Special thanks to Corsair for providing us with the 6500D Airflow Case to review.
The 6500 Series
The 6500 Series is going to start with three different cases, the 6500D Airflow, the 6500X, and the 6500X RGB. The 6500D Airflow is of course more focused on performance and will feature a mesh front panel with a cooling bracket. The 6500X and 6500X RGB remove this mesh panel and cooling bracket and replace it with a tempered glass panel, giving you a compete pillarless look. While both the 6500D Airflow and 6500X won’t ship with any fans, the 6500X RGB will ship with three of Corsair’s RX120 RGB fans as well as the iCUE LINK system hub.
All three cases will be available in both white and black versions. Corsair is also offering up ways you can customize your 6500 series case with their Elite Panel kits. These kits will be available in five different finishes and will add more character to your build.
Specifications
Packaging
The 6500D Airflow comes in a pretty plain box that just says “6500 Series” on it with the Corsair logo. On the side it does have a sticker letting us know that we do have the Airflow version in white.
Opening the box up we find the case nicely protected inside. There are two large pieces of Styrofoam protecting the case. The case is also in a plastic covering and you will find plastic film on the side panel window.
Corsair does include a little toolbox with all of your mounting hardware and zip ties. It is worth noting that this case does come with Corsair’s new quick-turn screws that they showed us at CES. These are fan screws that tighten in about 1.5 tuns compared to 3-4 turns of normal fan screws. This will speed up the overall installation or removal of fans in your system.
