# Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid-Tower Case Review



## The Sorcerer (Feb 4, 2012)

Corsair is one of those well organized companies who properly divide their product into series: Dominator, Vengeance, Hydro...list is pretty extensive. It should be a no-brainer for some who is in regular update with what's happening in today's hardware scene: you will notice anywhere between 1-4 product(s) in a well balanced rig from Corsair- memory kits, CPU Coolers (especially water cooling units), PC case, SSD drives, USB drives and Power supplies.

Memory division needs to buck up like how Corsair did. G Skills are pretty much everywhere, Kingston is pushing HyperX series, Transcend and few others are nowhere to be seen except in tier 2 cities.

Speaking of memory kits, in a world where 1600MHz/CL7 latency memory kits, 1800MHz kits-2000MHz is what is going around, ours is still stuck @ 1600MHz 9-9-9-27 irrespective of the brand in average as of now.

Back to the topic...

*i.imgur.com/JqUo1.jpg​
500R gets the usual treatment so lets see how it is!


Packaging and Specifications
*i.imgur.com/t1RxZ.jpg*i.imgur.com/oHElW.jpg​My apologies: Customs are always one ahead of me when it comes to unpackaging.

The packaging gives a pretty basic idea of the case. The illustrations are done nicely. The specifications are on the sides of the boxes however the warranty period isn't mentioned on the box, unlike how its mentioned in their product's tech specs. The case comes with 2 years warranty.
*i.imgur.com/SXcU2.jpg​2 Styrofoam pieces and a sheet of plastic bag: something that has been going for a while.

[highlight]Advertised Specifications:[/highlight]
[highlight]Corsair 500R[/highlight]

[highlight]Warranty[/highlight]
Two years

[highlight]Dimension [/highlight]
20.5” x 8.1” x 20”

[highlight]MB Support[/highlight]
ATX, mATX

[highlight]Expansion Slots [/highlight]
8

[highlight]Form Factor[/highlight]
Mid-tower

[highlight]Material [/highlight]
Steel structure with moulded ABS plastic accent pieces

[highlight]Drive Bays [/highlight]
(x4) 5.25", (x6) 3.5"/2.5" Drive Caddies

[highlight]Cooling [/highlight]
(x6) 120mm/140mm fan mounts, (x4) 120mm fan mounts, Includes (x1) 200mm side panel fan, (x2) front-mounted 120mm fans, and (x1) rear 120mm fan

[highlight]Front I/O[/highlight]
(x2) USB 3.0, (x1) IEEE1394, (x1) Headphone, (x1) MIC, Power, Reset, Lighting toggle switch

[highlight]Power Supply [/highlight]
ATX (not included)


*i.imgur.com/UGcaQ.jpg​Corsair bundles the usual screws and the quick start guide with few needed extras. They also provided a USB 3.0-to-USB 2.0 headers. Very nice add-on.


[highlight]Please do note:[/highlight] What I am saying right now not only applies to Corsair but to any manufacturers who use Styrofoam on top and bottom as a means to protect the case, leaving front, rear and the sides to take a good pounding during transit. If any case manufacturers send me something with this kind of a damage, they will be referred here.

[highlight]To the manufacturers:[/highlight] I understand that in mass manufactured models and for a particular price point no1 can manage to squeeze everything and make it look good enough. Regardless, as a mutual respect that most reviewers share between readers and the manufacturers: this is something that they can note down and see if its possible to improve.

(P.S.: Besides, 50 bucks says Corsair will be one of the first to find a workaround.)
*i.imgur.com/VYYzs.jpg*i.imgur.com/kJRLh.jpg​The picture towards the left belongs of the base and the one you can see on the right belongs to the top panel. As you can see, Styrofoam has already cracked inside and out.
*i.imgur.com/og3Nv.jpg​I really feel that cases that has a lot of features should also have a better packaging to protect the rear, faceplate and side panels. Do also note that this does not only apply to Corsair, but to every manufacturers who use the same type of packaging. The reason I am highlighting this here is only because I've evaluated few cases as of now and it seems this is inevitable.

Usually when they are packed and shipped, there is a pretty good chance of accidental mishandling: from the manufacturers to another countries and then reaches to retailers via the respected distributors and somewhere in the middle the cases take a trip around central warehouse to local storage that most nationwide distributors and major retailers have. Some people buy via online mostly because they cannot get it locally- or they simply want it delivered. Now since I've basically summed it up, you and I will agree that some concern will be there at the back of the head.

