[section_title title=”Installation”]
Installation
Case: Corsair Carbide 400C
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87 G1 Sniper M5
CPU: Intel i5 4690K
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S
RAM: Avexir Core Series 16GB (4x4GB) 2933MHz
Graphics Card: Powercolor R9 NANO
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB
Power Supply: Corsair AX760i Platinum
Usually when installing our test hardware inside a new test case, we usually find at least one or two areas we dislike for one reason or another, however the Carbide 400C and with its wide open space and easy access is one of the easiest cases I’ve had the opportunity to build in and I can’t think of a single major issue with it, there are one or two rather minors ones though (yep, that’s me being picky I’m afraid). The entire installation can easily be done inside of half an hour, although managing those cables might add a little onto that. The first plan of action was to remove the PSU and 3.5″ drive bay covers. A nice easy task given they are simply affixed via a couple of thumbscrews apiece, then slide towards the front of the case and out they come. The Corsair AX760i Platinum test PSU is then installed.
The necessary power cables are then fed through the PSU cable cut-out and plugged into the PSU, then both covers are then re-attached and fixed. The motherboard I/O shield is then installed, which if I’m honest was a surprisingly a little tight. Shortly followed by the motherboard assembly and Powercolor R9 NANO. Something I’ve found to be a recurring nicety with this brilliant little GPU is how convenient it is to work around, it simply never gets in the way of anything whatsoever. Each of the power cables are then attached to the main rig assembly and all of the Carbide 400C leads plugged in. The front panel cables for the case itself prove to be of ample length, but one slight oddity is the lack of a second cable cut-out above the PSU bay covers just to allow for a slightly tidier cable management, so instead I chose to use the PSU bay cut-out alongside the 6+2 pin power cable for the GPU. Which is something you’ll want to do prior to re-installing the covers themselves as all of a sudden you’ll find things a little fiddly unless you have hobbit sized hands.
The covers are then re-fitted leaving just the storage drives and a little tidying up. The 3.5″ test HDD simply snaps into the tool-less drive tray much like many other cases, then in pops the Crucial MX100 256GB into the nearest 2.5″ bay (if I’m being entirely honest, the bulk of the build time was actually taken up playing with the ‘eject’ lever). The Carbide 400C allows approximately 20mm along with plenty of tie off points for easy cable management and with the PSU covers in place you’ll find most of the excess cables will be fed back into the inner chassis. However you may very well find that if your 24pin motherboard power cable happens to be a little on the thick side, you may find yourself resorting to the ‘holiday suitcase’ style of re-fitting the side panel. Otherwise I can honestly say the Corsair Carbide 400C is both one of the nicest and easiest cases I’ve ever build in.
