Aimed squarely at the modern gamer, the Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA grabs your attention with its funky visuals.
That being said, I cannot help but feel Corsair are limiting themselves by going with such an aggressive design. If you like that sort of thing you will love this case, but it could well alienate those who prefer a more minimal approach.
The SPEC-ALPHA is not just about the visuals though, as there are a range of decent features across the chassis. For one, there is an integrated fan controller – something that is fairly uncommon at this price point.
Speaking of fans, the 3x 120mm fans installed out-of-the-box provide excellent cooling. This situation is also helped by the mesh panels at the front of the case – airflow is much less restricted than it would be if a solid panel had been used, for instance.
That being said, building in the case is tricky. There are not enough cut-outs for the front panel and CPU power cables, while there are too many cut-outs to the right of the motherboard – all of which results in a messy build with cables being too visible for my liking.
That does hold back the Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA, but it could still be an option if you love the aggressive styling – particularly given the impressive out-of-the-box cooling performance.
You can pick one up for £79.99 inc. VAT from Overclockers UK HERE.
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Pros
- Funky visuals.
- Great cooling out-of-the-box.
- Fan controller.
- LED intake fans.
Cons
- We had to route the CPU power connector across the motherboard.
- No tie-down points in the middle of the motherboard tray.
- Aggressive styling may not be for everyone.
KitGuru says: If you love the angular design, the Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA offers great cooling out-of-the-box. However, it is quite tricky to build in – more thought is needed in that area from Corsair.
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