I can't speak for everyone, but its been a long time I've seen anyone who handles products on a daily basis looking out for "fragile" and "this side up" stickers on the box. Even if it is, not many really care.

Only a long dent can be felt or seen on the exterior, but there are certain bents and minor dents that you can see when you put a system together. Its not necessarily on the exterior. It can be anything from front face panel, mesh panels to dented panels. If its not done right, anything made of plastic can break/crack and if a case's quality isn't really solid, prepare for a dent in some corner you might not expect. There's also a chance that even if its not dented, a scratch on the paint job is a possibility. I am not saying that the packaging should be made to prepare for Armageddon. I am saying that the exposed areas need to be protected.

Its scary for the manufacturers because if a lot of cases are damaged, they're going to have a tough time replacing it. Imagine a lot of situation where have bought it online and due to the size of the product its understandable that most quote shipping cost on the weight. You pay for it. And if the case has some damage you have an issue dealing with and no choice then you have 2: 1. Either contact Corsair's nearest service centre 2. Worse case scenario they say that they will not cover physical damage as its not within "warranty" norms, you exchange blows with your dealer. Even if he does agree, you pay for sending it back and most likely pay for getting a new one again.

There's also a possibility that if someone buys without checking/bought it online/found something during installation, the retailer might not take it back, stating that its the user's fault. It goes without saying the manufacturers understand the situation and they help their end users to the best of their ability. But time and effort is wasted. Prevention is better than cure.

I hope the Full tower premium and aluminum cases don't have to endure this- like the beautiful Corsair 800D/Lian Li A70/77F... list goes on.

[highlight]2 cents worth advice to end users and system builders:[/highlight] If you plan to use the case's packaging, assuming it will protect your system while travelling in fairly long distance irrespective of the mode of transport: [highlight]Not worth the risk.[/highlight] Stacks of hard drives, dual slot long GPU cards, large CPU coolers (large as in Noctua U12PSE2 dual fans), memory kits, add on cards: too much money is involved.

Be warned! I haven't taken a look at the 400R yet. I'll most likely add few comments about this case once I had a good look of the 400R to really say where this case stands.
*i.imgur.com/KipgY.jpg*i.imgur.com/VuUNA.jpg
*i.imgur.com/F01xO.jpg*i.imgur.com/JzQA0.jpg
*i.imgur.com/6lere.jpg​500R comes in 2 colours: Black and Artic white with Black. The colour scheme is very nice and very much welcome over the usual and beaten-to-death cases with back colour. The quality of the paint job is pretty decent. There's a slight gloss, especially on the side panels but I am worried about the paint job. White is not an easy colour to maintain.

There are those who have their systems in a clean setup where don't get too much dust and those who do not. Also I am little concerned if the case would end being looking as pale yellow if you did not maintain it properly. You'll most likely end up cleaning the white coloured section of the cases if you want it to look white. There's always a complete black option in 500R should you choose.

From the front panel:
*i.imgur.com/sceim.jpg​From the left, The power button and its LED light, couple of USB 3.0 ports (via motherboard's USB 3.0 Headers), jacks for microphone and speakers/headphones, a firewire port, a button to toggle the led front led fans lights on/off and 3 way fan controller. A lot of people use USB more than firewire, but this is more of a preference than a con.
*i.imgur.com/gc3G8.jpg​The top mesh panel pops out and there's a section for installing 2 fans inside. You can install 2x 120mm fans on the top. One can easily see a cut out section on the left side of the fan mount, rubber grommets for the 120mm fan mount holes and 8 more mounting holes.
*i.imgur.com/kl5QM.jpg​A single sheet of fan filter covering 2 top panel fans is sandwiched between the plastic frame and the mesh sheet and secured by being clipped on the frame. This is the first case for this price I've seen with a removable top mesh and fan filters.
*i.imgur.com/dlzZC.jpg​The thickness of the tray is 3 inches. I am getting a feeling that this is made keeping Corsair's Hydro series in mind. I wouldn't be surprised if its made to mount H100 units, having fans on the top and the Water cooling radiator mounted from the inside. There's a generously big hole to re-route the fan power cables.

