My experience with the Carbide Air 540 - some good, plenty of bad - for Redbeard

Hi guys, before i start, im german and this is mostly a translation of what i have posted on the Supportforum of Corsair in the German Hardwareluxx .

So dont be to harsh if you find any grammatical or spelling errors ;):

 

In this thread i met ELPR1NC1PAL, who was a developer of this case, before he left Corsair. He told me to replay the observations i made with the case to Redbeard, who was/is the lead developer on the 540, so you guys can make it better next time.

 

The reason why i bought this case is the concept of a cube able to fit a ATX board with very good airflow and the opportunity to install a Corsair H110 in the roof.

Also the big side window and the fast install of the hardware (at least in theory, see below) has been an argument.

 

While i was installing my hardware i noticed some designflaws, that i had not read in any reviews before and partially only happen in combination with certain hardware.

 

1. The fans are realy as bad as written in the german Computerbase-Review. You really dont want them. For that reason i orderd 5 Be Quiet Silentwings 2 140mm.

 

2. With the Silentwings there is a problem at the rear Fan.

http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/l5eoj4ig.jpghttp://s1.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/gxl6uwhc.jpg

Because the Silentwings have a single centered frame they are colliding with the rabbet of the case, so you cant get it far enough to the outside to screw the fan down. There will also be Problems with fans who have a solid edge construction like the Corsair Air Series AF140, there the edges will collide with the rabbet.

 

I thought i´d be smart and mount the fan on the outside, but then there is a problem with the side panel, because the rubber and the panel collide also.

http://s7.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/xf4l36te.jpg

I meanwhile removed the lower right rubber, so the fan is only mounted at 3 points, so i can close the side panel, but this solution is not optimal because of the vibrations.

I am going to replace that Silentwing with a Noctua NF-P14 FLX, that should resolve the problem.

 

3. If you want to install a Corsair H110 Watercooler like me (which the case seems to be predestined for) you have to install the rear fan on the outside if you want to use it.

http://s7.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/t8mkmf33.jpg

The reason for that is that the tubes of the H110 are almost in the back of the 540 and so theres no space left for the fan. Rotating the H110 180° is not an option, since in this case the tubes are to short to reach the CPU properly.

240 Watercooler are no a problem at all.

 

4. The 5,25" drive bay. There you Corsair guys really screwed up. But 1st things 1st.

As long as you only wanna install a normal DVD/BluRay drive everythings fine. Push the drive into the bay,wait for it to lock in and your done. But apparently Corsair is not aware that people who buy cases like the 540 sometimes like to install a fan controller in to the bay, especially if the original case fans are as **** as these ones.

Most fan controlers are much shorter as a normal drive, like my Lamptron Touch. With components that short the tool free latch doesnt work, so the only option left is to screw it into the bay. For that you have to remove the 5,25" drive bay from the case. After loosen the 2 Screws beside the Air filter you can push the plastic cover off the case. Then you see 4 thumbscrews, which you have to remove.

http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/55oduc3t.jpg

After that you can remove the Drive bay. A removeal of the latch is not intended by Corsair, but using a flat tiped screwdriver its not a problem at all. So i screwd in the fan controler and reinstalled the drive bay. The only thing missing now is reattaching the plastic cover on the case - and from this point on your not going any further.

http://s1.directupload.net/images/user/130730/temp/pwlcydwv.jpg

The reason for that is that there 2 steps steps in the plastic cover up and down that effectively prevent the drive covers from fitting through that opening.

The only solution in my case was to revome the step with a hand file.

http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/130731/temp/vtzgm46p.jpghttp://s1.directupload.net/images/user/130731/temp/7xb4nh3o.jpg

After that the plasticcover went onto the case without any problems.

 

ELPR1NC1PAL told me that this is cleraly a construction error that was already discovered while the design process and on the todo list to be fixed. But apparently it made it into the final product and i really must wonder why :mad:

 

He also asked me what i think about the design. I told him the reasons why i bought the case (see top of my post) and that it has something of Yin Yang.

 

I said like the left hand side where the board and graphicscard are, but im very dissapointed in the right hand side, because you wasted a lot of potential there.

Its already a cube, so noone would bother if its 3-4cm wider. Then you could place in the 5,25" bay horizontaly and also include some 3,5" Bays and 120mm Fans in the Front and the Back of the right hand side.

 

He said that you made a prototype of such a case, but that an analyst said that it couldn´t be done in the price point you had.

 

In my opinion a good example why an analyst should not have the last word in such things, because they have no clue whats going on.

The case would have been like 10€ more expensive, but close to be perfect.

Now its 10€ cheaper and wont be bought from anyone who wants to use more then 2 harddrives. (Usualy 1 SSD and 1 HDD these days)

 

I wonder if yor are planing an slightly larger obsidian version of the 540, with all the Designflaws solved and the 5,25" and 3,5" Bays as i suggested :idea:

The price point should not be a problem there ;):

I said like the left hand side where the board and graphicscard are, but im very dissapointed in the right hand side, because you wasted a lot of potential there.

