Corsair Carbide Air 540 Case Review

"And here we open up the other side and show you where Corsair could have put more hard drive mounts if they weren't idiots".

I guess you could use the 2x5.25 bays, but that's a pretty big oversight on their part.
 
TwiceOver said:
"And here we open up the other side and show you where Corsair could have put more hard drive mounts if they weren't idiots".

I guess you could use the 2x5.25 bays, but that's a pretty big oversight on their part.
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There are 2 3.5HD hot plug bays and 4 SSD bays. What more could you want from a mid tower? The case is one of the best I've ever owned and it was easy to build in and work with. You can easily add in an extra bay for more HDDs given all the extra space in the back.
 
Looks good. I like it when case manufacturers break out of the usual designs.
 
one thing to note about this case is that it doesnt support reservoir kits. yes it supports the rad but where are you going to put the rez? case looks good but will not be buying this case for the problems i mentioned.
 
canmanone said:
one thing to note about this case is that it doesnt support reservoir kits. yes it supports the rad but where are you going to put the rez? case looks good but will not be buying this case for the problems i mentioned.
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Well you don't need a reservoir if you use Corsair's own cooler :D
 
I think with some cleaner cabling you could definitely fit a reservoir in the back side with the psu and cables.
 
how many i going to use the optional bays if its sideways?
 
bloodhawke83 said:
how many i going to use the optional bays if its sideways?
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Assuming you meant to ask "how am I", easily. A lot of optical drives have notches to hold the discs in place so you can load them. Vertically mounted optical drives are not new.
 
I just bought this last night to replace my 350D and move back to ATX size, and I have to say this is a better laid out cause with more features than anything I've used before. I've had everything from cheap ass cooler master $20 cases to Caselabs and this is just a great case.

I only have one real complaint, and that is that the headers for the front panel are waaaaaaay too short. I could not reach my motherboard pins no matter what way I tried to route it, so I ended up having to use some 2-pin LED extender wires I had in the closet. I REALLY want to know how these guys did it, because I have the same motherboard (GD65 Gaming) and the headers did not reach at all.

Also, the fans are awful, but I've never had a case come with decent ones so no points off for that.
 
LigTasm said:
I only have one real complaint, and that is that the headers for the front panel are waaaaaaay too short. I could not reach my motherboard pins no matter what way I tried to route it, so I ended up having to use some 2-pin LED extender wires I had in the closet. I REALLY want to know how these guys did it, because I have the same motherboard (GD65 Gaming) and the headers did not reach at all.
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This was the case on early shipments. If you need the longer cables contact our support and we'll send you a new I/O panel with longer wires.
 
Redbeard said:
This was the case on early shipments. If you need the longer cables contact our support and we'll send you a new I/O panel with longer wires.
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I posted over on your forum, but my solution is working fine. If it had been a motherboard with "normal" header location in the bottom right corner it would have made it with a little slack. Not too worried about it, love the case overall. Once I figure out how to isolate my HDD better and get some quieter fans it will be perfect. Gotta order up my Corsair Link with cooling and lighting kits too.
 
JosiahBradley said:
There are 2 3.5HD hot plug bays and 4 SSD bays. What more could you want from a mid tower? The case is one of the best I've ever owned and it was easy to build in and work with. You can easily add in an extra bay for more HDDs given all the extra space in the back.
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Seems to me that most people tend to have a single SSD and multiple HDDs. 2.5" bays are 1 trick ponies, so for flexibility, I'd rather have 2x 2.5" and 4 (or more)x 3.5" bays.
 
JosiahBradley said:
There are 2 3.5HD hot plug bays and 4 SSD bays. What more could you want from a mid tower? The case is one of the best I've ever owned and it was easy to build in and work with. You can easily add in an extra bay for more HDDs given all the extra space in the back.
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A better configuration would be 2x SSD and 4x HDD. I doubt most users own more SSD than HDD, and I don't see that changing in the near future. Of course, for anyone who happens to own more than 2 SSD, there's always the 3.5" to 2.5" converter.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Well you don't need a reservoir if you use Corsair's own cooler :D
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thats the thing though. i already have a rez that fit on the drive bays. i dont want to buy another one just so i can use in this case. no thanks corsair. maybe in the future revisions i might consider it. but not now.
 
Merc1138 said:
Assuming you meant to ask "how am I", easily. A lot of optical drives have notches to hold the discs in place so you can load them. Vertically mounted optical drives are not new.
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right, who makes them that?
 
bloodhawke83 said:
right, who makes them that?
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I have old IDE drives from the late 90's that work fine vertically, the only issues you might ever have with that configuration are the mini-CD's as there is no way to hold it on the center ring.
 
This case looks like it is more for those who just use one or two 3.5" hdd. And there are quite a few who fit into that category. Not what I would consider a case for the hardcore enthusiasts but more for general users and builders. I was a bit concerned about that optical cage. The way he was trying to hold it up there it made it all look rather cheap in quality. I would agree with the reviewer that the price is a little high for its material quality.
 
Do a search on YT for it. I saw one vid where the guy had much better lighting and the case actually looked better despite it's plastic material. There were a few reviews on YT I noticed.
 
Is this case a positive air pressure case if you install an H100 and have the fans blowing air into the case?
 
Skott said:
This case looks like it is more for those who just use one or two 3.5" hdd. And there are quite a few who fit into that category. Not what I would consider a case for the hardcore enthusiasts but more for general users and builders. I was a bit concerned about that optical cage. The way he was trying to hold it up there it made it all look rather cheap in quality. I would agree with the reviewer that the price is a little high for its material quality.
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Not sure what you consider hardcore enthusiast, but the case is solid and built well, like the other corsair cases. You can fit a pretty high end build into as well. (See specs below). I should be throwing in another 7970 when prices drop, and it can easily handle it. Not sure who needs more than 8TB of HDD space, but the capacity is way more than I'll ever need. You can always install more HDDs in the back if you wanted, just takes some extra skill, something I'm sure a hardcore person would be capable of.
 
Friend bought one about a month and a half ago and I was impressed with it. I would imagine it will replace my Cooler Master XB. Waiting to get the new build ordered though. Prices and decisions is always a issue.
 
JosiahBradley said:
Not sure what you consider hardcore enthusiast, but the case is solid and built well, like the other corsair cases. You can fit a pretty high end build into as well. (See specs below). I should be throwing in another 7970 when prices drop, and it can easily handle it. Not sure who needs more than 8TB of HDD space, but the capacity is way more than I'll ever need. You can always install more HDDs in the back if you wanted, just takes some extra skill, something I'm sure a hardcore person would be capable of.
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By that I meant the users who run multiple GPUs and full blown water cooling systems and having lots of storage. They typically buy cases that cool extremely well, are quiet, and have great cable management. They tend to buy big metal cases that can hold up and do all I just mentioned. That's what I was meaning. Real high end users. Can this case do all that? I dont know. Being plastic has me wondering. I don't think its a bad case but is it good enough for the more hardcore types?
 
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