Also there's a tray on the top of the case. I don't use it, maybe a lot of people don't use it. Nevertheless the tray ends up collecting dust in the long run. Maybe a plain sheet of thin rubber might do a better job- something like how Bitfenix Shinobi has. Again, its more of a preference rather than a con.
*i.imgur.com/VuUNA.jpg​Honey combed vents for the rear fans and vented PCIE slots. 120mm fan is provided by default but you can install 140mm fan should you choose to do so. 4 rubber grommets are provided should you wish to use it, but as far as standard ATX cases do, not a lot of people will aim for a full fledged water cooling setup- for the CPU and for the GPU. But good thing is that the ring of the grommet is thick and strong, so if you are planning to reroute loops through it, the grommet will not come out.
*i.imgur.com/EUYEi.jpg*i.imgur.com/1Tnro.jpg
*i.imgur.com/6lere.jpg​There's a slidable air filter for 2x 140mm fans, covering the psu and a bottom mount fan. Case feet are large with a thick strip of rubber. The strips seem be stuck using a strong enough adhesive. Just next to the filters there are 4 thumbscrews that holds the hard drive cage. The hand grip on the bottom of the front panel face plate is enclosed. A lot of cases have them open but what happens especially if you have the case on the ground, the front fans could suck some amount of dust in.

The right side panel is plain with the design similar to the left side panel. The left side panel comes with a large 200mm fan by default. However do note that all the fans have a 3 pin header designed to occupy only the fan controllers and not on the motherboard header.
*i.imgur.com/iG0tZ.jpg​However should you choose, you can mount upto 2x 120mm/140mm fans in its place. However for a side panel fan which pushed the air in to improve better circulation, there is no dust filtering mesh. Truth be told its a little odd to see this oversight.

*i.imgur.com/q13iQ.jpg*i.imgur.com/tIDa4.jpg*i.imgur.com/PFJyF.jpg​There's nothing really special about the sidepanel design which has a recessed area from the inside, but it does aid in providing little bit of a space when you do the cable management work on the rear motherboard tray. However at the same time, it makes the side panel to be flimsy as well. The side panel isn't sturdy as most case have around this price range. Care needs to be taken you're sliding the panels in and out and make sure any cable isn't an obstacle. I am not sure if increasing the thickness would help, but that will either force one to increase a cost or throw away some features. All the more reason the packaging needs to be stronger.

The other sidepanel has a mesh clippled from the inside. If you haven't read the external impressions, the mesh does not have any dust filter so there's a chance that the system will accumulate a lot of dust in the long run.

The thumbscrews of both the side panels have thicker threads peventing it to come out. This is nicely done. Its one of those little things that help.

*i.imgur.com/XGw8N.jpg*i.imgur.com/8PrUF.jpg*i.imgur.com/gJ3wV.jpg​
The front has 2x 120mm White LED fan. There's no way you can install 140mm fans. You would require to pull off the front panel to install the upto 4 5.25" drives. The front panel connectors do not occupy any of the 5.25" bay and neither its possible to shift to any of the 5.25" bay.
*i.imgur.com/1iGki.jpg​Event the internal case fans have rubber grommets.
*i.imgur.com/uDFiF.jpg*i.imgur.com/uqIdA.jpg*i.imgur.com/EE8hg.jpg*i.imgur.com/l7vDH.jpg*i.imgur.com/oOile.jpg​
The 5.25" meshed panels each have a thin strip of foam secured by a plastic frame that you can see from the rear. The clips on the front panel holds the dust filter and can be taken out easily. Corsair used metal pushpins to attach the front panel.
*i.imgur.com/Dc0o3.jpg*i.imgur.com/1YwJ8.jpg​
The most catchy part is the L shaped (from the rear view) recessed area will lot of cable tie clips. There's a cutout section for re-routing 12V ATX/EPS connectors.
*i.imgur.com/kCdsC.jpg​The motherboard tray hole is about 7"x 4.5" which should be good enough as squared shapes hole we had some time ago didn't really let anyone use it as few motherboard layout doesn't align with that access. There are 4 grommets, each being 3"x 1.5". They are as strong as the grommets for the water loops.
Once you install the motherboard, there is a space of around 1.5" the top panel and the motherboard. Standard 120mm case fans are about an inch thick so if you want, you can install the on top or below the top panel- its upto you.

*i.imgur.com/viOl7.jpg*i.imgur.com/nT3ur.jpg​The case is made of steel, however it does feel flimsy, especially once you remove the sidepanel. Removing the front panel as well It just not the side panel, but case's frame as well. I've noticed this when I was sliding out the hard drive cage.

There's a thick rubber rubber grip above the vent for the power supply- and the vent is big enough for a 140mm fans on many power supplies. You can install either a 120/140mm fan on the base next to the power supply. Since there is a dust filter that covers both the vents nicely you need to worry much about the base fan sucking the dust and air together.

