Conclusion

...Corsair has managed to present an inverted layout in a form factor that looks surprisingly sleek and is, for the most part, as easy to build into as a traditional ATX solution.

Corsair's range of PC chassis has grown considerably since the launch of the Obsidian Series 800D way back in 2009. With more than 30 options available across multiple product lines, the firm's portfolio now includes solutions for almost every conceivable usage scenario, from high-end liquid cooling to LAN-party portability.

The missing piece, it seems, was something unconventional. That arrives today in the form of the Carbide Series 600C, an ATX enclosure that turns your hardware on its head in an effort to offer a design that's new and intriguing.

Such an approach could have resulted in something entirely outlandish, but we're pleased to see that Corsair has managed to present an inverted layout in a form factor that looks surprisingly sleek and is, for the most part, as easy to build into as a traditional ATX solution.

There are a few caveats in that you'll need to cherry-pick components that will look good and perform well when used upside down, and the side window being on the right may be a bugbear for some, but there's also plenty to like. Build quality is good throughout, the internal layout is user friendly and tidy upon build completion, there's a built-in fan controller, and the near-full-size window is great for showing off your rig.

The big question is whether or not the inverted layout offers genuine benefit with regards to cooling performance and noise. Our results don't reveal any significant gains, yet while the Carbide Series 600C hasn't done enough to convince us to build our next rig upside down, it has been fun to work with and, well, there's nothing wrong with that.

The Good		The Bad
Offers something different Built-in three-stage fan controller Large side window Good build quality Decent cable management Room for a large 360mm radiator		Only two hard-disk bays GPU cooling not the best Front filter awkward to get at Side window on the opposite side

Corsair Carbide Series 600C

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The Corsair Carbide Series 600C chassis will be available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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Owing to the inverted interior layout, the windowed side panel is on the right of the chassis as you look at it. No real problem, yet it can be a small inconvenience as there's a good chance your current PC is situated with a left-sided opening in mind. Switching to the Carbide Series 600C isn't just about inverted hardware - you may also need to rearrange your desk.

On the other hand, if your desk already forces you to situate your PC to the left, this is exactly what I want after years of struggling with “normal” cases that make everything difficult and put the window in a place nobody can see it.

Having the window on the opposite side is no more of a con than the Q model not having a window.

So it manages to be both hot and noisy? And having to remove the front panel just to access the dust filters? Really? My Lian-Li PC-70 from ~2005 needed that, and you were able to just pull it off easily without having to use “tricky” clips too.

Poor effort Corsair. The Fractal Design, Nanoxia and Antec cases in that review look immense by comparison, and are all cheaper too.

I've built into a couple of Corsair cases for friends now and haven't been impressed with the ease of built in either (having to use those horrible screw spring clips to remove the front to mount a fan controller in the Carbide Air 540 for example!) and this doesn't seem any different in that regard. The built quality of them is fine, and the performance is usually good too, but I had niggles with each, niggles which didn't need to exist. I'm sure their premium models must be better than these over-priced, modestly performing ones. I very nearly purchased a 750D on Black Friday but I'm relieved I chose to downsize to a Fractal R5 at the last minute instead - it was an absolute delight to built into, except for the inexplicably poor plastic motherboard stand-off thimble screw thing (nothing a pair of pliers didn't solve though).

Damn, looks considerably worse than the 600T (would have been nice to see that included in tests), appears to perform worse and I bet it's got the same “breaks in no time” Corsair fan controller in it.

Great if you need a window on the opposite side though ;)

Too expensive.