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Brand | Corsair |
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Series | Carbide Series |
Model | SPEC-02 Red LED (CC-9011051-WW) |
Type | ATX Mid Tower |
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Color | Black |
Case Material | Steel |
With Power Supply | No |
Power Supply | ATX (not included) |
Power Supply Mounted | Bottom |
Motherboard Compatibility | Micro ATX / ATX / Mini-ITX |
Side Panel Window | Yes |
LED | Red |
Dust Filters | Yes |
External 5.25" Drive Bays | 2 |
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Internal 3.5" Drive Bays | 3 |
Internal 2.5" Drive Bays | 2 |
Expansion Slots | 7 |
Front Ports | 2 x USB 3.0 / 1 x Headphone Port / 1 x Microphone Port |
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Fan Options | Front: 2 x 140mm or 2 x 120mm fan (1 x 120mm LED fan included) Rear: 1 x 120mm fan (included) Bottom: 1 x 120mm fan Top: 2 x 120mm fan |
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Radiator Options | 120mm |
Max GPU Length | 420 mm |
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Max CPU Cooler Height | 157 mm |
Dimensions (H x W x D) | 19.41" x 8.46" x 16.77" |
Weight | 11.02 lbs. |
Features | USB 3.0 front port with internal connector Large side panel window Cable routing and CPU cooler backplate motherboard cutouts Seven PCIe slots with room for long graphics cards up to 420mm long Install up to four storage drives, your choice of 3.5" or 2.5", each tray fits both. Dust filters for front and PSU intake |
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Date First Available | October 10, 2014 |
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Pros: WOW... ok where to start: Very sleek design, especially the full panel window. All the cable cut-outs you could ever hope for. I have never been able to do such a clean build in a case this cheap before. Dust filtering on front, top, and bottom of the case. 2 White LED fans in the front of the case look very nice, and the case is very quiet. 3 included fans at this price point is incredible. Comes with the motherboard riser screws already put in, saving installation time. Plenty of cooling options for additional fans Tool-less assembly is probably the easiest I've ever used, and I've used a LOT of tool-less cases. Optical drives and hard drives just slide right in and out without any convoluted mechanisms. SSD mounts included - no need for 3.5" to 2.5" adapters. Plenty of room around the back for your cable management. Room for large power supplies and very long graphics cards. Build quality is quite good for the price. The case is a bit light, but it's sturdy enough. Don't expect it to match the build quality of high end cases 3 times its price, and you'll be fine.
Cons: The dust filtering mesh will work, but I wish they had used a bit finer/smaller mesh for even better dust filtering. Because the case is just the perfect size for an ATX board and power supply, the motherboard sits more or less right at the top of the case, and the case obstructs the top line of motherboard screws slightly (you have to use your screwdriver at a slight angle). This didn't have a negative effect on my build, but I could see it being problematic for installation depending on your motherboard and CPU cooler. Would have been nice if the case were about 1/2 inch taller. Case isn't quite wide enough to handle some of the larger CPU heatsinks out there - CHECK YOUR CPU COOLER DIMENSIONS before putting it in the case. The side window bulge is NOT directly over the CPU and doesn't add to your clearance.
Overall Review: I cannot believe how excellent this case is at its price point. I have never used a case under $100 that has the feature set and ease of hardware installation that this case has. If you want a good case with a lot of features, have a limited budget, and don't need to fit a very large CPU heatsink (Hyper 212 Evo / NH-D14 / etc), and the aggressive styling on the front of the case doesn't turn you off, then this is the BEST case in the sub-$100 market as far as I'm concerned. Very highly recommended. The build I put in this was: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD FX-6100 10GB DDR3 Seasonic G series SSR-550RM Cooler Master Hyper T4 Nvidia 750 ti 1TB Seagate Barracuda DVD drive
Pros: Sweet case, lots of room for large video cards and many fans.
Cons: Large heat-sinks wont fit
Overall Review: Recommended for smaller gaming builds.
