If you’ve been paying attention at all to case reviews lately, Corsair’s 700D should look familiar. That’s because it’s a slightly stripped-down version of the 800D, Corsair’s debut chassis (reviewed March 2010). We awarded the 800D 9 out of 10 points and a Kick Ass award, lauding its roominess, features, and design. The 700D only differs from the 800D in two respects: Its side panel has no window, and the 800D’s hot-swap SATA bays have been replaced with four HDD trays.
The 700D eschews hot-swap bays in favor of sliding hard drive trays and a lower price point.
Like its predecessor, the 700D is huge—24 inches high, 24 inches deep, and 9 inches wide—and painted in a matte powder-black inside and out, except for the brushed-aluminum faceplate. It has five toolless 5.25-inch bays and six hard drive bays with slide-out trays, which can accommodate 3.5-inch hard drives without the use of screws, or 2.5-inch drives with screws. Two of the hard drive bays are in the case’s lowest compartment. The 800D had two 3.5-inch bays there too, but they were less accessible and did not feature slide-out trays. The remaining four hard drive bays take the place of the 800D’s hot-swap bays.
The 700D is divided into thermal zones, just like the 800D. The lowest part of the case holds the power supply and filtered intake ports (with room to mount fans). The power supply vents directly out of the case, so hot air from the PSU doesn’t go to the rest of the case. Air from the rest of the case’s lower compartment is drawn into the motherboard compartment via a 14cm fan and exhausted via a 14cm rear exhaust fan. A third 14cm fan draws air up from the base of the chassis to cool the hard drives. The air from the hard drive compartment exhausts behind the motherboard tray and exits through the rear panel of the case. The top panel of the case includes mounting brackets for three 12cm fans or a triple-fan water-cooling radiator, though no top exhaust fans are included.
The 700D supports micro-ATX, ATX, and EATX motherboards, and makes the most cluttered configs look spartan with its generous interior dimensions. It’ll easily accommodate the longest videocards on the market with room to spare.
Corsair’s commitment to well-managed cables continues to shine through—with so many rubber-grommeted cable-routing holes in the motherboard tray, and such a roomy interior, it’s actually harder to achieve a bad-looking wiring job than it is to achieve a good one. That’s one reason we kinda miss the 800D’s side window—what’s the point of a pretty build if you can’t ogle it? But getting rid of the window and the hot-swap SATA bay helped Corsair knock $50 from the 700D’s price, so we aren’t complaining too much.
The one awkward thing about the 700D is its airflow. By default, the case only intakes air from the bottom, and for that reason the bottom of the case is raised an inch above the ground. If your computer room has thick carpet, you might need to keep your rig on a desk. And who has room on their desk for a monster like the 700D? Other than that, the 700D is a hell of a chassis, succeeding where the 800D does, at a lower price. If you can do without the hot-swap ports and the side window, and want to save $50 on a great case, here ya go.
A kick-ass case at a lower price.
Huge; we miss the side window.
John_Mc
December 23, 2010 at 1:51am
Buy Corsair products because they're well rated, but forget about ever spending any of their so-called "rebates".
Corsair offers "rebates" which their customers absolutely despise. First of all, they make you bend over backward to try to fulfill all their weird requirements, and if you make even the tiniest of mistakes on any of their forms, your rebate will be rejected. If you misspell, abbreviate, or leave off a single word on the envelope you send your forms in, REJECTED! If the post office smears the postmark on your envelope, REJECTED! If the envelope gets "lost" or delayed in the mail, REJECTED!
But suppose you do manage to make it through their labyrinth of bizarre rebate requirements and finally get your money after waiting month after month after month, then what? SURPRISE! You don't get money at all--NOPE! Instead, you get what they call a "rebate card" which you cannot deposit or cash anywhere! But you'd better do something with it quick, because fees begin to accrue immediately, and Citibank will be only too happy to deduct those fees from your card as fast as they're legally permitted. (So be sure to read all the caveats and fine print on that incredibly confusing and lengthy legal document which accompanies your "rebate" card.)
In conclusion, buy Corsair's products if you trust the reviews and the company, but you should totally ignore their sleazy rebate b.s.
I don't know about you, but I'd much rather spend my money buying from a reputable company which doesn't try to cheat their customers like this. God only knows what trials and tribulations await should you need warranty work. Yea, good luck with that!!!
xXSINS OF WARXx
June 24, 2010 at 7:46am
I love the quality behind this case, it's not the most sexiest but it looks like it could be one of, if not THE most convenient and functional cases out there, however having no front or side intake concerns me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein
burntjuggalas
June 23, 2010 at 6:29pm
I bought one of these cases. and i am VERY pleased with it. the only caveats i have is, This sucker is HUGE. it dwarf's my Cosmos 1000 Case Easy. the second is, The motherboard cutout cover is made of plastic and the small pegs can snap rather easy (happened during shipping for mine.) and 3rd (which isnt really fault of the case but rather how thick my PSU wires are) the side panel bulges slightly from the large amount of wires running through behind the motherboard (and the side panel)
This case also offers decent cooling and oddly, its quieter and cooler than my Cosmos was.
It definately deserves the KICK ASS award no doubt!
kal9390
June 23, 2010 at 12:31pm
i hope they review the 600t right when it comes out cause thats a beast of a case.
Peanut Fox
June 23, 2010 at 12:48pm
600t has way too much plastic for my taste. I love the custom filters and there is still a lot of thought behind the design. The side panels look exactly like the Cosmos 1000/1010.
big_montana
June 23, 2010 at 10:34am
@Nathan - What is wrong with Faygo? It is a much better pop than 7 Up could ever hope to be :))
nedwards
June 24, 2010 at 10:08am
I dislike Faygo's association with a certain musical subculture popular in my youth. Nothing against the soda itself.
grorc
June 23, 2010 at 9:06am
These are fantastic cases and while I love this case, It is sooooo worth the $50 to get the 800D. After all the hard work of installing everything in such an amazing case, it is nice to see what you did.
Peanut Fox
June 23, 2010 at 12:47pm
I agree, but I really don't like the design of the 800d side panel. I don't understand why they built the 800D with angular square cuts, and then use a curved side window. It really breaks up the look of the case for me. The 800D is still a really nice case. I'm a big fan of liquid cooling, so I like to peek inside my builds to see how "everyone" is doing. I plan to grab a 700d and cut my own window.
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