Product Showcase - The build

The build

Below are a list of components that were used in the build process:

• Motherboard - MSI B350M Mortar Arctic
• PSU - Corsair TX650M
• Cooler - Noctua NH-U12S
• GPU - XFX Radeon RX 480, GTR Black Edition
• System Fans - 1x Corsair ML120 + 2x HD120.

First up, PSU installation, and it was here that I was taken by surprise by something. Space certainly is a bit tight in the PSU basement. Cables are routed out of a fairly small hole, which in itself isn't bad, but the actual space inside the shroud is lacking, in my opinion. Since I often use the basement to cram unwanted cable length, this is a bit of a problem (and I am sure I am not the only one who does this). With that said and done, there is still plenty of room for the cables themselves, and whilst you won't be fitting a 1000+ watt unit in here, anything up to a high end and more compact 850ish watt unit should be fine.

Mounting the extra front fan came next, and it was here I realized that the top panel needs to be removed first. I was about to add this to the 'things I didn't like' segment until I realized the top panel is removed with two thumb tight screws, and the front panel itself comes off very easily. Corsair provides plenty of cut-outs to route smaller fan cables, so no problems there.

It's also nice to see that not only is the Lighting Node Pro pre-wired in, but also the RGB cables for the two included fans are also plugged into the Node in sequence. It wouldn't be a huge amount of extra work on behalf of the builder, but it's a nice touch.

The rest of the build was entirely without problems, save for one. Cable management has long been a strong point of Corsair chassis, but this one was a little lacking in one major area. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that there is no lack of management options, except around the area where builders need it most. The routing for the main 24 pin ATX cable. This area tends to get very cluttered, but the location of one part of the pre-installed Lighting Node Pro means that there is next to no room to spare behind the grommets for your standard mass of cables. There is no easily accessible tie down points, adding to the issues. I have to say that cable management in this area, in general, is fairly below par for Corsair, and certainly isn't on the level of the 275R, or cases from NZXT, Fractal, or Phanteks. In a 150.00 USD case, this is a little disappointing. As goes for the rest of the case, cable management is great, to be honest. There is ample room for PCIe cables, EPS cables, and extra fan/IO cables.

Taking a look at the completed build photos, you can see that the cases' striking looks combined with the RGB light show really is something to look at, I have to say. I love the way this case looks and I would be absolutely sold if the front panel was mesh instead of acrylic and the cable routing was better behind the grommets.