Its already a cube, so noone would bother if its 3-4cm wider. Then you could place in the 5,25" bay horizontaly and also include some 3,5" Bays and 120mm Fans in the Front and the Back of the right hand side.

 

He said that you made a prototype of such a case, but that an analyst said that it couldn´t be done in the price point you had.

 

In my opinion a good example why an analyst should not have the last word in such things, because they have no clue whats going on.

The case would have been like 10€ more expensive, but close to be perfect.

Now its 10€ cheaper and wont be bought from anyone who wants to use more then 2 harddrives. (Usualy 1 SSD and 1 HDD these days)

 

I wonder if yor are planing an slightly larger obsidian version of the 540, with all the Designflaws solved and the 5,25" and 3,5" Bays as i suggested :idea:

The price point should not be a problem there ;):

 

I would buy that case - no question.

Fan problems solved.

 

::pirate::

Hey YB, he addressed the Corsair fans too.:(:

 

Because the Silentwings have a single centered frame they are colliding with the rabbet of the case, so you cant get it far enough to the outside to screw the fan down. There will also be Problems with fans who have a solid edge construction like the Corsair Air Series AF140, there the edges will collide with the rabbet.

I have the case, and its great. My issues with this case is that I cant install my AF140 on the rear because of the rubber grommet, and its funny on the website they have the same fan installed. It would have being nice if the case was another inch wider from the drive bay side. Overall a great case.

PS please make a magnetic dust filter for the bottom and top, because dust will still fall in from the top when not in use, even though am using it as an exhaust.

Thx for your response George

 

1) The fans included are not "bad", they are merely loud. The case is not designed to be a silent case, but a high airflow case, and as such we included fans that had excellent airflow characteristics. We've tested these internally in our sound labs and in our wind tunnel and found them to be an excellent combination of noise and airflow. However, it would be very easy to get quieter, slower, less effective fans. And in average to low wattage situations, there may not even be a noticeable difference. Our test platforms used a Sandy Bridge E processor and an overclocked GTX 480 for exceptional heat generation, a worst-case scenario.

 

I must disagree. A "good" fan is silent and still has good airflow. There i compare your fans with the ones of your competitors like Be Quiet. Yes i know that fans like this are way more expensive then your included fans (which are in the 5€/$ category i guess), but i would rather have a case with no included fans for a cheaper price then one with "bad" fans.

Every review i read that has tested the fan noise stated that the ones in the 540 are the loudest or almost the loudest in their test track in idle and load.

But the Windnoise of your fans is not the only problem, all 3 of the 540 fans i have are making massive bearing noises. It can be heard even through the windnoise in 12V and especially in 7V and 5V, when the windnoise is reduced. So i still dont want them at all ;)

 

About your testplatform, did you use a reference 480 that exhales the hot air itself or a custom card that keeps the hot air inside the case? Im asking because i have an EVGA GTX 780 SC ACX @1150/3200 that produces a lot of heat into the case when running at full load (Games like FC3/C3). But the Silentwings @100% have no problem at all keeping the card at a low 70°C/158°F.

 

2) You're right, with fans that use slightly oversized rubber corners, it is somewhat tight. It is still possible to install them though, with a bit of effort. Ideally they would have fit a bit less snugly, and that's something we will address in a future revision perhaps.

 

I tried for like 15 min and then put them on the outside, but even if id get them in somehow it would be a very thight fit and the rubber would become useless preventing vibrations to be transferred to the case.

 

3) Not sure why you are having a problem as we have installed the H110 in the top with a rear fan inside the case in the labs with no problem. It may be due to the order you installed them?

 

http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/130802/temp/bnt6l5o8.jpghttp://s7.directupload.net/images/user/130802/temp/i4max9p3.jpg

 

I measured a clear distance of 20mm between the rear and the tube of the H110. So theres no way to prevent a collision with the tubes if you use a normal 25mm fan. At one Side you would bend the tubes of the H110 very near at its connections to the radiator and on the other side you would again increase the vibrations transmitted to the case. If you mean by the order of installation the push exhaling configuration of my H110 to change that to a suck exhaling configuration, then i must say thats impossible. The radiator would come down 25mm and the tube connections and the fan will collide, so you cant install one of the two.

 

4) Thank you for the feedback, we will look into that bevel.

Thx

 

In our testing with a number of fan controllers, drive bay reservoirs, and other devices, we never ran into this issue. But perhaps the lamptron controller was not on our tests.

 

Well it seems then that there havent been any fan controllers or devices that short in the test, which is strange since 50% of all fan controllers are about the size of the lamptron. And none of that 50% will work with your quick fix latch.

 

 

For the Rest:

 

1st i didn´t wanted to offend you in any way, so if i did im sorry. I just told you what i have been told.

 

But he didnt say it was an outsider, the said it was an analyst within the company, for clearance.

