The Corsair Carbide 400Q Case Review
by E. Fylladitakis on April 29, 2016 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- ATX
- E-ATX
- Carbide
The Exterior of the Corsair Carbide 400Q
Corsair went with a minimalistic refined design with the Carbide 400Q. The entirety of the case, both inside and outside, is satin black. It is worthwhile to mention that the external paint job is immaculate and that the paint is highly resistant to fingerprint marks. All of the case’s panels are flat and metallic, including the faceplate - the top of which is the only part of the case that is making a rounded edge. Measuring 46.4 cm tall, 21.5 cm wide and 42.5 cm deep (18.3 × 8.45 × 16.75 in), the Carbide 400Q is a rather compact midi ATX tower case like Corsair claims it is, falling between the SilverStone Fortress FT05 (7.5% larger) and the NZXT S340 (9.5% smaller). While NZXT managed to make their case nearly 10% more compact, we should note that the Carbide 400Q supports more parts and larger hardware parts, such as EATX motherboards.
11.2 oz (330ml) can inserted as size reference
The front faceplate cannot be opened, as there are no external drive bays anyway. Its frame is actually plastic, with the metallic plate being just a top cover for aesthetic purposes, and can be removed to clean the front filters and to allow access for the mounting of liquid cooling radiators. Corsair says that it can be simply pulled off, but that was not true for our sample: it required a lot of force to come off and that does not bode well for the longevity of the plastic mounting studs.
The front I/O ports and buttons are at the top panel, near the front side of the case. Starting from left to right, we can see a small reset button, an activity LED, two 3.5mm headphone jacks, two USB 3.0 ports and one large square power button.
A look at the rear of the Carbide 400Q reveals that the PSU compartment is located at the bottom, a common design feature as of late. We can also see the 120 mm fan, the position of which can be adjusted vertically by about one inch. There are no holes for cables or liquid cooling hoses.
One of the most interesting parts of the Carbide 400Q is the top panel, which features a magnetic cover with a narrow layer of sound dampening material. The case comes without any fans from the factory but, should the user wishes to trade acoustics with thermal performance, the top cover can be simply pulled off to reveal the perforated top of the case.
The Carbide 400Q stands on four rather tall plastic feet with rubber anti-slip pads at their bottoms. The feet are particularly tall for a case that has limited underside ventilation (only for the PSU). Although the feet can be removed, the 400Q is designed to function with the feet attached - the PSU intake will be blocked and the furniture will be exposed to many rigid objects that can cause damage. The PSU intake has a nylon filter that can be removed from the back of the case.
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close - Saturday, April 30, 2016 - link
Well, "bent" and "extend" are correct, just not in that sentence. So only a proof reader would spot it, not a spell checker. And the author's name suggests he may not be a native speaker so you can expect some mistakes. As long as the technical details are correct I can get over spelling errors, photos that weren't shot RAW, and other BS like this coming from people that have nothing better to do.jdavenport608 - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
I come here for the expert and professional reviews. I would expect the expert to be able to sound the part. Basic spelling and grammar mistakes make me wonder about other parts of the review. Plus it breaks up the smooth flow of the article to stumble across these types of mistakes.I have been wondering about the editorial staff of some sites I read for awhile now. Sadly, Anandtech is not the only site with this problem.
As for being free. I have no ad blockers running. Plenty of ads here.
The_Assimilator - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
^ This guy gets it. Simple spelling and grammar mistakes reveal a lack of professionalism.MatthewsWal - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
<irony>Yeah because two simple spelling mistakes that a spellchecker cannot catch is what makes a review unprofessional.</irony> Have you ever bothered checking the background of the writer? Other than that he is not even American and he still writes better than most I've seen, I still prefer reading a piece written by someone with a phd than "reviews" written by people of questionable education and expertise.The_Assimilator - Saturday, April 30, 2016 - link
Allow me to introduce you to the concept of "an editor".JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
You mean a b itchy response to Corsair advertising, right? Tech journalists who run a website with paid employees don't review stuff for free, you know. They make articles so that they can continue to have a job.svan1971 - Saturday, April 30, 2016 - link
economymatthew - Amen.Black Obsidian - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
I picked up this case's sibling, the 400C (full-frame side window, no acoustic dampening, dust filter replacing top panel) and then stuffed a 5820K, Corsair H110i GT, and MSI 980Ti into it. With Corsair AF120/140 Quiet fans in the top and rear running at 100% it's still virtually silent at idle, and normal gaming load conditions. Airflow is a bit weak, but this isn't a case for extreme overclockers anyway.I had the same difficulty with the front panel, solved by bending the plastic tabs inward a bit so the force required to remove the panel is now only "quite a lot" rather than "Hulk Smash!". Also, as much as I like the aesthetics of the PSU/HDD/wiring shroud at the bottom, it was quite a pain to put back into place after the motherboard was installed.
Overall a very reasonable case for $110CAD, but I don't expect it to have the kind of longevity my Corsair 650D and Antec P180 enjoyed.
nagi603 - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
Good to hear of an owner... and speak of the devil, I still have a P180 in active service. :)Black Obsidian - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
My original P180 lasted a long time, but my back still hurts just thinking about it.