Corsair Carbide SPEC 01 & 03 Review

Up Close:  Exterior

At only 428x200x447mm (HxWxD) the Spec-01 is only a little bigger than a few of the  M-ATX tower cases we’ve looked at recently.  It also has a full size acrylic window on the left.  The window is mounted into a slightly raised area of the case side to mimic the bulge on the right side of the case, thus maintaining the symmetry of the design.  The window is held in by small tabs so should you choose to mod the case by changing the window, perhaps for a colour or deeper smoke it will be the work of seconds to remove it.

     

 

Corsair have provided two 5.25″ bays, which is more than enough in this day and age.  The drives are covered by simple smooth panels which fit extremely well and are easily removed and re fitted from inside the front panel.  The front I/O consists of 1xUSB2, 1xUSB3 and the usual Audio sockets.  The power and reset buttons are of the short throw type, giving a nice positive click when pressed.  Along with the HDD activity Light, there is also a slim LED strip running across the top of the I/O area.

     

 

The front grill is made of rigid plastic strips which along with adding an individual style to the case should also afford plenty of ventilation to the intake interior.  And just so you know who makes the case, Corsair have added their logo to the bottom.

     

 

The roof of the Spec-01 is other wise plain aside from a grill which is able to take two 120mm fans.  This unfiltered grill is off set away from the motherboard, giving the first hint at one of the hidden talents of this case.  Did we mention the interfan spacing was 15mm?

     

 

Round the back there’s a mount for a 120mm fan, although none is provided.  Corsair have also included a generous seven expansion slots with vented covers.  These are removed via external screws as opposed to the more usual internal thumb bolts.  We’re guessing it’s little things like this that help keep the costs down.  There’s also a PSU aperture able to accept standard ATX PSUs 

     

 

The case stands on four rather basic feet, which although not glued on in Antec Style are actually only push clipped in place.  They did however prove to be robust and didn’t fall off or become dislodged despite our dragging the case around the desk during th review.  At the rear of the case a metal mesh grill covers the PSU intake, benefiting as it does from a removable filter.