Case Conundrum: Affordable Midtowers Compared
Corsair Vengeance C70
I'm not overly fond of the styling on the military green Corsair Vengeance C70. It combines a military green color with button designs that seem to be trying a bit too hard.
The total effect feels a bit overdone, like something meant to appeal to 14 year old boys and obsessed COD players. If you served in the military and are looking for a case that reminds you of it, this obviously doesn't apply to you.
The other issue with the color is practical -- military-green faceplates for the rest of your peripherals are hard to come by, and Apple has yet to offer a camouflage iPhone. Since Corsair offers the C70 in black and white, I'm not going to spend too much time bemoaning the green flavor here. We'll focus on specs and other aspects of design.
The C70 is a midrange case that's meant to appeal to more value-conscious buyers, but it's still the most expensive model we tested. The slide panels attach via prominent side clips for easy removal and re-attachment. The C70 gets the nod for easiest case to open of the models we tested; while none of the options were difficult to open, the large side latches on the C70 are especially easy to use.
The front is no-nonsense (and no drive door). The power and reset buttons are on the top at the far right and left, with a pair of audio jacks and two USB 3.0 ports between them.
The entire top is left open for venting, save for a pair of handles fore and aft. The rubberized grips work well if you need to transport the box -- they aren't triumphs of ergonomic comfort, but they're far better than gripping bare metal. There are grommets installed in each of the screw slots to keep a radiator quiet.
The internal case presentation follows the no-nonsense motif Corsair laid out elsewhere. The drive bays and their associated fans are removable if you like (this adds GPU space) and there's plenty of room for back-of-the-board cabling. The six drive bays are a bit more sparse than other options, but the screwless mounting is welcome. One odd bit to note is that the bay shields at the front of the case are mounted *extremely* securely. As in, we had to remove the front of the case to have a hope of budging them.
I'm not fond of the green C70's styling, but it's easy to work in. Cable management options are good and I really like the side panel clips. Noise levels are a bit higher than some of the other cases, however -- there's not the same level of noise dampening foam in between components and the outside world.
;)
;)
The other issue with the color is practical -- military-green faceplates for the rest of your peripherals are hard to come by, and Apple has yet to offer a camouflage iPhone. Since Corsair offers the C70 in black and white, I'm not going to spend too much time bemoaning the green flavor here. We'll focus on specs and other aspects of design.
The C70 is a midrange case that's meant to appeal to more value-conscious buyers, but it's still the most expensive model we tested. The slide panels attach via prominent side clips for easy removal and re-attachment. The C70 gets the nod for easiest case to open of the models we tested; while none of the options were difficult to open, the large side latches on the C70 are especially easy to use.
;)
;)
The front is no-nonsense (and no drive door). The power and reset buttons are on the top at the far right and left, with a pair of audio jacks and two USB 3.0 ports between them.
;)
The entire top is left open for venting, save for a pair of handles fore and aft. The rubberized grips work well if you need to transport the box -- they aren't triumphs of ergonomic comfort, but they're far better than gripping bare metal. There are grommets installed in each of the screw slots to keep a radiator quiet.
;)
The internal case presentation follows the no-nonsense motif Corsair laid out elsewhere. The drive bays and their associated fans are removable if you like (this adds GPU space) and there's plenty of room for back-of-the-board cabling. The six drive bays are a bit more sparse than other options, but the screwless mounting is welcome. One odd bit to note is that the bay shields at the front of the case are mounted *extremely* securely. As in, we had to remove the front of the case to have a hope of budging them.
I'm not fond of the green C70's styling, but it's easy to work in. Cable management options are good and I really like the side panel clips. Noise levels are a bit higher than some of the other cases, however -- there's not the same level of noise dampening foam in between components and the outside world.
