So, seeing a Corsair case for only $29.99 definitely got my interest.
The case in question is the Corsair Carbide Series® SPEC-01 Red LED Mid-Tower Gaming Case. The information on TigerDirect’s website did not mention the physical size of the case, and that was a concern for me.
One major consideration was that the case needed to be about the same size as the old Dell Dimension mid-tower case, as my computer desk has a spot for a tower to fit in that is currently occupied by a Dell Dimension. The Carbide 400R case significantly larger than the Dell and could not fit.
So I went to Corsair’s website and pulled up the information about the case. The case is 447mm x 200mm x 428mm. I groaned when I read that, as I’m more comfortable with inches than with mm. So I went to Google and pulled up a mm-to-inches calculator. This gave me the dimensions as 17.5984in x 7.87402in x 16.8504in. Doing some rough measuring, I determined that it would fit in the space with enough clearance for the vents and fans and the back.
Now that the size question had been answered, I looked closer at the features of the case. Like my older/larger one, it was largely tool-less. It has 4 3.5” drive trays and 2 5.25” drive bays, and 7 expansion slots, the cut-outs for neatly routing cables behind the motherboard tray, bottom placement for the power supply, and filters for the front and PSU intake. Despite it being a bit small, it still can handle full size ATX motherboards.
Naturally, like all special buys, the $29.99 was a limited time offer and had a rebate, so it was $39.99 up front. Still, that was $10 cheaper than directly from Corsair.
The only features this case has that I could do without is the red LED fan and the side window. The LEDs on the fan are simple enough to deal with. The window is pointless due to where the tower will sit, won’t be able to see it. Chalking both of those up to “no big deal”, I placed the order and received the case within a week.
Now that I have the case, the BIG question comes: What am I going to do with it?
