Corsair Carbide 200R review

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Verdict:

A neat, clear design and plenty of room inside make this a an excellent budget

Review Date: 9 Mar 2013

Price when reviewed: £50

Buy it now for: £55
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.dabs.com

Reviewed By: Katharine Byrne

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

User Rating

ExpertReviews Award

It might not be the most exciting-looking case, but the Corsair Carbide 200R has a clean look that's perfect if you want to build a neat and unobtrusive PC. Its black matt front panel is plain and clear, just housing two USB3 ports and separate headphone and microphone jacks. It's also extremely well made and has plenty of room inside thanks to a clever design.

Inside, there's enough space for even the longest graphics cards thanks to the positioning of the drive bays. The 3.5in bats are perpendicular to the motherboard, so their cables won't cause an obstruction. Both of the 2.5in bays face towards the motherboard, but there's a gap between them and the 5.25in bays, leaving a hole big enough for a full-size graphics card.

We were disappointed to see the hard disk bays were made of plastic rather than the metal of the three sturdy 5.25in bays, but the tool-less mounts were very secure and easy to use. We found the SSD bays a tight squeeze and required some brute force to slot a drive in.

The rest of the case has excellent build quality, with its largely steel body providing a welcome weight and durability. Pre-cut holes in the motherboard tray are useful for running cables neatly out of the way and keeping your PC clutter-free.

The Carbide 200R comes with one rear-mounted 120mm fan and one 120mm fan at the front. These shift a fair amount of air and were generally unobtrusive. If you need more cooling, there's room for a further 120mm fan and five 140mm fan.

For the quality of the case and clever internal design we can forgive the plastic drive bays. If you want a great case on a tight budget, the Corsair Carbide 200R is the model for you and wins a Budget Buy award.

However, if you're looking for something a little fancier then check out the Corsair Obsidian 550D.

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