Corsair Crystal 570X ATX Case Review
Building, Testing, And Evaluation
The Crystal 570X includes long radiator screws, fan screws, motherboard/short radiator screws, and a small pack of M3 screws for attaching 2.5” drives to the 3.5” trays.
Like the power supply shroud logo, the LED controller uses a SATA-style power connection. The Crystal 570X has no HDD LED or reset button, and its two USB 3.0 ports are fed by a single header. The fan motors are powered by three-pin, motherboard-controlled headers.
With approximately 15.7” of clearance between its front fans and slot panel, the only thing preventing the Crystal 570X from holding an EATX motherboard is the stepped-in section of motherboard tray that’s designed for the added thickness of 3.5” drives. Other than the 2.5” trays having slip-in latches, hardware installation follows the steps outlined in our How To Build A PC.
Here’s how the Crystal 570X compares to its two closest rivals in dimensions, features, and price:
We retain the hardware configuration from previous ATX case reviews to maintain result consistency. It includes a Core i7-5930K at a very small overclock and moderate voltage level cooled by the mid-sized Noctua NH-U12S, and a Gigabyte triple-fan GTX 970 with its fans cranked to full speed during load testing. The motherboard is set to a 115°C throttle point, and temperatures in the chart are above ambient (the thermal reading minus the room temperature).
Test Results
With great mass comes great latent heat, and glass doesn’t absorb (or release) that heat as quickly as most metals. While I generally take my final reading after the rate of temperature rise declines below one degree per hour, that process took around six hours in the Crystal 570X.
Though glass warms up slowly, the lack of any exhaust fan is a likely contributor to the 570X’s continued, noticeable temperature climb over many hours. Corsair specs this one to have an exhaust fan in its marketing material, and we expect that the company will probably follow through on that specification once a few sites publish data like this for the first batch of exhaust-fan-free cases.
While noise levels don’t look great, the Crystal 570X did a fine job altering the pitch of that noise to a more white-noise-like “whoosh.” It was also very quiet at 50% fan speed, although the temperature issue prevented it from finishing that test under load.
I like a fan that’s able to spin up to super-airflow speeds and slow down to whisper quiet mode, but those only score well in reviews when we’re able to test them at those lower speeds.
Given the lack of a cheap exhaust fan in a pricey glass case, value comparisons aren’t really as fair as any of us would like. Even the top-performing Enthoo Evolv plays second fiddle in value to the far-cheaper Cullinan, but most users would prefer the Evolv’s higher quality. Similarly, I expect that many builders will use custom fan configurations to optimize their Crystal 570X, simply to take advantage of its aesthetic appeal.
The Crystal 570X could be a good starting point for buyers who want the aesthetic of glass front and top panels, and don’t mind adding a few of their own fans. Performance enthusiasts willing to give up that extra glass may instead chose the Enthoo Evolv Tempered Glass.
Corsair Crystal 570X
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First it was the removal of front bays,
Then it was RGB,
Then Tempered Glass windows.
Now we have tempered glass for the rear panel? Why?
Top, front, and both sides. Rear would be where the slots are
One demerit for this case though for not having an exhaust fan from the factory. That's just one more thing to have to order and install separately.
Tempered Glass ... check
Fan Controller on back of MoBo tray ... check
Built in storage mounts on back of MoBo tray ... check
Builtin LED control ... check
Slide out dust filters, top and bottom ... check
PSU Shroud ... check
Don't really see the point of top and front glass ... kind makes it look like and induction cooktop ... maybe it could keep my coffee warm.
All kidding aside, I like that Corsair took a fair shot here, but as the Enthoo Luxe / Evolve cools better, is quieter, costs the same , fits bigger cards, has way more storage options, more cooling options, fits taller coolers and better support for water cooling, can't see why I would "go there".
Of course, 1st guy that puts one out that keep my coffee warm (radiator => hot plate heat exchanger), put me down for one !
I meant back panel lol.
Honestly, who wants to show off the rats nest of cables tucked back there..........Not me.
I can forsee Amazon and Newegg refusing to carry this case after the first few sell out.
Can you imagine the damage claims from having this shipped from Amazon and Newegg? First the case have to get to the merchant intact, then they have to get it to the customer intact. As someone who worked for UPS as a loader, one of those three glass pieces will be shattered upon final delivery lmao
I do wish they'd give the dimensions instead of this 3 x 120mm stuff... radiators have reservoirs, the Swiftech and EK AIOs have pumps and that makes them all longer then x x 120 or 140mm... also have seen some 140mm rads fit width wise and others not.
