Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsTint on side window is extremely dark
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
Summary: The case is expensive but has strong build quality. The glass tint on the black model is extremely dark and makes it very hard to see inside even with lots of RGB.
Full Review: I was expecting this case to be amazing in every way but I am very unimpressed with it. Let's start with my biggest issue with it, the glass side panel. The white models of this case come with a clear piece of glass but I didn't order a white model. If you order a black case like I did, you will receive a glass side panel that is so heavily tinted you can barely see the components inside even with bright and abundant RGB. I don't know why Corsair thinks that PC enthusiasts want to shell out thousands of dollars on a build only to have the glass side panel tinted so much that you can't even see what's in it! To remedy this, I purchased one of the white clear glass panels from Corsair's website but this is ridiculous I had to do this on a case that costs this much. I also now have to deal with the white outline of the white case's clear glass panel but I'm willing to put up with that to actually be able to see inside! If you don't think this is an issue, look it up, there are many forums online full of people who are unhappy with how dark the tint is on these cases. The second issue I have with this case is the price. This case is $149.99 and only comes with two cheap non-RGB fans. When I was a beginner builder I was under the assumption that you want to overspend on a case because the cheap cases are awful to build in, which I have recently discovered is far from the truth. I have since built in many cheaper cases such as the Montech AIR 903 MAX and X3 Mesh as well as a few fractal cases and they were easy to build in and very well made. For comparison, the Air 903 Max comes with 3 140mm RGB intake fans AND a rear 140mm fan for only $75. This case costs twice that and almost no one who buys this case uses the cheap included fans. There are some positives to this case however, the airflow is great and it was very easy to install a 360mm radiator using the top mount. The dust filter on the front is very nice and it is stupidly easy to take off and clean if it gets dirty. It's also pretty easy to cable manage in this case and the swinging back door is a nice touch. The one issue I had with cables was my Corsair RM1000X power supply somehow couldn't reach the CPU power connectors with the included cables in this case! If I'm using only Corsair parts I would expect them to all be compatible but I guess not. Overall I don't regret buying this case, but it is very expensive for what it is and the heavy tint on that glass panel really turned me off from it. The only builds I would recommend this case for are ones that are over $2,000. If you're spending less than that, you should probably focus on getting better components instead of an expensive case and lots of fans that can cost you an arm and a leg.
