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*.

HEXUS.right2reply

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.