How do we lobby for the add-on option to turn the top one into a hot plate
Would be kinda cool to have glass etched into those circular rings ya see on induction cooktops
Hmm looks like two large coffee mugs, a space for my Big Mac and fries ... and last space for my goldfish's bowl
... sounds like an idea for a "Case Mod" article for ya ! ... maybe could publish on day after March 31st
Thermaltake Core X9
If it wasn't for the see through side this would be the perfect case for me, as it stands ill put either mylar over it, or some black air brushed acrylic and clear coat.
I sleep in the same room as my computer, I don't want any more lights then needed.
How about this: Use a TEC. Put the hot side on the case top and the cold side on a water block. Plumb that cold water block onto the output side of your radiator and get the liquid cooler on its way to other components.
The prblem is 3 x 120mm or 360mm is too little information and case manufacturers, at least most of them are doing their customers a disservice by not providing dimensions that will fit
"Yeay my case fits a 360mm radiator .... I'll buy one of these" ... here's the resultant twitter conversation
**My case fits a 3 x 120mm (360mm) radiator and My EK predator 360 arrives later today ... I'm so excited**
**Ah crap, sending it back too bad it's 415mm long**
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xlc-predator-360-incl-qdc
Couldn't they just say 3 x 120 (133 x 415) or is adding the extra 11 characters make the manual too expensive to prnt ?
Or how about this ... case fits 140 x 280 mm rads ... ya fine if ya buy Alphacaool 2 x 140mm ... but not nope not if it's from Hardware Labs ... start at about 18:50 and go to 21:00 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIpoC65bpX4
Simply put, saying that s case fits 2 x 120mm or 3 x 120mm is useless information when the reality is that all rads are bigger than 120mm wide (+13mm) and 240 or 360mm (+55mm) long by significant margins. No way to know before buying whether anything actually fits.
Not to mention the thickness .... a 30mm or 45mm thick rad may fit in many cases where a 60 mm would not. Or with 3 mounting locations, you may find a 30mm fits in the front, 60mm on bottom and 455mm on top.
When doing my last build, see above link.... if it wasn't for Bill and Jessie I would have had a lot of RMAs. I musta sent jessie a dozen e-mails asking for specific dimensions. Were so many peeps asking for dimensions, when my case arrived, I posted a drawing with all relative measurements so I could get a break for the same. Wish every manufacturers would put one of these on their web site. (see PDF)
That was the thought ... well one of them... even a "wrap" would work. I once tried to make a ankle wrap from one of those blue gell things ya keep in freezer ... it had been punctured so I squeezed out the goo tried to caulk some tube fittings on it and run water thru using a rubbermaid tub thingie filled with ice and cold water .... had to put mattress in yard to dry ... I don't think neighbors believed my explanation.
Not the first to do it either. The Enthoo Evolv RGB has it which is why I didn't want it. It is also why I think the 460X is a better case, only the front and side with the pretty stuff is glass.
Not the first unless you forgot about the 900D? Not only 360mm but even a few 480mm water coolers.
Even the 800D supported 360mm radiators.
I don't think anyone forgot about the 900D but the 900D is no where near in the same class of cases under discussion .
-Evolv Tempered is Mid Tower @ 19.50" x 9.25" x 20.10"
-Luxe is classified as Full Tower cause it breaks the 20" height rule (22.04" x 9.25" x 21.65") with the extra height provided as to accommodate push pull.
The 900D is a monster and clearly not in the same class as the case under review with it's cost being well more than twice the cases under discussion. Instead of 2" into the Full Tower range it's a whopping 25 (25.60" x 9.90" x 27.20") and adds 6" of depth.
The Enthoo Primo does a better job then the 900D (have both) with more features for $100 less and smaller size (25.59" x 9.84" x 23.62").
But again, for the purposes of this thread, I think the question is not "what case can fit a 360mm rad ?"... it's "what cases comparable to this price and approximate size range can fit a 360mm rad ?" The Enthoo Mini XL fits a 360 and it's only 18.9" deep. One of a case's main features is "how much room does it take up" ? I have a Enthoo Pro, Luxe and Primo in this room and that 3" extra height makes the Primo stand out way more than the other two and it looks enormous.
Years back, I did lotta builds using the Carbide R series but the downside, my one regret, was no 360. The 20.5" deep 500R for example only did 2 x installations... You should be able to take a 360 in any case under 19"....The 760 (22.4") and 780( 23.7') did ... as did the 750D(24.5") ... but after about 22", the case kinds doesn't sit will on a standard desk w/ L return
look at it this way, the case under review is (2.06 cu.ft.) and cost $180 ... I think most, (my comments were were based upon that same mindset) are speaking "apples and apples" so to speak and comparing with other cases in the same context, in the same price range, with similar features and somewhere around 2.0 cu.ft. Evolve ATX is 2.09 ... the 900D is just a hair under twice the size at 3.98 and almost twice the price.
