Corsair Carbide 200R review

Performance Analysis

With no fan control on the 200R we could only test the case with its fans attached to molex connections to ensure they were running at full speed. At this setting, the case was not overly noisy, but we wouldn't call it quiet, as our hardware and the case fans were certainly audible thanks to the openings of the fan mounts.

Sadly, the 200R was only able to match the results posted by the Aerocool X-Predator X1 when its fans were on minimum. We've seen a small handful of cases with worse CPU temperatures than this, but this result gives the 200R the joint worst GPU temperature in our testing (which the Aerocool case was able to improve upon at maximum speed). There's little we can say to soften the blow here, as quite simply the default cooling of the 200R is very poor.


While it was good that the front intake was unrestricted by a drive cage, the solid design of the front panel seems to be the major problem, as the front fan can only draw air in through a small area in the sides of the front fascia. Repeating our test with the front panel off dropped CPU and GPU delta T results by 6°C and 9°C respectively, indicating that a lack of cool air reaching the hardware is hindering the case's performance. The empty fan mounts also meant that air was not channelled effectively through the case – we could certainly feel air escaping through the roof of the case before it reached our hardware.

Conclusion

The best budget cases are those that are simple but effective, not overloaded with features but well built and capable of providing adequate cooling for an average setup. It has to be said that Corsair gets a lot right with the 200R. The build quality of the case is consistently great throughout, as the case is rigid with no loose bits or sharp edges. Likewise, the design is super easy to work with, and makes building a system a breeze. While we've seen fan control in similarly priced cases like the X-Predator X1, its absence here is forgiveable, and USB 3 ports, lots of fan and drive mounts and a couple of dust filters mean that the 200R is a well-equipped little case.


However, as we know, a case's primary job is cooling hardware, and sadly the 200R falls flat on its face in this regard. The lack of cool air reaching the hardware is its main problem, and while Corsiar provides plenty of options to add more fans, people with £50 to spend on a case aren't looking to open their wallets again for extra cooling, not to mention the detrimental effect this would have on the case's noise output. Therefore, for those needing a chassis on a tight budget, the Antec One reigns supreme, striking a greater balance between cooling performance and design.