Corsair 4000D Airflow Review

Manufacturer: Corsair

UK price (as reviewed): MSRP £79.99 (inc. VAT)

US price (as reviewed): MSRP $79.99 (exc. tax)

As well as a new flagship family of coolers, Corsair is today launching a new mid-tower chassis, or three to be precise. The 4000D and 4000D Airflow are entering the market at £80 / $80 and differ only in the style of front panel: On the 4000D it’s solid steel whereas the 4000D Airflow opts for ventilated steel. Lastly, the same core chassis is also being made available as the iCUE 4000X RGB for £110 / $120, this time with a tempered glass front panel, three SP RGB Elite fans, and an iCUE-compatible, six-port RGB controller.

We’ve been sent a sample of each of the cases. While this written review primarily focuses on the 4000D Airflow, we have performance numbers for each of them, and most of what we say here applies to all three cases anyway, as there are no differences between them besides what’s already been covered.

Each case is available in black and white with no price difference between the colour options. The solid steel and ventilated front panels are going to be available to purchase separately soon, so switching between the 4000D and 4000D Airflow is as easy as that. It also means you could buy the front panel in the opposite colour for a contrast aesthetic. The tempered glass panel, however, will not be available separately, so your only way to get that is with the pricier RGB chassis.

Our white 4000D Airflow sample has a rather tasteful and understated design in our humble opinion, and the addition of grey and a few bright yellow highlights strikes us as almost sporty. The build quality is good for an £80 mid-tower too – nothing amazing but solid where it needs to be, neatly aligned, and painted well. It’s great that the ventilated front panel is made from steel, and while the grey section surrounding it is plastic, it’s extremely solid and very firmly attached (there’s no real reason to remove it, after all), so it doesn’t feel loose or flimsy.

Both the 4000D and 4000D Airflow come with two 120mm fans, one mounted as a front intake and the second as a rear exhaust. These are a new hydraulic bearing design with a maximum speed of ~1,300 RPM, and they feature what Corsair calls AirGuide technology i.e. the ‘anti-vortex vanes’ on the exhaust side designed to concentrate airflow. The case has space for up to four more 120mm fans (in total three in the front, two in the roof, and one rear), and 140mm fans are supported in the front and roof positions too but not the rear. Corsair is playing it safe with both the out-of-box airflow setup and the expansion possibilities, though the 4000D Airflow’s vented front panel will benefit performance compared to the solid steel one – quite how much is looked at later.

As a quick aside, the iCUE 4000X RGB features three SP120 RGB Elite fans (eight LEDs apiece) with a slightly faster maximum speed of 1,500 RPM, all mounted as front intakes but largely hampered by a solid glass front panel. Exhaust airflow is left to what occurs naturally from the positive pressure that the triple intakes create. These RGB fans have also been fitted with the AirGuide technology, and we’ve tested the thermals of this setup as well. Both the RGB and non-RGB AirGuide fans are set to be made available separately, but the date for that is still TBC.

The front steel panel is tightly mounted but is easy to pull off, and doing this grants access to the full-height front dust filter. With hooks at the bottom and magnets up top, it too is easy to work with, and the same is true of the external magnetic filter on the roof. The only one that’s a bit challenging is the PSU one, as it pulls out to the rear. Still, it’s good that the case has all entry points guarded by filters.

Corsair’s front I/O panel is modern and clean. The single combo jack carries both headphones and microphone signals, so some users may need a splitter. You also get a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (i.e. USB 3.0) Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (i.e. USB 3.1) Type-C port.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 230 x 453 x 466 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Steel, plastic, tempered glass
  
• Available colours Black, white
  
• Weight 7.85kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x 3.5mm headset jack
  
• Drive bays 2 x 3.5"/2.5", 2 x 2.5"
  
• Form factor(s) E-ATX up to 277mm wide, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
  
• Cooling 2 x 140mm or 3 x 120mm front fan mounts (1 x 120mm fan included), 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (1 x 120mm fan included), 2 x 140mm/120mm roof fan mounts (fans not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 170mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 360mm
  
• Extras Removable dust filters