Corsair Carbide Series Clear 600C review - Final words and conclusion

Final words and conclusion

In the words of the famous Jim Carrey, "I like it a lot". With the entire concept flipped around, the 600C definitely will take a little time to get used to. Unfamiliar is the feel that you tend to look at the left side of your PC opposed to the right side where you can now see your PC components. It all is playful and subtle and as such I think this puppy can be a really success chassis for Corsair. What I like very much is always is very simple, with everything flipped around you can look at the top side of your graphics card. And that's the cool factor.
 

Reversing stuff like that can however have an impact on VGA cooling being heatpipe based. Then again a few tests on our side definitely did not show much difference. Along the grand scheme of things I find the Carbide 600C something new and typical Corsair'eeeh as it is unique in this approach and style. Even if you don't really like the looks, you probably will be intrigued regardless. For 149 bucks (msrp) you receive a nice all black design chassis with decent enough features and kick-ass looks. There's enough of storage space with two HDDs and three SSDs, it is tool free, you can do some nice cable management, large graphics cards and power supplies fit and sure there's plenty of options for cooling as well. You are however limited to a maximum ATX form factor size for your motherboard ATX, Micro ATX, and Mini ITX compatible motherboards are good to go.

The Design

Then the all black design is cool, the aesthetics are kept simple (which I like, but that's personal). Added benefits are of course the two USB 3.x ports (Call them 3.x these days as the motherboard industry simply renamed 3.0 to 3.1 gen1. Then there's the mainboard cutout on the motherboard tray and the tool free design, the see-through and easy to use door slash side panel, hiding the PSU, a fan controller and on and on. But sure this chassis is all about the looks.

That said, there is one small subtle thing I would have liked to see with the 600C, some sort of white top LED shining onto the motherboard and VGA. Right now without any LED lighting internally things can look a little dark if your motherboard doesn't have a LED array that is. The lighting concern is easily fixed with a LED strip of course. The work space inside is just excellent thanks spacious design of course. You gain easy access to pretty much anything and with 8 expansions lots there is plenty room for even three maybe four graphics cards. The all black interior cool looks, the CPU back plate cutout is huge and handy for easy installation/replacement of CPU-coolers and overall features that belong in the enthusiast segment. There are plenty of grommet holes that have been rubberized. A big plus is the proper space behind the motherboard for extensive cable management and storage units, and then there are the multiple fan mounts throughout the case. Very handy is the fan controller. Running them at the lowest mode will be silent airflow wise while balancing out silence. 

Concluding 

Many of the Carbide series chassis from Corsair offer something different, something unique. Something that was designed thinking outside of that regular box turning it into Pandora's box, or in this case chassis, making it intriguing to look at. The reversed design won't be hip and trendy for everybody of course as it is a style that you need to like alright. But if you like it, you surely will drool all over this chassis. It brings in a very clean look with the hidden PSU and storage units. The massive and easy to open side window/door is the icing on top of the cake as it gives you that nice spacious look at your components with a top side view on that graphics card of course. Overall we think the Carbide 600C is something very unique in design and looks. At 149 USD/EUR it isn't exactly cheap, though you surely understand where the money goes to. We do feel it is a balanced price if you like the looks and subtle aesthetics. So yes, though not cheap it seems fair and you receive a two year warranty as well.  Basically if you need an intriguing chassis, then the 600C should be on your short-list. It is a high-end class ATX chassis with all black design up-to and including the cabling. It's almost completely tool-free and has decent enough storage space. Inside there is plenty of room to work in and to manage your cabling. There's enough airflow meshes and additional cooling options and the comes with proper USB 3.0/3.1 headers and even a fan-controller. The build quality feels very solid and sturdy, I don't have anything to complain here either. Guru3D will recommend the Carbide Series 600C as a very unique designed chassis that will impress. The MSRP of 149 bucks is a little steep though street prices will probably get lower fast enough. Overall an excellent product with many features, just flipped around like a 360 radiator that would need to be mounted at the bottom of the chassis instead of the top. For me it ticks all the right boxes, highly recommended and rewarded with a top pick award.

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