A peek inside
Corsair claims that the steel-bodied 600T's mid-sized appearance belies its full-tower space credentials. In effect, it's supposed to be Tardis-like in design.
Leading on from the previous page, you can see that the bottom-located PSU shelf sits just above the ground and has a removeable filter to keep the supply from being invaded by too much dust.
The larger Obsidian series' party trick, though, lies in enabling a super-clean build with the minimum of fuss. Achieved by pushing cables through a number of holes surrounded by rubber grommets, the 600T carries this neat design over. This time, there are eight such grommets - down from 13 on the Obsidian 700D - but we imagine, that while possible, folk won't be looking at four-way graphics setups in this (excuse the pun) case.
Compartmentalised cooling of the Obsidian series also gets the chop, but fewer sacrifices are made with respect to storage. On top of the four tool-less 5.25in bays, a total of six 3.5in drive-bays are specified. These can be modified to hold 2.5in (SSD) drives via bundled screws. Split into two cages for three drives each, the upper cage can be removed and repositioned if you need to fit extra-long graphics cards. Good, elegant design.
Another design cue from Obsidian range is evident as we take a closer look at the innards. An extra-large cutout behind the non-removeable CPU tray makes it easier to install those irksome through-the-motherboard-mounting coolers.
Looking right up, the 600T feels more voluminous than other mid-sized chassis, helped by the repositionable drive-cage.
Putting it together
Build it up and the lessons learnt from designing the Obsidian series are clear. Pushing the PSU's cabling through the various holes, round the rear, and back through to the business side is a cinch. However, perhaps sample-specific, the rubber grommets aren't as strong as on our test-rig 700D: they come away from the chassis' holes without too much force.
On the flip side, one of the 700D's drawbacks becomes apparent when pushing the mass of cables through the rear, as the large side panel shows noticeable signs of bowing outwards. The smaller panel on the 600T doesn't exhibit the same tendencies and, now with two latches, is easier to push back into place.
Building up in the 600T takes a little longer than on larger chassis; there's no way around having to squeeze cables into position. We reckon that an amateur builder can put together a functional system, from scratch, in under 45 minutes.
The upper drive-cage can be removed and put alongside the PSU, enabling longer graphics cards to fit in without problems, as shown above. An AMD Radeon HD 5870 poses no problem with the cage in either position.
The two 200mm fans are outfitted with white LEDs that become brighter as the fan-controller - hooked up to the fans via provided adapters and a Molex connector - is turned clockwise and speed is increased. The large fans are whisper-quiet at the lower end of the RPM scale and throttle up to produce a whooshing sound at the top end. The difference between the two states isn't huge, though.
Graphite 600T's top-mounted 200mm blower doesn't give a whole heap of clearance once the motherboard is in place, and while this is a boon for pulling heat away from the CPU and memory, folk looking to install a radiator-and-fan unit will need to be careful when mounting the motherboard.