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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration
Interior
A small box containing zip ties and a variety of screws is located in one of the open 3.5" drive bays. The case manual and an Allen wrench (for the glass side panel) can be found in the PSU area in a plastic bag.
Painted black to match the exterior, the interior of the Carbide 275R is rather spacious for a mid-tower ATX case. There are two large cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray and one in the top of the PSU tunnel. The hole at the upper left hand edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable.
This chassis is also available with a white finish.
This chassis can be equipped with coolers as tall as 170mm and can accommodate multiple graphics cards up to 370mm in length. Those of you planning to install a workstation motherboard will be happy to know that the Carbide 275R supports 3-Way SLI and CrossFire configurations with a compatible motherboard. (As with all 7-slot cases, compatibility requires the third card be mounted in the case's sixth and seven slots. Most of the motherboards we test have the third graphics card slot at the bottom, excluding 3-way compatibility from any 7-slot case -ed).
There are mounting locations for up to seven 120mm fans: three in the top, three in the front, and one in the rear. The 275R also can be outfitted with up to four 140mm fans, two in the front and two in the top. The chassis ships by default with on 120mm intake fan in the front and a single 120mm exhaust fan in the rear.
As with any chassis that is equipped with a single 120mm intake/exhaust fan, we highly recommend installing a second intake fan or, at the very least, a higher-volume 140mm fan. The two factory-installed fans simply do not provide enough airflow to keep the components in our test system cool.
Additionally, the use of a video card with a blower-style cooler with this fan configuration has a negative impact on the airflow profile of this chassis. Blower-style GPU coolers tend to immediately draw in most of the cool outside air provided by the single 120mm intake fan and force it out the rear of the chassis. While this benefited graphics card temperatures, the rest of the system suffered as a result.
Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the top, front, and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the front of the chassis support 120, 140, 240, 280, and 360mm radiators. It should be noted that installation of 360mm radiators and all-in-one coolers in the front mounting locations can be a bit tricky. We found it easiest to place the radiator in first, slide the bottom fan in place between the radiator and frame, and then run the bolts through the holes behind the front fascia, followed by the middle and uppermost fan. Aside from that minor issue, the 275R would be a great foundation for an all-out water-cooled rig. We managed to mount a 320mm radiator in the front and a 240mm in the top simultaneously.
The Carbide 275R has six internal drive bays. The two mounting locations under the PSU tunnel can be used for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Behind the motherboard tray are four dedicated mounting locations for 2.5” SSDs. Two utilize stamped-steel mounting brackets that attach to the frame via thumbscrews, and two more drives can be mounted directly to the back of the motherboard tray.
Corsair lists support for power supplies up to 180mm in length but, even though it is a tight fit, it is possible to install power supplies up to 200mm long.
Test Configuration
| Drivers & Settings | |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Intel INF 10.1.1.42 |
| CPU | 3.8GHz (38x 100MHz) @ 1.2V Core |
| Motherboard | Firmware 7A78v17 (07/03/2017) |
| RAM | 16-17-17-36 |
| Graphics | Maximum Fan for Thermal Tests | AMD Radeon Crimson ReLive 17.9.1 |
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