Corsair Carbide 275Q review - Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

It’s time for the conclusion. The Corsair Carbide 275Q is a very nice, budget-friendly chassis. Corsair announced it at CES 2019, as the successor to the Carbide 275R, which already earned the Guru3d “Recommended” award. This time, the Carbide 275(Q) doesn’t have a tempered glass side panel (so it does look discreet), and its solid side panels are covered with a sound-absorbing material mix. There is a plastic cover attached magnetically to the top of the case, with a foam layer on the bottom side. The white underbody lighting in the panel is the only element that stands out during operation.

Features

Another feature is a PWM repeater, which distributes the signal from the motherboard to up to six fans simultaneously. This is particularly handy for water-cooled setups with many fans. The case now comes with controllable (PWM) fans instead of DC-controlled ones. We were unable to determine the exact model (no information was provided for the PWM version), but they passed the volume test with flying colours. Overall, the Carbide 275Q is well equipped, and you can’t complain about storage capacity (for this size of chassis). In the standard layout, you can install two 3.5” and four 2.5” drives. You can still fit up to a 360 mm radiator in the front. The cable management system at the underside of the motherboard tray is mediocre, and a bit more space would have been welcome in order to fit thicker cables. The tray itself has several openings with rubber grommets that help with cable management and improve the overall look of the case.

You can mount up to 170mm air coolers and 370mm graphics cards, so that should be enough for most users. A sound dampening material was used on the top cover (which actually fits in the opening a bit better than in the more expensive Carbide 678C), as well as on the side panels. Dust filters are included as well – placed in the front and on the bottom (for the PSU).  

The Verdict

If you’re looking for a solid, well-equipped, and in-expensive case that’s suitable mainly for silent builds with, let’s say, mid-range components, the Corsair Carbide 275Q can be a very reasonable choice. The build quality is good enough for that budget. The biggest drawback is the amount of space between the motherboard tray and the side panel, and some users (like me) might see the lack of a PSU shroud as a negative as well. Overall, this is a neat-looking housing, with all the things that you’d expect present. Still, in this budget, we did expect a bit more. The MSRP is $99.99 Exc. Tax/£74.99 Inc VAT/ €84.90 Inc. Tax. In comparison - the base model that is Carbide 275R is available from 65 EUR, NZXT H500i that offers a PWM controller with intelligent control, RGB lighting and a compact design in the similar budget to Carbide 275Q. Overall though, recommended.

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