Final words and conclusion

Final words and conclusion

The Corsair Carbide 400 series is an interesting product-line and is a chassis that feels 'mainstream', not at all entry-level. The overall build quality is certainly decent enough to leave a good impression. And the features offered will give the average PC aficionado plenty to work with. We tested the 400Q today and in the mock-up setup, sound really is silent. But we can measure anything and everything and rate it, but it remains subjective. Your choice in components / cooling are be the decisive factor in noise versus cooling performance. The sound dampening materials could help out significantly though. Of course if you like your components on display, the C model with plexi see-through side panel is something you should pursue, the ones that need maximum noise dampening, the Q model is for you guys. Realistically though, the Carbide 400 series is a chassis that comes with everything you need. It certainly has sufficient enough cooling, the larger graphics cards will fit, ATX and Micro ATX fit perfectly as well.

Aesthetics

At first glance the looks might feel a bit bland to be honest. But once you start to build the system, you'll slowly appreciate it more and more. Honestly I like the design of the 400C probably a notch better. But taste is personal of course. The all black design is cool, the aesthetics are kept really simple (which I like very much). Added benefits are of course the two USB 3.0 ports, the mainboard cutout on the motherboard tray and the overall tool free design with for the Q model the sound isolation materials used. The PSU is nicely hidden away (albeit with the Q version you can't see it anyway) and we do like the storage bays hidden for the 3.5" devices as well as the handy 2.5" SSD bracket mounting design. 

The work space inside is great with easy access to pretty much anything and with 7 expansions lots there is plenty room for two graphics cards. There's the all black interior cool looks, the CPU back plate cutout for easy installation/replacement of CPU-coolers and overall features that belong in the enthusiast segment. There are plenty of grommet holes for cable routing but a missed opportunity is not putting some rubber inlays for them.
 

Final words

The new Corsair Carbide 400C and Q versions are not a revolution in chassis design, yet they do offer an incremental upgrade in the evolution of Corsair Carbide chassis series. For a reasonably amount of money you'll receive a nice compact chassis that can house everything you need, aside from optical devices that is. The 99 USD/EUR pricetag feels a little bit too high though, but if you can spot this unit at say 80 bucks in etail with a little rebate or something, there it'll make quite a bit of sense. Remember, the Q version is massively padded with sound dampening materials, it is more expensive stuff and certainly not something you want to apply yourself. The amount of room behind the motherboard for cable management is decent enough, and then there are the dual fans in the case already. Overall we think the Carbide 400Q is a really decent chassis, we do miss a fan controller, especially for the Q model silent chassis I'd really like a simple switch to put the fans in low-RPM mode. Innovative are the PSU/HDD cover in the lower compartment as well as the HDD slide in design and that fancy SSD mounting bracket. The build is of good quality with a sufficient enough feature set making this chassis interesting. Though taste differs and is subjective we certainly can recommend the Carbide 400Q as a nice looking and performing chassis with some nice sound dampening options. For those that need a little more bling, go for that 400C with see through side panel, of course.

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