Corsair's support for the smaller PC form factors is certainly a growing one and the Computex trade show revealed two more sub-ATX cases from this popular case manufacturer. The first we're looking at today and it's called the Carbide Air 240. If you're familiar with cube cases or Corsair's cases in general, you'll most likely remember the Carbide Air 540 , which picked up a rare Premium Grade award for its great cooling, original design and reasonable price tag. The Carbide Air 240 is essentially a miniature version of this, catering exclusively for micro-ATX and mini-ITX formfactors (in the same model). Show  Click to enlarge The main feature that stood out with the Air 540 was its dual-chamber design, with the motherboard and related components in one side and the storage and PSU in the other. It kept things neat, although the case did sport a rather wide footprint as a result, with a width of 332mm. This is considerably larger even than exceptionally big cases such as Corsair's own Obsidian 900D or Nanoxia's Deep Silence 6 Click to enlarge Thankfully, the Air 240 doesn't suffer from the same problem. At 260mm wide, it's only a tad wider than the BitFenix Prodigy - it's actually 8cm shorter and just 4cm deeper than the BitFenix case too so overall the Carbide Air 240 is relatively compact all things considered. Externally it looks very much the same as its larger sibling, with a left-mounted mesh and right-mounted front panel, which offers two USB 3 ports plus the usual buttons and minijacks. Click to enlarge The mesh and grilles continue over the top of the case but the design is dominated by an enormous side window. There's no external 5.25in bays to spoil the view, though (although this means most fan controllers and optical drives are a no-no too) and the PSU and storage located in the other compartment behind the motherboard, the view should be pretty tidy, even if you're not the best at cable tidying. Build quality is good and this is a very sturdy case although the vast majority of the exterior is made of plastic. However, this does keep the weight down to less than 6kg, making the Air 240 a great LAN gaming case. Click to enlarge Like many cases of this type, the Air 240 can be used upright with the grille in a vertical stance or on its side, with the window at the top. To cater for this, even the case badge at the front can be rotated and the case turns quite easily into portrait mode for desk use too. There are no case feet fitted as standard for this reason - instead, four rubber adhesive feet are included with the case, which you can mount to whichever panel you end up using as a base. This is quite important because both potential base panels have large air vents in them so raising the case up by a centimeter or two could well boost cooling. Click to enlarge The far side panel sports a large magnetic dust filter that slots neatly into a recess that hides the side fan slots. It's a little loose, though, despite the powerful magnets, so you'll want to secure this if you're moving the case around else it may get knocked off. There's also a tool-free PCI expansion slot latch and as you can probably see from the photos, the case has quite a few thumb screws. The simple reason for this is that every panel is removable. This provides access to the various drive and fan mounts - more on these over the page. Many compact cabinets have taken the market and those with common designs are slowly disappearing, but Corsair Carbide AIR 540 Case has been really successful with innovative designs and lot of features for enthusiasts, especially with the two chamber components layout inside the cabinet. Today, I am reviewing the latest or the small brother of the Air 540, the Corsair Carbide AIR 240 cabinet. A small cube-shaped two chamber enclosure supports many ITX to m-ATX motherboards still having a mid tower case worth of space inside in a compact format. Allowing long and multiple graphics cards support with lot of airflow to keep them running cool. Corsair Carbide AIR 240 provides flexibility of installing a good air cooling or all in one or even a fully customized water cooling setup, giving you lot of cable management options without taking up too much space on your deck or beside your computer table, plus a windowed side panel, which lets you show off your hardware. And most important supporting full size power supply unit not the small format PSU. Most loving part is that the case can operate in a traditional PC orientation with the windowed panel to the left or windowed panel on the top in a HTPC style alone side your Home audio-video setup. FeaturesNow let's have a look on what features does AIR 240 have for us.
Specifications
PackagingStandard plain brown packaging with product image and few paragraph describing features outside. Inside, two large Styrofoam blocks protecting case from top and bottom. Case is covered with plastic bag. Guide and accessories for the Air 240 in separate white box. Accessories include
Close lookFront and side view Back side Removing 3.5 hdd bay cover. Left side or Top panel features a large smoky blue tinted plastic window. Power supply side panel features a magnetic dust filter which is extremely easy to remove . All panels( excluding front bezel )are held in place with thumbscrews on the back. Front IO panel Front bezel with Corsair Logo. The orientation of the logo can be adjusted according to the case orientation. Lot of Inside view, with stock fans. Cable Management points and PSU rubber stand. Panel filter from inside. Top 2.5 SSD bay Front Panel power button from inside and cables Motherboard mounting screws. Component Installed. Finally, I found Carbide Air 240 case to be a very pleasing case to build especially for those who are looking for a compact format case. The case is attractive and classy with industrial look same as its big brother Air 540. With more than enough drive capacity and super ventilation options considering the small form factor. Pros
Cons
Taking into consideration the above features, air and water cooling support the Corsair Air 240 includes, it's a good value for money case. If you are looking for a small form factor case with a large side viewing window, superb design with air and water cooling support, the Corsair Carbide Air 240 case is for you. A compact PC case made for maximum cooling. Corsair Carbide Air 240 cabinet is a fantastic product with excellent design and worthy of our PC TeK REVIEWS Excellence Award. |