As for the 900D, he said, and I quote "Wow a corsair case that actually supports a 360mm radiator?". While I agree to compare apples to apples to imply that no Corsair case has ever supported a 360mm radiator before this is quite silly.
That's fine, but you don't represent the entire PC buying public. Just because you don't use something, doesn't mean there is no market for it or that peeps who choose that option are silly. Hate to go "off topic" with respect to the article and forum thread, but let me stray for a moment and address this position in the context of your response post.
Many folks, mostly with gaming boxes, would agree with you on the drive bay. But a dual use box might have different needs. MoBos have many features that peeps don't use from Day 1, but sure are nice to have when the need, even an unexpected need arises ... just as you did a year ago. Someone who does video editing for example ... how are they going to get videos of Thanksgiving dinner or the new grandbaby's birth to the Grandma ? .. something that Grandma, who has trouble w/ Facebook, will be able to understand. Where does she keep all these videos on her aging PC with limited storage ? Most common "hard media storage" options are those plastic CD storage drawers or "Album Books".
Then there's those folks who also use thier PC PC to make a living. I have to deliver a "hard copy" electronic sets of AutoCAD drawings for every building we design, both to owner and those agencies having jurisdiction. What about archival storage ? I have 25 years worth of AutoCAD drawings; is there a reason to keep buying HDs just in case there's a need for these to expand or modify the building and i need that set from 1992 ?
Thumb drives are expensive and don't store well in file cabinets.... makes files folders too bumpy. Or those electronic media storage bays that municipal agencies keep. You have to look at it from a standpoint that not everyone is you and customers are best served by having choices and being free to choose something that works best for them.
If one wants to water cool their build, and is wise enough not to install a CLC, they can get by with a 360 All-in-One from Swiftech or EK along with a Seahawk GFX card and cool both CPU and GPU (along with the VRM and memory). The logic of dismissing a case which can do exactly what you want, and picking one that can't, because it has an option you will rarely use escapes me. Why dismiss the Luxe, which will meet that water cooling goal, because it has an extra feature you don't need ? It's kinda like saying, I want to overclock my CPU but as all Z170 boards support SLI and I don't have a need for SLI, I won't buy Z170.
Dismissing a case out of hand because it has extras you don't need is fine ... for you .. perhaps the aesthetic of looking at it really bothers you. That's fine for "form over function" folks, but while aesthetics are just about always a factor in the builds we have done for folks, form always took a back seat to function. So while you might be willing to give up adding water cooling to that GPU as the price of not having to look at a drive bay you don't need, that doesn't rule out that as a logical choice for everyone else. It's also a non-factor with respect to the topic since Phanteks provides the Luxe for those who want the option of installing an optical drive and the Evolv for ones that don't. Worth mentioning that they also have a case with a 5.25" bay in the rear for that occasional usage for those that don't want to look at it.
But also, that's not the only purpose of those bays; remember we are talking about water cooling, and in my case, especially folks who forego CLCs. Other uses might include:
a) Installing a 5" LCD panel to monitor temps and other functions.
b) Installing a fan controller / temperature monitor
c) Installing an Aquacomputer Aquero
d) Installing a Bay Reservoir
e) Installing a Card Reader
f) Installing an OC Station
g) Installing a storage module to add additional HDs bays
h) Installing a hot swap storage bay
We **are** talking about fitting a 360 mm radiator right ? Is it completely illogical that a person intending to install a water cooling system w/ a 360mm rad might want to install some of those ? ... especially if they had to remove HD racks to fit water pumps or radiators. We are talking about water cooling and these are by no means unpopular options for water coolers.
OK, there ya go ... sure came in handy didn't it ? I used mine for the first time outside of work about a few weeks ago. I had to deliver some of those "record electronic documents to various parties so brought a few DVDs with me. But also, I was staying in an old friend / colleague's house. I have been playing an MMO for about 12 years ... since this trip was longer than the usual, I thot I'd bring the game with me. Have two thumb drives but they were full with business stuff I might need.
Copy / pasted the game folder to a DVD and now I can play it anywhere I go, it is "self contained", no installation process required (no registry settings), you can play it right off the DvD if you wanted ... the folder is complete with all my IG customizations, saved files, and 12 years worth of map markers, IG forum posts, recipes, custom apps that I wrote, etc. Could have used a Thumb Drive too ... but I also I have also mailed copies, used them as "stocking stuffers" with a bunch of free games.
