A wide majority of Entry-Level Budget PC Chassis available in the market right now, tend to look boring and cut down on a lot of features.However, Corsair is trying to change this notion with its latest Carbide SPEC series of Gaming Cabinets.The SPEC series of Cabinets contain 3 models- the SPEC 01, the SPEC 02 and the SPEC 03.The Pricing of the SPEC series start at INR 3,799 and go all the way upto INR 4599.All of the 3 cabinets come with some very good features and now , one by one, we will take a look at the three of them,
CORSAIR CARBIDE SPEC-01
The SPEC-01 is the smallest member of the SPEC cabinet family.It is the cheapest among the three and sells for just about INR 3,799 only.In terms of build quality and dimensions, the SPEC-01 is Mid-Tower Case and it is made out of Steel.It can accomodate Mini ITX,Micro ATX and Even Full size ATX Motherboards and it weighs just under 5kg[4.8kg].The Build Quality of the Cabinet is actually pretty good for it’s price and I have no issues with it.The design of the cabinet is actually quite unusual, but I that think the design is a matter of Personal perference.
On the Front of the cabinet, you get the Power and reset switches along with an HDD LED, 2 USB Ports[1xUSB2.0 & 1xUSB3.0] and a microphone and headphone jack.Below this, You have 2 x 5.25inch drive bays to accommodate things like a DVD/Blu Ray Writer or a Fan Controller.Finally we have,2 120/140mm Fan Mounts, which can be accessed by opening up the Front Plastic Casing.Corsair is nice enough to bundle one 120mm RED LED Fan in the front of the cabinet.
The left hand side, offers a big side panel window, through which you can show off the inner beauty of your new Gaming PC!
The inside of the case, can be easily accessed by removing the thumb screws and sliding out the side panels.Inside, as you can see, everything is very well laid out for a case of this price.The Case as you can see in the pictures, supports cable management and you have ample of space to route your cables behind the back of the case, to make your system look neat and tidy.The case also has pre installed mounts for the ATX Motherboards , which is quite useful.
In Terms of Drive Bays,2×5.25inch Drive Bays at the top and at the bottom we have 4×2.5/3.5in combo drive bays.This case offers tool-less installation of the drives(3.5inch HDD), although you will need to install the SSDs onto the Plastic Bay with the help of some screws.There are total 4 slots which are not a lot by today’s standard, But considering the price of the case, I think it’s fine
Fans and Air/Liquid Cooling
The Case supports Bottom Mounted Power Supply and In terms of cooling, this case can accomodate upto 5 fans in the following configuration:
Rear: 1x120mm
Top: 2x120mm
Front: 2×120/140mm[One RED LED 120mm included]
The Corsair SPEC-01 Can accommodate a CPU cooler with a maximum height of 150mm and In terms of liquid Cooling, It ONLY supports Rear Mounted Single 120mm Radiator.
CORSAIR SPEC-02
The SPEC 02 is the elder brother to the SPEC 01 and it brings some more features with a slight increase in the Price.It features the similar build quality like the Spec-01 But the design on the front is quite different to that of the SPEC 01 and SPEC 03.I personally,prefer this design over the other two cabinets.
In terms of features, Instead of a single USB 3.0 port,the SPEC 02 comes with 2x USB 3.0 Ports on the front.Like the SPEC 01, it also has 2×5.25inch drive bays along with 2×120/140mm fan mounts on the front side which can be accessed by removing the top casing of the cabinet.
The SPEC-02 also comes with a side panel windows which you can use to show off your components.
In the inside of the case, is where we see some differences between the SPEC-02 and it’s younger brother.The SPEC-02 offers 5 drive bays at the bottom for storage media.2 of the 5 drive bays, are 2.5inch ones and are specifically made for the SSDs whereas the other 3 are the standard 3.5 inch drive bays which do provide tool less installation.
Compared to the Spec-01, the SPEC 02 can fit GPUs with a maximum length of 420mm.
Fans and Cooling
The Case supports Bottom Mounted Power Supply and In terms of cooling, this case can accomodate upto 6 fans in the following configuration:
Rear: 1x120mm[included]
Top: 2x120mm
Front: 2×120/140mm[One RED LED 120mm included]
Bottom:1x120mm
The Corsair SPEC-01 Can accommodate a CPU cooler with a maxium height of 157mm and In terms of liquid Cooling, It ONLY supports Rear Mounted Single 120mm Radiator.
CORSAIR SPEC 03
The SPEC-03 is the eldest of the SPEC line up and is also the most expensive(INR 4,599).Out of the three cases.It is available in 3 different varints depending upon the colour of LED Fans That come with it- White,Orange and Red.The Spec 03 is very similar to the SPEC-02 in all aspects, except the design. Other than the design of the case, and the fact that Corsair bundles 2 LED Fans( 1 in SPEC-02) with the SPEC-03, The Two cases are the same.They both support the same lengths of CPU coolers and GPUs and are also of the same dimension.Have a look at the SPEC-03 case in the pictures below
VERDICT
The Corsair SPEC cases are mainly targeted at budget oriented Gamers.These Cases offer a lot of features at an entry level price.The Cases are built very well,have a nice aesthetic appeal and things like the Side Panel Window and LED Fans do give it a gaming oriented look.The design of these Cases is quite unusual to what Corsair does, but The design, as I have said before,will depend on personal preference.Honestly, I liked the design of the SPEC 02 the most.
So Finally, will I recommend these Cabinets? Yes,Definitely.If you like the looks and want to have the best in a budget price, You can definitely get one of the SPEC Cabinets for yourself.
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