The space between the floor and the case's frame is about 2cm, enough for you remove/insert the base vent's dust filter and to reach out to the bottom of the front panel to remove it.
*i.imgur.com/yLdsP.jpg​8 PCIE slots are secured using thumbscrews. Personally I prefer to use screwdriver over thumbscrews to secure the hardware in its place- suffice to say it helps me to secure it properly. So there's a small curve at the corner of the case that lets you to use the screwdriver properly.
*i.imgur.com/xAOwO.jpg*i.imgur.com/9Ohi4.jpg​The hard drive cage lets you mount upto 6 3.5" hard drives/ 2.5" SSD drives- 3 each on 2 hard drive cage. The top hard drive is very tightly between the 5.25" bays and the bottom hard drive bays. Good thing there's a small strip of metal on both sides because you will require to pull it out with both your hands.

You can remove the top Hard drive cage to accomodate longer cards, but I wouldn't really do it for 2 reasons (1 of them is something you'll figure out when you read part 2) and the second part is that if you're having anything more than 10inches non reference cards that occupies 2-3 pcie slots with 2x 120mm fan for cooling the GPU (like Asus EAH 6950 CUII) will be best if there's some sort of a support bracket for longer cards. The entire weight of the card rests on the PCIE slot of the motherboard (all the more reason to secure the motherboard properly on the motherboard tray and the PCIE slot).
*i.imgur.com/AC7Fc.jpg*i.imgur.com/a49jx.jpg
*i.imgur.com/jqIxv.jpg​The hard drive's tray is strong enough and flexible with a space of 2cm between the trays.

*i.imgur.com/l7FiY.jpg *i.imgur.com/BdiLP.jpg*i.imgur.com/n5gXD.jpg

*i.imgur.com/8YhrL.jpg*i.imgur.com/gi3SK.jpg​You can mount 3.5" and 2.5" for your SSD, do note that you will need to remove a clipped support to hold 3.5" drive on the tray.


*i.imgur.com/zCzrl.jpg
*i.imgur.com/YDMoN.jpg*i.imgur.com/jBVKJ.jpg*i.imgur.com/ZSpgj.jpg​You're 2 phillips screws away from opening the strong bracket that holds the PCB in place. The cables are pretty long. USB 3.0 header cable is about 34" long, Molex cable that provides dedicated power for both front fan's LED lights are 25 inch, front panel headers are 32 inch in length.

The HD audio headers where a lot of motherboards unfortunately are place between the I/O ports and PCIe slots is a generous 34 inch long- long enough re-route them to the back of the motherboard tray, through the cut-out above the psu mount and connect them either to the audio header on the motherboard- or in my case- Asus Xonar DX.
*i.imgur.com/8xdil.jpg​Oh yeah, the entire top panel can be removed. All you need to do is remove 10 philips head screws (3 on each sides of the top- 2 screws of both sides securing the top panel on the rear panel, 4 each using 5.25 cage as a support. 2 screws that secures the front panel Power/Reset/USB 3.0/Firewire/toggle switch bracket and 2 more screws underneath it on the front panel frame of the case).
*i.imgur.com/4H0ZV.jpg*i.imgur.com/XjXd3.jpg​There's nothing much to see here, except that you can remove the plastic tray by removing the screw inside and you can a a support on the top panel to hold the front panel cables so that they will not fall over the 5.25" bays.
*i.imgur.com/ISefs.jpg*i.imgur.com/V7sXs.jpg*i.imgur.com/Szdk5.jpg​But one thing for sure, the top panel holds the front and the rear panel together. You remove the hard drive bays and that will explain why the framework feels flimsy after removing sidepanels, the front panel and the hard drive cage between the 5.25" bays and the hard drive cage on the base.
*i.imgur.com/HjSRC.jpg*i.imgur.com/7ROqj.jpg​You can dock any add-on cards upto 12" with the hard drive cage but once you remove it you get about 5" inch of extra space. As said on the first part of external impressions, if you are going to install anything more than 10.5" dual slot GPU cards, best if there's something to support the weight of longer cards.


*i.imgur.com/7pi6y.jpg*i.imgur.com/SYQcn.jpg​All the cables hold together

If you want hold down the 12v EPS cable against the motherboard backplate, you can use the plastic hold-down hook that is bundled with the accessories. There isn't any cable tie clips provided over there, but that's when this plastic hook attachment helps. From the other side, other than the SATA cables, a lot of the cable mess are hidden and tucked away (Safely) thanks to the L shape design. Maybe the recess area on both the side panel be shaped in such a way that it can in the same area as the L-shaped recessed area on the motherboard backplate. This way if you haven't used any cable ties you can be assured that the thick cables won't come in the way when securing the panel. Not sure if people and designs want a big L shaped mould on the sidepanel, but it is just a thought.

