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
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
While Corsair's Carbide 400R performed fairly well thermally when we tested it, acoustics suffered a bit from the increased ventilation in the design compared to other enclosures. The 500R is very similar to the 400R, just a bit bigger and potentially more effective, so it'll be interesting to see how it performs both in comparison to Corsair's other enclosures as well as the rest of the field in this price range.
Thermals aren't stellar but they aren't exactly poor either. Most of the enclosures in this market are designed for overclocking and can handle this kind of load with aplomb, causing them to largely just bunch up. When looking at the raw numbers, the three settings of the fan controller on the 500R aren't exactly necessary either: Corsair would've been fine just tacking in a low fan speed toggle to keep noise down. The case seems fine at managing heat, so the extra fan speed just means more noise.
Idle noise is pretty good while load noise could stand to be a bit better, but this is the sacrifice you make when you opt for a case that's ventilated the way this one is. The 500R isn't awful, but it's just not bred for pure silence either. At least the inclusion of the fan controller allows it to make healthy gains on the less expensive 400R.
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CloudFire - Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - link
no one's going to convince you... once you have worked with corsair cases, then you will know. i came from an antec900, and my 600t is beyond 2.5x better. atrocious is an understatement for the antec series, in terms of cable management and management for everything else for that matter. in the corsair cases, cables are virtually gone from sight, you are only left with the cleanest build you will ever witness.Wardrop - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
Does anyone put performance over a case over aesthetics? I'd never buy a case just because it performed well. For me, aesthetics are 90% of what I look for in a case.surt - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
I certainly do. Function #1, Noise #2, Heat #3, Aesthetics ... not even #4.justben314 - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
Any thoughts on if an 11 inch card would fit equally as well as the ZOTAC at 10.5 inches? How close to 11.5 inches is getting too close?danjw - Friday, October 28, 2011 - link
Corsair's website states that this case has "Six 120mm/140mm fan mounts" and "Four 120mm fan mounts". You only list 4 140mm mounts, where are the other 2?justben314 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - link
The top 2 mounts support 120mm or 140mm. I believe that is the omission.