The Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA ships in a fairly typical brown box.
Once the case is free of its protective packaging, the first thing anyone will notice is the angular style of the chassis. Corsair call it a ‘modern, angular appearance', and it is certainly a stereotypical ‘gamer' look.
The front and top panels do serve some function, though – they feature large mesh sections, which should hopefully help airflow and keep temperatures down. We assess the performance of the SPEC-ALPHA later in the review.
Incidentally, both the front and top panels are removable. The front panel is held in by some retention clips, while the top panel uses an extra 2 thumbscrews to keep it in place.
The front I/O is typical of a case in this price range, consisting of 2x USB 3.0 ports, headset jacks and a power button. However, one thing worth noting which is not always included at this price point is the fan controller. It is positioned just below the USB 3.0 ports, and is a 3-speed slider.
The main side panel is of course windowed – Corsair call it a ‘panoramic side window' which is a bit ambitious to my mind, but it is certainly large enough to show off the components that matter.
Also worth noting is that both side panels have protruded sections. This should allow more room for cable management when we come to building in the chassis.
Lastly, the rear of the chassis features the usual 7 expansion slots. You can also spot the 4 thumbscrews – 2 for each side panel. These are captive thumbscrews, too, something I appreciate as it means you do not have to keep track of any removable thumbscrews when building a PC.
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