Moving on,

*hardwarebbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_0272-150x150.jpg*hardwarebbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_0270-150x150.jpg*hardwarebbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_0268-150x150.jpg*hardwarebbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_0266-150x150.jpg​The light is bright enough to illuminates the case. especially on the side panel. If you see the 3rd picture, you can see the light coming out between the side portion of the front panel and 200mm's side panel (3rd picture). The side panel and the front panel is secured properly- and both the HDD cages are in place.

To sum it all up, the case is weak, especially in the rear panel. You will not get that "wobbly" case once the case is filled up with your system configuration.

The only issue I have is that the case is weak and packaging doesn't really do the justice of protecting it properly. I haven't taken a look at the 400R yet, but if its the same case design and built quality I am very dissapointed on the 500R because it commands an extra premium. Its not the best case Corsair came up with. The front panel design is nothing new, Lian Li did it with K62w and Antec pretty much has it on 1200 Full tower. Both are solid steel cases and both are very strong. 500R is more designed to be a mass produced model to go head to head with few best selling cases for the price point, but its too expensive and not really worth the risk. The weight of the core configuration does hold the case together (In layman's terms: imagine its like a packaging box- like the case's packaging box. Its weak because its empty but once the box is filled with stuff and properly taped on both ends, it does hold the basic cube shape and they don't wobble.) and most of the wobbling does stop (despite filling it up and when you remove the HDD case, the case does tend to bend).

*India (MRP)*  Rs. 7,299/-
*U.S.*  $ 129
*U.K.*   £ 87.00  

You can see the case's structure wobbling when Overclock3D removes the hard drive cage.

That's a lot of money for this case type. To quote what I've said in the previous pages:



> I really feel that cases that has a lot of features should also have a better packaging to protect the rear, faceplate and side panels. Do also note that this does not only apply to Corsair, but to every manufacturers who use the same type of packaging. The reason I am highlighting this here is only because I've evaluated few cases as of now and it seems this is inevitable.
> 
> Usually when they are packed and shipped, there is a pretty good chance of accidental mishandling: from the manufacturers to another countries and then reaches to retailers via the respected distributors and somewhere in the middle the cases take a trip around central warehouse to local storage that most nationwide distributors and major retailers have. Some people buy via online mostly because they cannot get it locally- or they simply want it delivered. Now since I've basically summed it up, you and I will agree that some concern will be there at the back of the head.
> 
> ...



The Specs, and space is pretty good and you are getting a USB 3.0 header, but as a system builder you will do a lot of upgrades- minor or major. Build quality prevents me to recommends this case in the long run. There are many case around this price range and they have been around. If the 400R is a lot cheaper than this with the same basic specs with few differences here and there, I [highlight]might[/highlight] consider to shortlist the case as an alternate- with a disclaimer on the built quality if its the same as the 500R.

[highlight]Actions/Feedback from trusted and well-known source speak louder than claims and promises:[/highlight] Corsair, even in India, leads as an example as they have a very strong track record of giving a no-questions-asked replacement on the power supplies and a history of making lot of good H/W. That's the reason why people prefer Corsair power supplies. You [highlight]can't really trust[/highlight] the repair work of power supplies even from the official service centre because you don't know what they are doing and if they're doing it properly with the right tools and right replacement parts hence you will end up with a doubt at the back of your head that would it damage the system. Goes without saying, Corsair is an example and a benchmark (in this respect) of what all distributors/power supply companies in India should follow preferably.

Even in Delhi where Dealers are Succumbed to stock and sell a product distributed by a Delhi-based distributor (which doesn't really reflect the same track record on low end products) eventually have given in pressure in certain instances, like when some people in Indian tech forums (One member from Indian video Gamers forum said it clearly) where a major dealer "insisted" on selling something else, the buyer insisted on Corsair AX series unit- and eventually he got it from the same dealer. There you go!! The power of making an excellent product. Corsair is on a streak and cannot afford to loose it, especially here. All the more reason my doubts on the build quality should be seen as a feedback because I've seen Corsair doing a lot of implementations and changes based on forum feedbacks. This isn't a forum, but its a good point.


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