Corsair Carbide 500R: A Corsair in Every Home
by Dustin Sklavos on October 25, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Conclusion: Another Solid Enclosure from Corsair
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that you just can't really go wrong buying a Corsair enclosure. The issue with the Carbide 500R is that it has to compete with two other Corsair cases in the same price bracket, or for not much more money you can get Rosewill's Thor v2, a case that performs roughly as well acoustically and better thermally. There are a few tradeoffs to be made there, but I can definitely see someone making them. Likewise, if you go $40 south, you run smack into Fractal Design's Arc Midi, a case which is a bit louder but otherwise about as effective at keeping your system cool.
As far as competing against itself, Corsair's "evolution in reverse" continues. With the existence of the 500R, I have a hard time recommending end users spend up for the Graphite 600T or Obsidian 650D. Those are both fine cases, but honestly I feel like the 500R is simply a better performer. Your mileage may vary and you may find the aesthetics of the other two cases more your speed, but Corsair threatens to obsolete themselves with the 500R.
The other options on the market require a trade-off here and there, so I can see why someone would go for Fractal Design's Arc Midi or Rosewill's Thor v2 over the 500R, but I can also see why someone would opt for the 500R instead of either alternative. That's probably not the most useful conclusion, but thankfully in this price range there just aren't too many cases that are authentically bad performers, so you can start to "season to taste" and choose an enclosure that fits your needs best. If it were my call I'd probably save the forty bucks and go for the Arc Midi, but the 500R isn't a bad choice.
As weird as it sounds, what I think may be the weakest point about the 500R is actually its price tag. While the performance probably warrants the money, the materials used in the construction don't feel like a $40 improvement over the Carbide 400R. I think if Corsair chopped $20 off the MSRP of the 500R, it'd be the obvious choice in its market instead of stratifying things. At $119 it'd be an easy recommendation over any of Corsair's other enclosures, as well as the Arc Midi and Thor v2.
Still, $139 isn't bad, and right now there's a $15 rebate on the Corsair Carbide 500R if you're a gambler. As always, Corsair has produced a case that's reasonably attractive, idiotically easy to assemble, and a solid performer. In some ways it's really the high point of their enclosure business. There are alternatives, but if you like the way it looks and want something easy to build, the 500R is worth your hard earned money.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
JonnyDough - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
I third it. I spent way too much on a Kandalf case from Thermaltake back in the day and to be honest, I prefer my smaller Ultra case I got free with a purchase from TigerDirect. The big case is fancy, but I don't do water cooling, and it ends up just taking up more room and being harder to work on due to having to move it with limited space. What we need to see more of is a focus on useability when it comes to putting parts in and taking them out.No more craning to get your fingers around a jumper, or working to get cables out of the way, or to get one plugged in, etc. Building a PC needs to become a bit easier.
I think that it starts with chip makers (CPU sockets and cooler designs), moves to motherboard makers (who have always had to consider the case and access in design), and ends with case makers.
Seems to me we could use some sort of new design, perhaps a new style of motherboard. I like the idea of one that has PCB in the shape of a blanket draped over a wire to form a lean/to or tent. I haven't had geometry in awhile and its a pretty useless subject in most career fields.
Like this, /\ A fan at the bottom could draw in cool air along the bottom edge of a case and push it upwards over several components. The heat would rise some off each component and since they are on a slope, the heat would not all blow onto the next component. Just imagine a slew of newly designed cases that would come along with it. Conical ones could be quite interesting.
I would love it if a motherboard manufacturer branched off and decided to try perfecting some arching/joining PCB. I wonder if anything like that has been done? What about two-sided PCB with the cooler running parts on the bottom and reinforced mounting brackets?
Dustin Sklavos - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
$139 for a case, on the other hand, is totally worth it. ;)C300fans - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
A good case does not mean that it must have more holes. Fracle design labeled 139$ has much better quality, which provides you sound sponge isolation and dust filters on all holes as well as 3 pieces of silent cute fans.jamyryals - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
If they are going to do a white case, I would prefer the grills to be white as well.Lazlo Panaflex - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
FWIW, I personally haven't had any problems with Corsair rebates...but they do take their sweet time sending out the rebate card.
ckryan - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
Your detailed description of hot case-on-case action was appreciated. Have you considered trying your hand at bodice-ripping romance novels?justaviking - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
The sun glistened on his 6-core abs. As he approached, the motherboard could feel the heat radiating from him as his fan breathed warmly on her neck. Her heart began to overclock...No, I don't think so.
SquattingDog - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
Damn we need a like button here - this is awesome @ justaviking - made my morning :)Jeffk464 - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
It would take a lot of convincing for someone to prove to me that its 2.5 times better than my antec 300. Oh, and its white.compudaze - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
I went from an antec 300 to a corsair 600t. I loved my 300. It was the best case I ever owned until I got the 600t. But honestly, u don't know what u r missing until you build a pc in a corsair case.