Corsair SPEC Omega RGB review - Article

Corsair SPEC Omega RGB
Angular, glassy, glowy... the best of 2018?

The case industry in recent years has really started to diversify itself in the 'looks' department. On the one hand, you have your NZXT S340 Elites, Fractal Meshify, and 275R's. They're sleek, very minimalistic, and discreet. Aside from the tempered glass, they are designed to be stylish but let your PC's internals do all the talking. At the other end, however, we have cases like the one have here today. The Spec Omega RGB from Corsair absolutely screams 'look at me' as loudly as the components may do inside it. Packing a full length tempered glass panel, included 120mm RGB fans, and space for even a granddad sized 360mm radiator, the Omega RGB seems - on the surface - to come equipped with virtually everything the modern PC builder may need. I must say, I was actually surprised by this case's ability to house an enthusiast class radiator, as I have always seen that as the domain of the high end, or the full towers. Perhaps I need to change that assumption? It's fair to say that this case is aimed squarely at 'looks' fans, but it's also equally safe to bet that this chassis would be friendly to builder's of all types in terms of familiarity to the hobby. In my experience, Corsair has always been excellent at designing their cases with both practicality, looks, and ease of use in mind. This was exemplified well (recently in fact) by their 280X chassis, which Hilbert reviewed here, for all those interested.

Naturally, the Omega RGB is, effectively, a release of the now well-known Alpha/Omega series of cases from Corsair, just with added RGB fans and the ability to integrate with iCUE and Link software natively. It does this by the inclusion of a Lighting Node PRO LED controller, a product I have used before. It is the same hub that comes with a purchase of a 3 pack of Corsair's LL or ML fans. It works exceptionally well when paired with the appropriate Corsair software, so I have no doubts the same will carry on here and provide a justification for this case's notably elevated price tag over the original Spec, Spec Alpha, and Spec Omega. Speaking of that, how much does she cost? Well, at a fairly cool 149.99 USD from Corsair's site, it's not entirely inaccurate to say that this case carries a high-end price tag. A fair whack of this price can be put down to the inclusion of the RGB fans and Lighting Node PRO, which on their own are close to 60 USD. The fans themselves, HD120's, are also fairly expensive at over 30 USD. So, if you think about it, the case is 49.99 without accessories, so you're actually saving a buck or two and getting that RGB goodness. Win-win?

What about storage capacity? Well, as is the recent trend, there is a whole lot of room for many drives, but for your average joe PC builder, the 2x 3.5'' bays and 3x 2.5'' slots for SSDs will be entirely adequate. Also, bear in mind the ever increasingly prevalence of more affordable (ish) NVMe and M.2 form factor SSDs, and the need for banks upon banks of 3.5/2.5'' bays for the average user seems somewhat negated. I feel as though it doesn't need to be said anymore, but there is no option for a 5.25'' CD/DVD drive. Anyway.

So far, then, I think we are looking good. Striking looks, decent storage options, excellent included accessories, and - when you look at it - a fairly reasonable price tag. With the introduction over, we can go over some more detailed specifications of the case, unbox it, then test.