**Update**
The front panel I/O on my unit died after about a year and a half, so take that into consideration when choosing a new case for your system.
The Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-DELTA RGB case coming in at $89.99CAD is it worth a look?
The CORSAIR Carbide SPEC-DELTA RGB has style. Itās like that fashion-conscious girl you went to high school with. The one with the spandex and leg warmers, complete with the Molly Ringwald hair cut. Unlike the Molly Ringwald look-alike, however, the CORSAIR Carbide SPEC-DELTA RGB won’t laugh in your face if you ask it to promā¦
I recently completed a build in the Corsair Carbide Series Spec-Delta RGB, and I have to say, Corsair has it together when it comes to the interior of a case. It’s very well laid out with cut-outs everywhere you would want them with sliding drive cage, dust filters, tactile feel to the power and reset button, to name a few of the features. The Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB case packs a lot into a small footprint. I enjoyed working with and getting to know the layout of this case during my review.
RGB And Tempered Glass Goodness
The Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB case features 3 RGB fans and one blacked-out rear exhaust fan. These fans appear to be a new skew from Corsair, although, at the time of writing this, I could not find a part number for them. It has a tempered glass side panel, so right of it checks a couple of key boxes in today’s case market.
Whether you’re a fan of RGB fans or not, they are showing up more and more pre-installed. I am pretty neutral on the subject, although I would lean towards a focus on build quality overlooks. The Corsair Carbide series Spec-Delta RGB does well at balancing both form and function. One of the reasons I chose this case over others at this price point was the fact that I have had good experiences with Corsairs fans. Since this case will potentially be sitting next to me every day as I work, I wanted something that would be on the quiet side.
Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB Key Features
The contemporary angular design and Direct Airflow Path layout ensure massive airflow to keep your system cool. Light up your system with three RGB LED fans, each boasting six customizable LEDs.
The front panelās dark, angular accents become transparent when backlit, providing a unique window into your system. A frameless tempered glass side panel window shows off your PC at its best. A full-length PSU cover hides your PSU and cables out of sight, making creating immaculate builds easier than ever. Four included 120mm cooling fans (3x front, 1x rear) provide incredible airflow to cool your system, with room for up to a 360mm radiator at the front, 240mm radiator at the top, and 120mm radiator at the rear.
Connect the three RGB fans to Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, or MSI Mystic Light motherboards to customize and control RGB fan lighting. Two combo 3.5/2.5in trays in a removable cage, a 2.5in tray, and a 2.5in mount provide a wealth of storage options.
Technical Specifications
The Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB case dimensions are 440mm x 210mm x 450mm. The maximum GPU length that will fit is 330mm. The power supply maximum length is 180mm and a maximum CPU cooler height of 160mm. The case has 7 expansion slots and x2 3.5in drive bays along with x2 2.5in drive bays. The case is made of steel, tempered glass with the front panel being molded smokey clear plastic. For radiator compatibility, it will fit 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm radiators.
Compatibility
The Spec-Delta is compatible with Mini ITX, Micro ATX, and ATX motherboards.
Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB: Cooling
The Spec-Delta RGB comes with 4, 120mm fans pre-installed with 3 of them being RGB fans at the front and 1 blacked out case fan in the rear of the case. Radiator support is ample in the Spec-Delta RGB. The front of the case supports up to a 360mm radiator. At the top of the case, there is room for up to a 240mm radiator and the rear of the case can support up to a 120mm radiator.
Dust Filters
The Corsair Spec Delta RGB dust filters protect the case from dust, much like our quick wit and sarcasm protects us and our heart from the cruel, cruel world.
Dust shouldn’t be an issue for the Spec-Delta as it comes with a magnetic dust filter for the top of the case, a removable dust filter for the Power supply, and the openings at the front of the case are mesh.
Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB: Front I/O
The front I/O is simple, modern, and very clean looking. There is 2 USB 3.0 ports, Power, and reset buttons. It also has a combined headphone and mic jack, which is super handy. I hope all cases start coming with this option as its much more convenient than having separate ports.
The Good
This case has stylish looks with 4 included fans (three are RGB). It has a tinted tempered glass side panel and an excellent interior layout, which makes it easy to build in. Features dust filters for the PSU and a filter for the top and front (top dust filter is magnetic). The power and reset buttons have a nice tactile feel to them. This case has plenty of room for water cooling and a Power supply shroud. Cable management is decent in this case as well. The back panel has captive thumbscrews, which are very handy; I like seeing those on PC cases.
A pleasant surprise I found while reviewing the Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB case that wasnāt listed anywhere on the product page was that it included a 3 way RGB splitter for the 3 front RGB fans.
The case is quiet even with the 4 included fans and the 2 top fans I installed along with the 240mm liquid AIO. Check out my Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO WIFI review for a complete list of my test system.
It keeps temperatures under control, although quite a bit of the front is plastic, it allows for enough air to come in to keep everything cool. With all the testing I did, I never saw CPU temps over 61c at full load, and idle temps were around 33c with room temp being 21c. I also did a stress test with the front panel removed, and CPU temperatures only dropped 2-3 degrees. During gaming temps generally hover in the low 50’s.
Monitoring Software: HWMonitor
The Bad
The list of bad is pretty small at this price point it’s hard to find much to complain about. It’s smaller than I had envisioned when ordering it, and I was a bit concerned when I took it out of the box. Thankfully the layout was such that I forgot how small it was. The front of the case is plastic, so hopefully, it doesn’t scratch too easily. I looked while writing this, and I couldn’t see any scratches or smudges.