 

I can see your intentions with the rear Chamber as you call it, but i have read a lot of comments in the review articles of the 540 sayin that it is its weak point and the reason not to buy it.

But why the price would rise 60$ if you increase the case 3-4cm and include an 3,5" Bay i cant follow, ELPR1NC1PAL sait it would be like 8-12$ and i have no reason to doubt that.

You would not have to include a 120mm fans, the opportunity to install one if we like to do would be enough ;):

 

So if you decide to bring an obsidian version without all that flaws id be a buyer.

Let me address your complaints one at a time:

 

1) The fans included are not "bad", they are merely loud. The case is not designed to be a silent case, but a high airflow case, and as such we included fans that had excellent airflow characteristics. We've tested these internally in our sound labs and in our wind tunnel and found them to be an excellent combination of noise and airflow. However, it would be very easy to get quieter, slower, less effective fans. And in average to low wattage situations, there may not even be a noticeable difference. Our test platforms used a Sandy Bridge E processor and an overclocked GTX 480 for exceptional heat generation, a worst-case scenario.

 

2) You're right, with fans that use slightly oversized rubber corners, it is somewhat tight. It is still possible to install them though, with a bit of effort. Ideally they would have fit a bit less snugly, and that's something we will address in a future revision perhaps.

 

3) Not sure why you are having a problem as we have installed the H110 in the top with a rear fan inside the case in the labs with no problem. It may be due to the order you installed them?

 

4) Thank you for the feedback, we will look into that bevel. In our testing with a number of fan controllers, drive bay reservoirs, and other devices, we never ran into this issue. But perhaps the lamptron controller was not on our tests.

 

 

One thing I would like to say - there are a number of very big factual inaccuracies in the things that you've been told. One of our former employees has made some comments there in the German thread which I feel are not fair.

 

For example, an "Analyst" was not consulted, that is nonsense. We do not use outside analysts. I am the sole product manager for cases and every design starts, and ends, with me. I use every engineer and internal designer available to me, all of which have built their own computers multiple times, some of us for more than two decades.

 

I made the decision not to make the case a true "double wide" case, not an analyst. The goal of this case was to focus on the main cooling chamber and cool the CPU and GPU. That's its purpose. Its sole reason for existence.

 

The rear chamber exists to be a serviceable if somewhat compact location to store only the necessities. We could have made it wider to fit extra radiators or 120mm fans or sideways 5.25" bays, but the case would have been significantly larger and more expensive. In fact, instead of $139 it would have likely been $199. And we may one day make that case. But that was not the point of this version of this design.

 

As always I value feedback, but please keep in mind if you're hearing from anybody else on any forum in any region or anywhere that they "designed" one of our cases, or brought up things that were "ignored" or something, especially if this person no longer works for the company, that things are not what they seem.

 

I am the one to blame if you dislike it, not some faceless analyst. And myself and the US development engineers, quality control engineers, and designers are the ones to credit if you DO like it.

 

So again, thanks for your feedback. I will definitely look into what modifications can be done and which directions we can go on future versions.

 

Hi George. Thankyou for taking the time to respond to this guys post in detail.

 

I just wanted to give you some feedback, the case looks awesome and almost ticks all the boxes for me. The major issue I have a problem with is the HDDs.. Only 2 3.5" on the bottom and no air filter for the holes. Would love to be able to install at least 3 HDDs out of the way in the rear of the case and have fan mounts on the bottom to blow air onto my GPUs.

 

I'm very tempted to buy this.. Although I'm holding out for an updated or newer one in the next year or so.. I desperately want to replace my antec 1200 but really don't want to mod this case too much . I have 3 velociraptors I run in RAID 0 and want to keep them out of the way so that's the only thing holding me back..

 

Thanks again for your hard work.. Just wanted to suggest what would make a great case unbeatable (imho).

Just got this case really amazed how easy it is to fit everything and it looks so clean and tidy and cool. I have a Zalman CNPS14X air cooler and have managed a red led 200mm fan in the top and one at the back so its very quiet so far except the case fan at the back which will be replaced with something quieter. Sorry corsair but it would have been better and cheaper not to supply the fans which nearly everybody who buys this case will replace.They are ok below 50%. More hot swaps or all hot swaps at the back would be way better. Honestly Hdd's are not visually appealing(unless you paint them matt black ha ha,,,maybe ) and there is plenty of room at the back to hide them. still a great case if not the best case for a long time.

I swear by this case but everyone is different and use different ideas.

Example I went for 120mm fans all round.

3x120mm in front 120SP

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/834/arjv.jpg

and at the back I went with a 120AF and used the H100i for the link system

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/802/556q.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/33/c7lt.JPG

I dont like your tone, first off the case is the best out. U can pick apart any thing, no product is perfect. Clearly this one stands above the rest. No I didnt have a extra 130 bucks for a case, but ive been in tech my whole life and this case is a breath of fresh air

On the side note, case should have two more 5.25 drive bay, right under the power switch. Or a muti function panel, fan controller