Corsair Special Edition White Graphite 600T Review

Posted 09/06/2011 at 10:27am | by Alan Fackler

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Roomier than the average mid tower

Who knew that something as simple as a new paint scheme and side window could make such an aesthetic difference?

We’ve already reviewed Corsair’s 600T once. We loved the case, but bemoaned the lack of side air intakes. The Special Edition White 600T is virtually the same as the regular edition, with a new paint job and one major tweak: the addition of a side-panel cutout that can be fitted with either an acrylic window or a mesh screen with fan mounts. At 20 inches tall by 10.4 inches wide by 22.7 inches deep, the 600T is not a small case, but once the steel side panels are removed you’re greeted with a vastness that seems bigger inside than out.

The Special Edition 600T’s steel frame is painted matte black, but the whole case is covered with a curved, white plastic shell—in direct contrast to the sharp right-angle edges of the Obsidian 650D. Inside, this 600T is virtually identical to the previous model. The front panel and top exhaust areas of the 600T are covered with black mesh—the panels housing the top and front 20cm fans can be lightly pressed to flip open or removed altogether for cleaning. The six flex-til-they-fit hard drive trays and four toolless optical drive bays didn’t impede our build in the slightest—we were able to fit a 12.2-inch GPU as easily as a standard-size one without having to remove either of the drive bays.

With so much space on the inside, it's hard for your build not to be easy (take it from us—we use extremely large componenets, just to be sure).

The CPU backplane cutout and eight grommeted cable-routing cutouts are large and easy to use, and there’s plenty of space between the walls of the case and the motherboard tray for easy cable management. There’s also a small cutout for an 8-pin power cable in the top left corner of the motherboard tray. We came away with one of the cleanest builds we’ve put together in recent memory, and one which was accomplished in a very small window of time.

Speaking of windows, we’re pleased the Special Edition 600T finally gets one! We also rather enjoy the new color scheme—the 600T has gone from gray with black trim and blue LEDs to white with black trim and white LEDs, and it looks simply phenomenal. Cooler still, the LEDs on the 20cm top and front fans brighten and dim in relation to fan speed. Neat stuff.

The two jumbo 20cm fans are placed behind mesh panels, which can be easily removed by pressing lightly.

Given that the 600T comes with only three fans (albeit two massive ones), we were a little concerned that things would get hot, especially under load, which was our only gripe with the original 600T. We’re pleased to report that this isn’t the case. Under load, system temperatures hovered around 57 degrees Celsius with the plastic side window installed. Idling, the three fans kept the temperature right around 35 C. If you’re running a powerful videocard, you can mount up to four 12cm intake fans on the mesh window panel and cool your system further.

Above the front panel, the 600T features the aforementioned fan controller knob, a single USB 3.0 pass-through and four USB 2.0 inputs, power and reset switches, headphone/mic jacks, and a FireWire port—but no drop-in SATA dock.

The 600T's onboard fan controller is an awesome addition—the white LEDs on the fans actually brighten and dim depending on how much throttle you give it.

The Special Edition 600T really hits all the right notes. It’s big, beautiful, and super easy to use—we love to see manufacturers applying user feedback to new designs. The white finish with black trim makes it a real eye-grabber, and the inclusion of both acrylic and mesh side-window panels shows Corsair’s attention to detail. The first 600T was an awesome case. But the Special Edition 600T kicks ass.

$180, www.corsair.com

Corsair Special Edition White Graphite 600T

CUTTING EDGE

Tremendous amount of room; very sharp-looking; onboard fan control.

CUT MY HEDGE

Cooling is merely decent with the acrylic window; plastic case accents.

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