Corsair’s New Crystal 280X Case Looks Much Better In Person
To be honest, we weren’t all that wowed by Corsair’s Crystal 280X chassis when we first saw it in press release form. Images of the empty case especially don’t do this Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX chassis justice.
Available in either white or black, with RGB fans and a controller ($160) or without ($110), it’s a short, wide case with tempered glass on the top, front, and sides. In other words, it’s a glass-and-RGB box, like seemingly every other case we’ve seen in the last couple years.
But the Crystal 280X’s extra width lets you hide your power supply, storage (up to two 3.5" and three 2.5" drives), and unsightly wires in a chamber on the right side of the case. That leaves the pretty parts like your motherboard, cooler, and graphics card(s) on full display. To be clear, this is nothing new either.
And maybe it was just Corsair’s build, and the pair of LL120 RGB fans included with the RGB model, all synced up with the company’s iCUE software. But the finished system on display at Corsair’s Computex suite left us feeling bad about our initial lack of enthusiasm when we first heard about the Corsair Crystal 280X. It may not be a game-changer in the design department, but Corsair has managed to refine the current case trends into something that looks surprisingly attractive when built out, especially with the help of some RGB strips (not included).
If you’re looking for a compact case to properly show off your next build, you just might want to put the Corsair Crystal 280X on your short list. It’s available now, and to make sure your part list is compatible with the case, here’s a list of specs direct from Corsair.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Crystal 280X RGB | Crystal 280X |
| Motherboard | MATX, Mini-ITX | MATX, Mini-ITX |
| Exterior | 3x Tempered Glass (roof, front & side) | 3x Tempered Glass (roof, front & side) |
| Cooling | 2x LL120 RGB fans | 2x Corsair 120mm fans |
| Lighting Control | Included Corsair Lighting Node Pro Digital RGB Lighting Controller | N/A |
| Fan Mounts | 2x 120mm front, 2x 140/120mm roof, 2x 140/20mm floor | 2x 120mm front, 2x 140/120mm roof, 2x 140/20mm floor |
| Radiator Capacity | Up to 240mm front, up to 280/240mm roof, up to 240mm floor | Up to 240mm front, up to 280/240mm roof, up to 240mm floor |
| Drive Bays | 2x 3.5", 2x 2.5" | 2x 3.5", 2x 2.5" |
| Max GPU Length | 300mm | 300mm |
| MSRP | $159.99 | $109.99 |
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After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.
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velocityg4 Whenever I see these clear glass cases. I can only think how bad they'll look after a month of dust. Sure many have filters but the glass front and fans will still look pretty bad.Reply -
Krazie_Ivan it's a shame 40% of the footprint is wasted.Reply
on a side note; anyone have a few bucks, a CAD specialist, & a sheet-metal mfg plant to loan me? for those who appreciate efficiency & function, i got our design answer. -
Giroro The desk I just bought only gives slightly less than 18.5" in vertical height for a computer. which is apparently just *barely* (like, less than a quarter of an inch*) too short for any of the decent mid-tower cases. Thanks Ikea, great design for a gaming desk, guys.Reply
By some miracle my current case fits, but the USB ports are on the top so I have to pull the computer out to use them. But replacing it with something similar that has ports on the front is apparently a big problem with what's available in the market right now.
So I need something a little shorter and wider like this Corsair Cubet... Except it needs to fit a DVD drive and SD reader... and an ATX mobo.... and at least 3 standard hard drives.
Apparently, case manufacturers are -seriously- dropping the ball right now in terms of making cases that are actually a functional container for a full computer, or at least in the mid-tower class (and hey, some of us people who use entire computers like shiny glass too, you know). I'm not even asking for anything impossible, like USB-C.