Dmitry
HWC YouTube Reviewer
Ever since the dominant release of the Obsidian 800D, Corsair has continued to dominate the chassis market with constant new releases and exciting prospect for the future line ups too. However with competition rising and user standards always evolving, the Corsair brand is finding new ways to infiltrate the mass market to spread its level of influence. The Carbide series of cases was meant to do exactly that with more friendly prices while keeping in line with the core elements of simple assembly and functional interiors. The Carbide 100R is one of the cheapest cases we’ve seen from Corsair at $49 and $59 for the Silent Edition that promises to satisfy the budget conscious consumer.
Aesthetically the 100R is a simple black box with brushed plastic front panel. Those who crave a more “gamer” looking case can check out the Spec line sharing an identical internal layout with 100R but featuring a more aggressive front panel + LED fan.
The Silent Edition features a solid panel with noise dampening applied on top, front and both side panels. It also comes with an extra front 120mm fan aside from the 120mm rear exhaust, and a 3 speed fan controller at the back for user defined cooling potential. Placement of this fan controller is questionable and front integration would allow better access.
Airflow inside the 100R Silent Edition is limited to dual front fans (120/140mm) and single exhaust (120mm) at the rear, creating positive air pressure thus reducing dust build up. The non-silent version also comes with dual 120mm fan mounts at the top for extra cooling potential.
Storage capacity is adequate for a case of this caliber with 4 x 3.5”/2.45” drives supported. One of the impressive features of the 100R are all the cutouts on the motherboard tray to properly accommodate wiring from the bottom and side for mini-ITX, mATX and standard ATX motherboards. The only difficult cable management process is 8-pin cable routing. The lack of additional height clearance on the inside makes it almost impossible to pre-route that cable through the corner cutout, unless the PSU cables are flat.
Also spacing behind the motherboard tray is quite limited, despite the stamped side panel. Cleaning up all the PSU cables will require patience, especially if working with non-modular and thick cables. We recommend using the area behind the drive cage as a concentration point to stash cables and spread the rest as flat as possible near the middle portion of the mobo tray. Luckily cable tie hoops are found in all the right places, helping users tidy up the build and close the panel without hassle.
Finally the Silent Edition with our enthusiast gaming system inside turned out to be fairly quiet. Internal sound dampening helps to lower the operational noise level and the build in fan controller is handy to quickly change between fan profiles of the system.
With the introduction of the 100R case we hope the budget friendly arena to prosper, as competition catches up to deliver more unique features and better value all together. Corsair has the right idea with the dual edition of this release as the silent trend is starting to catch up. The 100R is as barebones as you can get for $49 but with a well executed interior that should satisfy even a novice builder.
Make sure to watch our full video review above.
Aesthetically the 100R is a simple black box with brushed plastic front panel. Those who crave a more “gamer” looking case can check out the Spec line sharing an identical internal layout with 100R but featuring a more aggressive front panel + LED fan.
<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v5Rk3EMi6r4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Silent Edition features a solid panel with noise dampening applied on top, front and both side panels. It also comes with an extra front 120mm fan aside from the 120mm rear exhaust, and a 3 speed fan controller at the back for user defined cooling potential. Placement of this fan controller is questionable and front integration would allow better access.
Airflow inside the 100R Silent Edition is limited to dual front fans (120/140mm) and single exhaust (120mm) at the rear, creating positive air pressure thus reducing dust build up. The non-silent version also comes with dual 120mm fan mounts at the top for extra cooling potential.
Storage capacity is adequate for a case of this caliber with 4 x 3.5”/2.45” drives supported. One of the impressive features of the 100R are all the cutouts on the motherboard tray to properly accommodate wiring from the bottom and side for mini-ITX, mATX and standard ATX motherboards. The only difficult cable management process is 8-pin cable routing. The lack of additional height clearance on the inside makes it almost impossible to pre-route that cable through the corner cutout, unless the PSU cables are flat.
Also spacing behind the motherboard tray is quite limited, despite the stamped side panel. Cleaning up all the PSU cables will require patience, especially if working with non-modular and thick cables. We recommend using the area behind the drive cage as a concentration point to stash cables and spread the rest as flat as possible near the middle portion of the mobo tray. Luckily cable tie hoops are found in all the right places, helping users tidy up the build and close the panel without hassle.
Finally the Silent Edition with our enthusiast gaming system inside turned out to be fairly quiet. Internal sound dampening helps to lower the operational noise level and the build in fan controller is handy to quickly change between fan profiles of the system.
With the introduction of the 100R case we hope the budget friendly arena to prosper, as competition catches up to deliver more unique features and better value all together. Corsair has the right idea with the dual edition of this release as the silent trend is starting to catch up. The 100R is as barebones as you can get for $49 but with a well executed interior that should satisfy even a novice builder.
Make sure to watch our full video review above.
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