Pros: Mid tower that fits full ATX board. Has room to route PSU wires behind motherboard on front edge Fan filters for front and bottom. Bottom fitted PSU Well built for price. USB3 front panel with a USB2 also 2 Top fans not included and room for 1 back and 1 bottom fan
Cons: Only 5 5.25 bays for dvd or blue ray drives
Overall Review: I put a gigabyte z97SOC force motherboard in it and a zalman 9500 CPU cooler 2 DVD drives and a SSD and a Platter sata hard drive in it. With a i5 4670k and my temps stay around 34c in the case also has a r9 280 graphics card in it. The temp of graphics card stays about 43c. I put 1 top and 1 back fan in it and pointed the zalman cooler out the empty spot for fan at top. Front fan was included. With the cables routed thru the back it keeps good airflow. Well built for price i have seen more expensive cases built cheaper. Overall i am satisfied with it. Small enough and light enough to take to work to blow it out but with the intake fans having filters i shouldn't need to a lot.
Pros: No sharp edges decent airflow with cable management. Room for 2 front panel 120 mm fans. plenty of space for my 270x. Front panel control buttons have a nice feel with decent response.
Cons: The first major con is the metal is THIN, and surprisingly thin for a name brand case. Seriously feels as thin non branded knock offs. I would say the sheet metal used is 30 gauge or less in thickness. This is clearly apparent when examining the Power Supply retention tabs. A Jaw Dropping Flaw is the Front panel dust filter is GLUED into place, it is not removable all all. The filter material is just nylon screen, (that was cut sloppy on this case, the screen is not even squared to the cutout vent it was cut for, it was glued at a slight diagonal leaving a gap of unfiltered space.) This is unacceptable. Looking at the Photos, it appears to have enough room for large CPU coolers from the bumped out side panels, but it really doesn't. The side panels bump out is deceiving in the photos; the windowed panel only protrudes from the case about ¼ of an inch. More than Half of the windowed bump out is used to secure the brittle plastic window. You're left with less than ⅛ of an inch tolerance for larger coolers. I have a Cooler Master V8 that is actually hitting the side panel, and had to struggle a little to get the window panel on.. I may have to get out my dremel and grind down the top edge of the plastic window, as I fear it may actually be adding to the stress on the motherboard. Yes the V8 is a Huge cooler, but I had fit it with ease in my last case (NZXT). The opposite panel protrudes from the case ⅜ of an inch, however the margins for the bump out are so far from the edge of the case that the bump out is a bit useless for cable channeling. I have a Modular power supply, and I only ran 4 rails besides the 24 pin main connector, zip tied everything possible without going overboard, kept everything tight as possible and it was a struggle to get the panel on. I used enough pressure trying to get the panel on that I actually dented the upper bezel of the bump out with my thumb, that THIN metal coming into play. I dented it right on the outer bezel crease of the panel, I was able to bang out most of it, but I'm stuck with a permanent pea sized dent, if it was on the flat of the panel, I would have been able to smooth it out no problem. Getting the side panel on over the wiring was such a struggle it took me around ten attempts to get all catches in properly, I had to set the case down window side (without the window panel) to apply enough pressure evenly to get the panel on correctly. Another oddity here is the case feet: they are all plastic, no rubber, no foam, so the case will slide around on a smooth surface. I have my PC on top of my glass desk, and it only takes a little pressure to slide it around... I'll have to get some foam craft sheets from the craft store to put under the feet to prevent it from sliding around, another fix that the user shouldn't have to do. The Front panel plastic grill in front of the 120mm fans is not solid, it's injection molded, and is absolutely not durable.
Overall Review: I bought this from another retailer only because I had received a gift card. Normally I would have made this purchase from Newegg. There are better cases in this price range from other manufacturers, do not listen to these other reviews that suggest this is a good case for this price range. I have many times found cases at this price point that are 10x better, I would not consider this case for a client build whatsoever. The fact alone that Corsair believes this product deserves their name, is enough for me not to consider Corsair cases in future builds (although that 780t is sexy... looking). If you absolutely must have this case, I could only suggest that it should be used for a light build. Don't even look at this case if you're planning on water cooling. What you're paying for here is the name brand, and receiving a low-end case. I assure you that any 5 egg ratings on this case are from newbie builders with very little building experience.
Pros: saw it on sale and needed a mid size atx case. took it out of the box and this thing looks like a militarist beauty. goes great with a motherboard with red accents. installed an asrock fata1lity board with no problems. comes with some screws. power supply installs on the bottom. intake fan with led included ventilated top to install exhaust fans for hardcore gamers with an SLI setup. tons of slots for drives/ssds lightweight. black carbide coating everywhere. no sharp edges.
Cons: no cable management except for the zip ties included but hey at this price at is expected.
