Corsair's Crystal 460X RGB: a Step Up?

[ProdigyzMined]

Recently, I purchased one of Corsair's new Crystal 460X RGB cases. The lure of tempered glass and RGB was too much for me to resist. Coming from what has widely been regarded as one of Corsair's greatest cases, the Air 540, how does the 460X stack up? Lets start with some specs:

Length: 440mm

Width: 220mm

Height: 464mm

Fan layout: Front 3x 120, 2x140 Top 2x120, 2x140 Back 1x120

Max GPU length: 370mm

Max CPU cooler height: 170mm

Max PSU length: 200mm

Expansion Slots: 7

Drive capacity: 2x 3.5", 3x2.5"

 

I'll start this review by saying that I thoroughly pushed this case to it's limit. My GPU, an Asus RX 480 Strix, is 298mm long. I've installed a 240mm radiator in the top. My power supply, a Corsair RM1000, is 180mm long, within 2cm of the max size officially supported by this case. I've also crammed two 3.5" hard drives AND an NZXT Hue+ controller in the basement as well, making for an incredibly tight squeeze. The end result after a lot of thought and planning is a beautiful computer I can be proud to show off. Let's go ahead and get into some pros/cons.

Pros:

• Tempered glass. It looks so much better than the plexi-glass used on most cases. No micro scratches, and the subtle tint makes it look absolutely stunning.
• 3 included RGB fans. Keeping in mind that this case retails for $150, the inclusion of 3 fans that currently retail for $20 each means that you're getting a tempered glass case for around $90 if you don't count the fans. It also includes the RGB controller on the I/O, which is a nice touch.
• Basement cover. Without this modular cover, there's absolutely no hope in hell I could have managed to make this build look as good as it does. It's a necessity, especially in this form factor.
• Speaking of form factor, that's another pro for this case. I deviated from my usual mid tower computers when I bought the cube-style Air 540, and as easy as it was to build in it took up so much space on my desk and really wasn't all that nice to look at.
• Dust filter coverage. You've got filters on the front, the top and the bottom, which is a substantial improvement over the Air 540 which only included the one on the front. Not to mention the front filter lines up with the fans perfectly; so satisfying.
• General Aesthetic. It's a really good looking case, with subtle features and a strikingly modern overall style.
• You can move the Hard drive cage about 1/2 an inch forward in the basement. This saved my butt during the build process. While this makes the cage visible from the outside, It's definitely nice to have as an option and I applaud Corsair for thinking about it.
• the new SP120 RGB fans push a LOT of air. I was thoroughly impressed with both the airflow and the acoustics.

Cons:

• That bottom basement cover doesn't include any cutouts for the connectors leading to the bottom of the motherboard, like audio, USB, and front panel connectors. Why? I ended up cutting out my own cutouts for everything using a dremel, and you can't tell. Why couldn't this have been done at the factory?
• The case's dimensions are a bit tighter than I would have liked. A bit of extra depth for more power supply clearance and extra width for additional cable management room would have made this build so much simpler.
• the 2.5" drive bays around back are not individually removable. Basically, all 3 are in or none. Kind of frustrating when there really isn't much room around back to begin with.
• During the conversion from the 400C to the 460X, corsair decided to replace the one large cutout over the expansion slots with a series of holes. Not only do these holes restrict general access to the expansion slot screws, but they're visible through the glass. I would have liked to see the vertical edges of the glass blacked out like the top/bottom sections are to hide silly things like this.
• The glass panels rest on the screws. If the screws aren't in, the glass has nothing to sit on. Bit of an odd predicament if I'm honest.
• Fan controller does not integrate with any of Corsair's software. Why not? I use both CUE and Link daily...

Summary:

The Crystal 460X RGB has some semi-direct competition in the market, mainly the S340 Elite by NZXT and the Enthoo Evolv with Tempered Glass by Phanteks. I think the 460X strikes a balance that it's competitors haven't yet reached. It combines a relatively small mid-tower form factor with aesthetics like Tempered Glass, and comes with 3 RGB fans. It's beautiful, it's quiet, and it's something I'll be able to brag about for years to come.

 

Grades:

Aesthetics: 10/10

Build Quality: 8/10

Ease of Building: 6/10

Acoustics: 8/10

Feature Set: 10/10

OVERALL: 42/50

 

Photos:

Spoiler

 

[RadiatingLight]

Very good.

apparently I had a much harder time routing cables behind the motherboard tray (maybe because I have 2 HDDs) and was extremely frustrated by the lack of room. I ended up taking out all 3 SSD trays, and leaving my SSD just floating behind the mobo tray.