Review: Corsair Carbide Series 330R

by Parm Mann on 30 October 2013, 18:00

Conclusion

Taking away the open-air design of the 300R and converting it into a sleek, sound-damped frame, Corsair's 330R manages to maintain capable performance while keeping noise levels in check.

The Carbide Series 330R is Corsair's second attempt at building a chassis that balances low-noise operation with capable airflow. Introduced as an economical alternative to the high-end and highly-acclaimed Obsidian Series 550D, the 330R is, for all intents and purposes, a sound-damped refresh of the budget 300R.

The resulting enclosure, priced at £75, is every bit as easy to build into and addresses one of our biggest complaints: noise. Taking away the open-air design of the 300R and converting it into a sleek, sound-damped frame, Corsair's 330R manages to maintain capable performance while keeping noise levels in check.

However, while the chassis' fundamental workings are sound, it's the competition that puts a few question marks on the box. With no fan controller, no rubber grommets on the cable holes, only four hard-disk bays and no dedicated 2.5in mounts, the latest Carbide simply isn't as ambitious as its immediate competitors.

The 330R has strengths and ultimately delivers on its promise of low-noise performance, but there's room for improvement and, between the routine 330R (£75) and the excellent 550D (£120), Corsair has left a sizeable void to fill.

The Good

Sleek and attractive exterior
Capable cooling performance
Keeps noise levels in check
Easy to build into

The Bad

No fan controller
Only four hard-disk bays
Cable holes lack rubber grommets

HEXUS.awards

Corsair Carbide Series 330R

HEXUS.where2buy

The Corsair Carbide Series 330R chassis is available to purchase from Scan Computers*.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.

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I would like to see a mini itx version of this (and the similar other manufacturers cases) that particularly cuts down on the depth to around 350mm.

Wowzers - Corsair are really churning out the cases aren't they??

I think they have actually upped the price on some of their older higher-end chassis to fit these new mid/lower range additions in though and seem to have made a massive mistake not including a fan controller on a silent case - everything else looks quite good though apart from the price.

davidcrofter
Wowzers - Corsair are really churning out the cases aren't they??

I think they have actually upped the price on some of their older higher-end chassis to fit these new mid/lower range additions in though and seem to have made a massive mistake not including a fan controller on a silent case - everything else looks quite good though apart from the price.

When was the last time you actually used a fan controller? Most half decent motherboards (and you have to assume if people are spending £75 on a case are spending about the same on a mobo) have 4+ PWM headers, and for my money at least software control is much more useful than having to turn a dail everytime I load a game or something.

herulach
When was the last time you actually used a fan controller? Most half decent motherboards (and you have to assume if people are spending £75 on a case are spending about the same on a mobo) have 4+ PWM headers, and for my money at least software control is much more useful than having to turn a dail everytime I load a game or something.

Just about every day as it happens!!:p

My Corsair 650D is about 4 feet away from the foot of my bed so I use the fan controller every time I have the computer on during the night …

I'm torn between this and the 300R at the minute.