Overall Review: rebate :)
Pros: Cheap Corsair's good rebate reliability...I think I got mine Compact (main reason I got it) Quality Drive Bays (secondary reason I got it) Window "Clicky" buttons Some cable management Airflow (great bonus as to why I got it) MB capabilities (future proof, you mean I got options? ya, it helped) Size, size, oh wonderful perfect small size (this CAN be pro...ya know!) Did I say cheap? I mean, less than the $35-50 range and your looking at buying more band-aids
Cons: Nothing you should care about...if so, you shouldn't be looking at a <= $50 case! Stop reading this review (its long) if you are a case/gaming snob. Please filter your searches starting at $100 and move on with your life. Shame on you; seriously, I've never been more disappointed in anybody...ever.
Overall Review: Listen up, half of you are right about this case and the other half are wrong. This isn't an opinion, this is fact. A big "thank you" to those that mention this ISN'T a liquid cooling, ATX gamin', dual GPU rockin', 5-Story cpu fan storin', never-see-a-cable cause you geeked son, blaze 'o glory case you ride off into the sunset with. A huge "what where you thinking?" to all those reviewers that simply missed their special bus on this one. ...ur right, totally right...you CAN'T do a lot with this case. So get another one if you need all that stuff. Maybe it doesn't allow enough cable management or cpu cooling headroom. Maybe full ATX builds are a bit tight. Maybe the steel isn't of craftsman quality. This case meets or exceeds what anyone could expect from a $50 case. With a rebate I maybe even got it for less. It's too small you say? ...duh. Look at the dimensions. Figure out what ur gonna put in this divine savior. I love this case. I got this case because it IS small. I got this case because I didn't care about all those little minutia (or building a sweaty hog). You can't hide your precious CPU power cable all the way? Let me heat up a bottle for you before school, and I'll bring ur binkie later. If such fine art is required for your precious, "impress the ladies" build, maybe you need to get a bigger wallet? (pro tip: that's what impresses them anyways) I got this case to fit in my media cabinet, remain quiet, hold a bunch of drives, and pass air over them for my NAS. It does all these things with typical Corsair quality, value, and that certain air of confidence. ...almost the type where it don't care. I certainly did not expect my, or anyone else's pro/elite/dank gaming rig to be a showcase peacock in this thing. My micro ATX fits great, my hdd's remain cool, and it works as intended. I've built quite a few computers in my day (probably more than you...the ladies DON'T care for that line), so just read and buy the case you need. We all have budgets, but taking eggs off because you are a cheap shill? ...just stop. Buy this case if it checks your boxes, you simply won't be disappointed. ASrock Pro4M (microAtx) x4 3.5" x5 2.5" (with athena hotswap in 5.25") --room for more drives EVGA G2 stock intel cooler x3 120mm fans 1 HBA card + x2 8087 breakouts So much room for this setup. Had to change the PSU a couple months ago, was a breeze. I added another breakout cable a year ago, took 4 minutes. If ya want more people, spend the extra $50. Take a look, it's in a book... (P.S.) I kinda hate it when people put hardware/build specs on reviews, it always feels like bragging when I read them, or it's completely unnecessary. I can assure you I'm not bragging, and whether anything about this review was necessary; well...you might have me there cheech. Hoping this info will help someone, someday; but probably not.)
Pros: Outstanding cable management. Lots of room to move. Case is primarily held together with screws, so disassemble for custom modification is easy. No weak and loose aluminum pop rivets like so many other cases. Easy to install the 120mm fans in all areas. Dust filters at top AND bottom of case. Twin USB 3.0 ports right next to speaker and mike jacks makes use of any user head related peripherals easy. Snap in front panel easy to remove. Virtually tool-less design makes stuffing the guts in there very simple and fast. Very durable black powder coat on steel components-not paint!
Cons: As with most cases these days, the window is a shoddy bit of brittle plastic. It is held in by bend tabs, which make it easy to remove and replace, but the tabs have limited life. I wish it had screws holding it in. Front panel is plastic. I would pay 100 USD for this case if it had a matching steel front panel. The biggest issue with this case is the side panel thumb screws. They are on the small side and have a very small diameter thread stock. The are hard to put in and remove. I actually threw them away, replaced them with thumbscrews from a low quality case I had and expanded the hole diameters accordingly. Note that this is not worth docking an egg in my opinion.
