Final Thoughts
Typically when we see smaller mid tower cases they are very limited, but that is not the case with the Corsair Carbide Series 400C. You still have room inside for long graphics cards, long power supplies and a good amount of water cooling. I mean the fact that you can fit a 360 mm radiator in the front of the case is pretty impressive. This makes this case perfect to team with one of Corsair’s own AiO water cooling units.
The reason that you do not lose much performance with this case is that Corsair has removed the 5.25-inch drive bays from the case. This is a trend we’ve seen start to become popular as many people are moving away from optical storage. If you can go without optical drives this case is a very solid choice.
Besides being able to fit quite a lot inside the other thing I really like about this case is the clear side panel. This is not your typical side panel that has a simple window on it, the entire side panel is clear. This allows you to show everything in your system off! And Corsair has designed the 400C to hide your cables behind the motherboard tray so you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing your cable mess. The clear side panel is great if you have any type of lights in your system, and it seems this is the perfect time as most motherboards and now graphics cards have RGB LED options. The side panel had an easy to use latch on it that allows you to swing it open like a door and you can easily remove the panel from the case for when you are doing your installation.
There are a few quirks with this case. You have to remove the PSU cover to install your PSU and there are no instructions to do that. The PSU cover and the SSD mounts are made of plastic rather than metal. And the cable routing hole for your graphics cards seems to be out of place. Most of these things can be overlooked though, especially if you take your time during installation.
At the end of the day Corsair has presented us with a great compact case for only $99. Being so compact you still have lots of room inside for modern components and a pretty hefty water cooling system. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Corsair Carbide Series 400C Case a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Compact size
– Room inside for long graphics cards and water cooling
– Clear side panel
– Tool-less installation for both SSDs and HDDs
– Easy to open side panel
– Price
Cons:
– No instructions for removing the PSU cover
– PSU cover and SSD mount made of plastic
