Corsair Carbide 270R
$99 | WWW.CORSAIR.COM A classy chassis comprised of compromise.
Coming in at a reasonably affordable $99, the Carbide 270R is the first Corsair case that incorporates the look and feel of the sophisticated 400C but at a more aggressive price.
The front panel curves down into a smooth, brushed aluminium-effect plastic finish, with the front I/O tucked away down the side in a recess. On either side, you’ll find a large section of filtered fan intakes, around 2.5cm deep — more than enough to keep your front system fans well fed.
Speaking of cooling, there’s room for a 360mm/ 280mm radiator in the front (three 120mm fans or two 140mm), a 240mm/280mm radiator in the roof (two 120mm/140mm) and a single 120mm radiator in the rear. Pretty neat, if water cooling is your thing.
The vent on the roof is long, but not long enough to mount three 120mm fans. Our biggest gripe with the top fan mount lies with the fact that it has no dust filtering. The rest of the chassis is very spartan, too.
We can’t help but go back to that price. For $99, you could get NZXT’s S340 case, which looks crisper and cleaner, and has better dust filtration systems than the 270R. It is, however, more limited in its cooling support. But if that’s a problem, you could swap over to the Fractal Define S instead, which provides you with full unhinged access to up to two 360mm radiators top and front.
The Corsair Carbide 270R is a happy medium between the two. It’s not perfect, but for the price, it’s damn impressive and definitely one of our top three midrange chassis, despite its flaws.