Overall Review: I read quite a few reviews here on Newegg and elsewhere on this case before purchasing it. Many people complained about poor cable management. This only exposes them as being inexperienced. As a retired Naval weapons technician and defense contractor, I wish Uncle Sam would move to Corsair's cable management stand. It is the best I have ever seen. I also saw people complaining about not having room to cram all their gear in the case. This is a mystery to me. All I can figure is people are attempting to fit full tower hardware in a mid tower case. I had zero issues. In fact this case provided me with the easiest hardware install in 20 years. To give you an idea the hardware I am using is as follows: MSI Z97PC Mate Zotac GTX 970 16G GSkill DDR3 1 samsung evo 870 (there is room for two) 2 WD 2TB HDD 1 WD 1TB HDD 2 WD 300GB HDD (required a custom built addition- case holds three 5inch drives) I did not install DVD disc drives as I never use them and my motherboard only has 6 SATA ports. Corsair CX750M PSU Intel i5 4690K Devil's Canyon Corsair H50 120mm Quiet Edition Liquid Cooler 4ea 120mm fans with room for two more (one top/one bottom) As a personal preference, I wish the option to buy cases unpainted, or only primed was possible. I modded my case with a military theme inspired by the Colonial Marines hardware as seen in the movie Aliens. The results are magnificent. In conclusion, do not let the reviews written by whiners turn you away.
Pros: This is a nice lightweight and decent quality case for the price. I did not encounter any sharp edges and sides fit nice and tight. Both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports front side. Included black screws to match case (I hate when a manufacturer sells a black case with chrome screws).<br><br>It would make an excellent case for desktop computer or workstation using low to mid range CPUs. UPDATE Despite the negatives, this case has some nice features and I decided to keep it. I have recommended it to several folks and they like the case. The build quality is excellent and cable management is decent. FX 8350 stays cool with air cooling but GTX 470 gets really hot with only two case fans. originally was going to replace with another case with liquid cooling, but after using this case for over a year I am glad I kept it. One of the main problems with some of the other brands is the plastic front cover - not on this case. The plastic is very strong and you can be confident those tabs and fins will not crack when working on the case.
Cons: This case is not designed for performance CPUs and does not support liquid cooling. I have two liquid coolers and neither one fits. The motherboard is just too close to the top and you cannot fit a radiator in the dual 120s at the top. <br><br>Regular fans will block off access to fan connectors on the motherboard. If I want to install top fans, I will need to plug in the CPU fan and the 8-pin power before installing the fans. <br><br>Once I found out the liquid cooler would not fit, I had to uninstall the motherboard because the access opening for the backing plate is not large enough to remove the bottom mounting plate for the liquid cooler. The opening looks like it was designed only for Intel motherboards and if you have an AMD motherboard, you can only change backing plate by removing the motherboard. <br><br>Nice case but I take off 2 eggs for design. Any case sold as a gaming case should be designed to allow liquid cooling. Additionally, Corsair should state this case is designed for Intel motherboards and AMD motherboards will not have access to back plate.
Overall Review: UPDATE - I updated this to 5 Eggs because I feel my earlier review was an injustice to this case. Despite the fact that I could not install liquid cooling, the case is very high quality for the cost and comparing it with similar priced cases, this comes out on top. I have been using this case for over a year now and I really do like the case. The air flow is adequate and my FX8350 runs cool. I am getting ready to replace the GTX 470 - it gets really hot in this case and has had heat problems. In my previous Antec case with 5 case fans, the GTX 470 got plenty of air and ran about 10C ~ 15C cooler. I had to set minimum fan speed on the GTX 470 to 60% to keep it running. All the newer video cards run much cooler so this should not be a problem. Getting ready to replace the card with an R9-270 and I don't have any heat worries. For a desktop case, this is a nice case and I would not hesitate to use it. <br><br>For building a performance system, this is not the case. The lack of room for installing top fans or liquid cooling will result in a lot of heat build up inside this case. Everything is tight and even cable management is a task with the case. I was installing an FX-8350 with a spare GTX470 video card. I would not trust running those components in this case as I don't feel you could get adequate air flow with just 2 case fans and lack of clearance with everything installed. <br><br>Corsair has a nice case and a few designs could have made this a great case. Corsair should have designed this case with room for liquid coolers. Liquid cooling is essential on the higher end processors. Simply moving the motherboard mount down 1 inch or adding 1/2 inch to the width of the case would have provided space needed for water cooling and cable management.<br><br>This is a nice $30~$40 case, but in the $50 range, you can do much better.