End of off topic remarks.
From my PoV, it's your inference is off the mark. The author, appropriately and logically stayed "on topic" by comparing the subject case with similar cases ... similar in price, similar in size. All my comments where "in the context" of the review, cases with a size and price of the subject case and the cases it was compared with ***in the article**.
If it was a review about a a family van, and I said "Chevy finally has vehicle that has enough acceleration to get on the highway w/o being nervous about getting up to traffic speed and safely merging into traffic", just how many people would come back saying "Chevy has the Corvette ". No people are reading this article to see how it compares with two seater sports cars.
If it was an article about a baseball middle inning relief pitchers on the NY Mets in which the author compared him to two other relief pitchers and I said ... Yeay, The Mets finally have a guy who can get thru more than 2 inning, would you come back rattling off a list of starting pitchers ?
The title of the article is "Corsair Crystal 570X ATX Case Review". Everything in the article falls within the context of that title and all of them are Mid or Full Tower cases. Everything in my response falls within that context. It should "go without saying", that response / comments on the article would fall "in context". The 900D falls into the "Super ATX" category which is clearly not applicable to any other case mentioned in the context of the article.
Within the "context" of the article (the parts of a piece of writing that precede a word or passage contribute to its meaning) .. applicable forum rules and etiquette regarding "staying on topic", it should "go without saying" that the response is intended to be "in context" and "on topic". In addition, I have done builds with the 750D and the 900D and know well what features they have. They simply do not fit within the context of the subject article.
See http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/goes+without+saying
and http://www.thefreedictionary.com/context
It's worse than that Jake, this entire 5.25" drive bay thing is starting to look a lot like a political campaign. People who HATE the things won't admit that these are useful for a multitude of things, including bay panel devices such as Asus's overclocking gadget, drive docks and/or hot-swap enclosures, etc. Because the people who argue against the bays are intentionally limiting their usefulness to optical drives, the foundation of their argument is a lie.
Now if they said something completely truthful, like "I just don't have anything to put there", their argument that these should be removed from most cases would be substantially weaker.
And again if you look at the quote it was comparing to the person I quoted, nothing about the article or the author and their statement about it. Again not comparing the 900D to any of the cases. Just made a statement that Corsair has had 360mm radiator support before the 570x.
As far as the "it was comparing to the person I quoted, nothing about the article or the author and their statement about it". We are talking about a statement made, which I supported in my post to which you responded calling it "silly".
Let's go back and look at what you wrote in response to MY post:
Again, no one "implied" any such thing. You may have mistakenly inferred that but no one, neither the original poster or myself ever made any such implication. We were both of the same mind and both speaking "in context"... in other words "staying on the thread topic". This is a review about ATX cases, it compares the reviewed case with other similarly sized / cost cases, it's does not encompass cases of every size and price range.
It's common knowledge is it not that Super ATX cases fit bigger rads ? If It was a review about a new family car review and someone said this is the 1st Ford car with a towing capacity of x,xxx pounds, I think it would be pretty out of line to argue back saying "the Ford Super Duty Quad Rear axle has done this for years".
So while I didn't object to the comment in and of itself, I objected to the criticism and labeling of a post as "quite silly" when said post made "in context" and then using "out of context information" to justify it.
Perhaps those were bad analogies, so let me try these:
If I wrote a blurb about being on vacation and said "I was disappointed because "rained every day that I was on vacation", the statement must be taken "in context". The statement is intended to mean "it rained every day that I was on vacation where I was on vacation" The bold part should "go without saying" and not generate a series of responses saying "No it didn't" because it didn't rain where they were.
Or if ya prefer something more topical.... during the presidential debates one of the candidates criticized the other by saying unemployment was at some crazy number like 42%.. But when we talk about unemployment, the "context" includes people who are ready, willing and available to work. You can get to 42%, but then ya have to include babies, elementary / high school children, college students, retirees, stay at home Moms, disabled folks, seasonal workers, etc.
And again I was just pointing out something based on a blanket comment. There was no way for me to guess that he meant just in mid towers or in anything but Super towers.
I am not even sure why this is an issue....
Again ... the statement that "I was disappointed because rained every day that I was on vacation" is not a blanket statement that it rained every day in every place in the world while I was on vacation. I provided you with the definition of "context" which states that you have to consider all the preceding words in any discussion. The person who said "Corsair finally has a case that fits a 360" was saying "Corsair finally has a case [in the **contextual** price and size range that has previously been defined by the article we are discussing] that fits a 360"
There should be no need retype the contextual boundaries of the conversation in each and every sentence in order for the reader to make the correct inferences.