I was also concerned about how much airflow the intake fans would be able to generate. As I stated earlier, however, the temps were held under control. While reviewing the Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB we put it through some heavy torture. Even under full load for an extended period of time temps never rose above 61 degrees. Removing the top dust filter did drop temps a few degrees. So that is an option if you know you are going to be sitting down for a long gaming session.
Final thoughts on the Corsair Carbide Spec-Delta RGB
If your someone who needs maximum airflow and nothing else will do, then this product may not be for you. I think though for the average gamer who is looking to do a bit of overclocking, or for that work station that doubles as a gaming station, it will more than fill your needs. I rather like the balance between looks, silence, and function. At the $89.99cad asking price, it’s a great deal that is worth a look.
Hi, I bought MSI A-PRO x570 and h100i water cooler and the right fan touch with my Corsair RAM! I’ve had to put water cooler in the front… And all my components, except motherboard because dont exist, are Corsair…
Hey Jorge,
I have done two builds in this case with AIO mounted on the top and did not run into this issue. The two builds I did like that however both used standard height ram. I can see though how taller ram may not work as there isn’t a lot of clearance there. Thanks for pointing that out.
Charles
Hello. Great review. Would you be able to tell me if the case comes with a fan splitter. My motherboard only has one rgb pin.
Hey Jean,
The case comes with a splitter for the rgb lights on the fans but not for the fans themselves.
Hi, can you help me out a little? I’ve used this case for a build, front mounted AIO, and my 3700x gets quite hot: 73C in CoreTemp whilst under light gaming . Would mounting the Aio on top make a positive difference, and if so how would you suggest I mount the fans: intake, exhaust or push/pull? Thank you, C
Hi Chris, is your AIO a 240? If so it will fit at the top of the case as long as your ram isn’t really tall. If you mount it at the top of your case I would suggest using the fans to push the hot air out the top of the case. That is how I have mine set up. Also what may help is once you have the AIO moved to the top is place the 3 front fans at the front but inside the chasis so the front panel cavity isn’t filled up with fans allowing for better air flow.
Hope this helps.
Hi can i ask do you know actual name of these fans as i am struggling to find the exact ones and mine on back just says brushless fan
Hey Danny, as far as I can tell, these are a new sku from Corsair designed for cases like these where they want to include affordable RGB fans with their cases. I could be wrong but I don’t think you can buy them.
Does it work with asrock motherboards or does it have to be msi asus or gigabyte.
The Corsair Website does not specifically list Asrock and I don’t have an Asrock board here to test at the moment but it uses a standard 4 pin led header so if your board has one it should work. I wish I could test that for you.
Hopefully that pic is clear enough that you can see what you need.
Do the fans in the front work with aurasync?
Yes, it works well with Aorus motherboards, that’s actually what I use with it.
Hello I have purchased the spec delta mid tower RGB case to go with my aorus b450 pro WiFi mother board. Iām having trouble finding where to plug the standard 4 pin led header. Can someone help me? The case also came with 3 other wires that are 3 pin and I do not know where they go. Iād really appreciate it if I can get some help. Thank you.
Hi Lu, the spec delta comes with a 3 way fan splitter that u can use to connect all 3 front fans together and the plug it into a fan header on your motherboard. As for the RGB connector, on your pro wifi motherboard somewhere below the socket is a 4 pin RGB connector. You HAVE to make sure you align the arrow on the connector to the pins on the motherboard. You can look at the motherboard manual for more details on that.
Hi Charles, Nice review.
i’m considering this Spec delta for my next build.
It will host an Asus board that has 3 RGB headers.
I understand it comes with a 3-way RGB splitter, but is it also possible to address each RGB separately so i can get different RGB on each of the 3 fans ?
Hey Pascal, thank you for your comment; I appreciate it. What you are asking is possible as the 3-way splitter is optional. You can plug each RGB header individually.
Thanks for your quick response š
So it’s decided , the Spec Delta will be mine …
For info, my plan is to use ICUE from corsair (it supports Asus board) to use the 3 fans RGB for reporting temperature from Blue to Green to Red:
– Top fan will report CPU temp
– Mid fan will report GPU temp
– Low fan will report Motherboard temp
By looking at the PC i will be able to know where the temperature is at for all major components š
nice! Good luck with your build.
Hey Charles, great review. I bought this case back in January and honestly have kind of neglected to clean the computer out. I’ve found getting everything disconnected to be simple, but I can’t for the life of me work out how to remove the front panel to clean the fans and plastic of dust. I can get at the back of the fans through the side with the tempered glass, but the manual doesn’t help at all with how to pull the front section off. It tells me pretty clearly how to remove the bottom fan, but the portion for the panel removal just shows it detached from the case itself.
Is it really as simple as just leveraging it off bit by bit? I’m always a bit anxious about this kind of thing as I almost damaged the clips on the lid of a PS4 Pro by doing a deep clean on its internals.
Hey Josh, if you feel the very bottom of the plastic front panel you will find there is a plastic lip there. If you give it a nice firm tug you will find the front panel comes off quite easily and safely. The clips holding it in place are designed to release without to much force. Hope this helps.
this case or coolermaster k501
Do you know if the RGB fans on this will work with a motherboard without and RGB header?
I was going to order one but I don’t know if a coolmaster or corsair RGB controller that connects to the USB header to control the RGB fans would work or not.
do you know much about that or not.
Thanks in advance
The case comes with a 3-way 4 pin splitter that requires a 5v RGB header, usually labeled on the motherboard as “CPU RGB”, or something similar.