Windowed Corsair 230T Reviewed

[SageC]

So I recently did a build for someone in the Corsair 230T and since this case is reasonably new I thought I’d give my thoughts on it. Before I get started I'm just going to let you guys know that the photos contained within this review will be nothing special and you’ll probably be better off going to Newegg for proper photos of this case.

 

Outside the case:

 

The case features external dimensions of 440mm x 505mm x 205mm (HxLxW). On the bottom we find a dust filter under the power supply and feet that aren't quite tall enough to keep a nice gap for airflow of the power supply. The blue version of this case features a sleek gunmetal grey colour scheme with black as a secondary. On the right side panel of the case we find a acrylic window that spans from the back of the case to the edge of the motherboard, as well as some stamped detailing in the side panel. The left side panel is mostly blank with only carrying over the stamped detail that was featured on the right side panel. At the back of the case we find a standard ATX tower layout featuring 7 PCI slots. Around to the front of the case features 3 5.25” and a plastic grill covering the 2 120mm fans.

 

The front I/O consists 2 USB 3.0s, which is nice to see compared to some manufactures combo of 1 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0. We also find headphone and mic jacks and power and reset buttons with a built in HDD LED, the power and reset buttons are a big complaint. They feel really cheap and mushy with almost no noticeable click and feel like you pushing on a piece of plastic rather than an actual switch.

 

 

Build quality doesn't feel too amazing the plastic grill in front of the fans flexes with almost no effort and the back panel had some noticeable flex when install the I/O plate and power supply but other than that the build quality is reasonable. The case has little flex when assembled and the side panels themselves have very little flex but the tabs on the side panel bend incredibly easily so if you don’t line up the side panel perfectly when putting it on the case it’s very likely you’ll bend a tab and have to bend it back in place.

 

Inside the case:

 

Taking off the side panel we find the motherboard tray with a large enough CPU cut out that I was able to install a after market cooler without removing the motherboard. It can fit up too a full sized ATX motherboard but the standoffs are non-removable, which is a bit weird. In terms hardware compatibility you can fit up to 160mm tall CPU cooler and room enough to fit any graphics card in the first slot and a 320mm long card in the second slot.

 

We also find the three 120mm fans, one mounted in the back and two mounted in the front, which feature nice bright blue LEDs, also may I mention how quiet the stock fans are at 12V, that’s definitely a plus. In terms of fan mounting options the back and front mounts can only fit 120mm fans, there’s also a 120mm/140mm fan mount on the bottom and two 120mm/140mm fan mounts in the top, the 120mm variants of which are of centred to better accommodate radiators. The back and top fan mounts also feature anti-vibration rubber grommets which is cool feature.

 

 

In terms of storage mounting options we find a completely plastic drive cage towards the front of the case. It can mount four 2.5” and four 3.5”, all of which mount completely without the aid of screws or trays. The drives just slide in on rails and a plastic pin clips in to the side, the drives don’t wiggle or slide around and the mounting solution feels really secure. The cage to hold the 5.25” devices seems secure and is all metal. The mounting mechanism is also screwless and consists of pins that slide into the screw holes on the side of the device, it seems a bit flimsy but I didn't get to try it so I’ll assume that it works fine.

 

Removing the front bezel we find a mesh dust filter in front of the 2 front fans, we also find that the front I/O is attached directly to the chassis and not the front bezel which is really awesome! We also find that the front I/O cables are all black and the USB 3.0 cable is a flat ribbon cable which works really nice for cable management.

 

Cable management:

 

Speaking of cable management, behind the motherboard tray we find 30mm deep worth of space for your cables. We also find cable routing holes in their standard places, along the right edge of the motherboard, in front of the power supply, and above the top left corner of the motherboard. The holes don’t feature any grommets but do have rolled edges. Finally we also find some cable tie down points which is a nice feature but it would still be nice if there were a few more.

 

Cable management in this case is alright, I’d appreciate it the right holes were placed more inline with the USB 3.0 and 24pin cables and if there was another hole closer to the bottom centre of the motherboard for front panel connectors. Also the top left hole is a bit awkward and some people may have some difficulty feeding through anything larger than a 4pin cable.

 

Conclusion:

 

So basically the conclusion is that this case is what you’d expect for a $70 case. It has the essentials but it also leaves some stuff to be desired when it comes to the fine details. If you’re on a budget this case is a stylish and practical contender.

 

Also this completely assembled with rivets which I know is par the course, but it’s really a standard that I’d like to see change, cause I think a world where cases are shipped Ikea style would be sweet.

 

Pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ZacDaMan72]

I would've gotten that if they had a black one with the blue LEDs.

[ShadowCaptain]

Great review, seems like a solid budget case with enough options for the average none extreme build or gamer that doesnt want a super flashy super expensive case

 

I must say, i really love how these cases look. Strangely one of my favourite cases aesthetically (dont know why)