Corsair 600T Graphite

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Introduction

With box then comes in Obsidian 800D 700D, Corsair we were pleasantly surprised with a high-end chassis, very thoughtful and very well done. The price was obviously up to the benefits. With its housing 600T Graphite, Corsair back on the front of the stage with a unique chassis designed housings Mid Tower upscale. And the least we can say is that the 600T is no shortage of arguments to convince ...

When Corsair has decided to enter the market for boxes, let's be honest, we had concerns about the success of the company. Too often, these brands of memory that are diversifying outside their core business out of simple products or poorly studied in the absence of a real design work behind. When at CeBIT 2009, Corsair has introduced its 800D Obisidian, we were struck by its enormous size. During the test we have devoted , we have not thought of well apart from its high price. But ultimately, it is justified in the face of brands such as Lian Li or Cooler Master upscale as famous ATCS 840. For its entry in the chassis, Corsair struck a major blow and went straight into the big leagues.

A less elaborate version of the 800D was born a little later. This is the 700D which incorporates the look and body of the 800D hotswap bays by removing the side panel and transparent. Two features not necessarily needed whose absence can bring down the rate from 269 to 229 euros, which is obviously quite a sum. Recognizing this, Corsair is back with a smaller package and less expensive, the 600T Graphite. This 600T, Corsair is defined as a frame Mid Tower offers all the features of a tall tower. In addition, design is much less "square" that Obsidian and in some ways it is more reminiscent Cooler Master Cosmos. In terms of features, it offers 4-bay 5 ¼ inches, 6 bays for hard drives and / or SSD and a breakdown based on two models of 200 mm and 120 mm model. But that's not all, it is also packed with extras that make the difference ...


Specifications

The Corsair 600T Graphite takes its name from the color he wears a gray graphite namely the most beautiful effect. This color is mixed with a facade of black caps mesh type "mesh". The frame is steel but the parties are graphite ABS. The frame is somewhere surrounded by this plastic cap and the assembly is fairly good, which is not always obvious with this kind of product. It should be noted that just two side doors did not fit perfectly to the chassis but nothing too disturbing at this level.

We also note the presence of a Rheobus the top of the housing for regulating the speed of 4 fans. Finally, Firewire and USB 3.0 are present, to the detriment of eSata.

• Color - Graphite Grey and Black
• Drive Bays - (x4) 5.25"(x6) 3.5"/2.5" Drive Caddies
• Form Factor - ATX, MICRO-ATX
• Expansion Slots - 8 standard slots
• Case Fans - (x2) 200mm Fans w/White LEDs(x1) 120mm Fan
• Dimensions - 220" (H) x 23.3" (L) x 10.4" (W) - (507mm x 592mm x 265mm)
• Weight - N/A
• Switches - Power, Reset, Fan Control Dial
• Front Access - (x4) USB 2.0(x1) USB 3.0(x1) IEEE1394(x1) Headphone, (x1) MIC

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Presentation

The Corsair 600T Graphite is a very large box with its front 26.5 cm. Even Obsidian 800D is narrower with 22.5 cm. This width is utilized to facilitate passage of cables behind the chassis and can also put a 200 mm front. In design terms, we believe it offers a rather simple and pleasant design. As always, it's a matter of personal taste but we can still say that we are here a thousand miles of military outfits of the last frame Antec and Cooler Master. Cons by two 200 mm fans are bright, which disturb some. Fortunately, it is very discreet white LEDs which are much more upscale than Red, green or blue. The front moved into the bottom behind a removable grille that hides a dust filter. This will prevent the 200 mm front to suck. This cache is removed very easily with a latch in good order. A simple press on it and it becomes available. On top of this filter is the 4 bays 5 ¼ inches hidden behind screens also feature anti-dust filter. At the top of the box, you are entitled to 4 USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Firewire port, a headphone jack, microphone input ... and a knob acting Rheobus. It was he who simultaneously controls the speed of three fans included in the bundle. Note this is a fourth connector for connection to a possible fourth fan.

Remain at the top to evoke the wide gate that is present. Via two latches at the rear, it is unlocked by a simple touch. We discover a site that can accommodate two 120 mm fans that could cool a watercooling radiator placed inside, instead of the 200 mm fan. If you are not using watercooling radiator, two 120 mm can also be arranged inside the chassis. Only downside here, the lack of dust filters at the top gate. Also under this scheme, there is a lock to lock access to the left side door. Useful if you live in a community and you fear for the life of your components ... The sides are original with the particular form of cutting them and how they retire. It suffices to push down the two handles to unlock the door. She then removes by pulling toward you, which is very convenient and requires no manipulation of the screw. Finish from the rear with the bottom feeding. The latter is protected by a dust filter that removes by pulling the bottom of the case backwards. Well thought out but will go through the back cover to remove. At the same time, we do not see what the alternative might consider Corsair. For the rest, we find the 8 expansion slots, the 120mm fan and water cooling pipes pass.


Installation

By removing the two side panels, we discover a spacious interior for a Mid Tower case. The width and depth of the 600T are obviously no stranger to that. We begin with the installation of the diet that is positioned in the bottom of the frame over a large air vent which will allow the power to suck in fresh air. The block is placed on steel pins and can be securely held by a wedge that is screwed into the bottom of the chassis. Since the block is already screwed by four screws on the outside of the case, the interest of this piece is questionable.

The motherboard, which can be ATX or Micro-ATX takes place over this power supply and we will be pleasantly surprised that there is room between the motherboard and peripheral bays. It can therefore install a Radeon HD 5870 or a GTX 480 without problems. Best, 5970 will not even cramped, it said. There are indeed 35 centimeters between the expansion slots and bays for 3 ½ inch drives. As a reminder, a Radeon HD 5970, the longest graphics card market, measuring 31 centimeters. Short of that side, the 600T is ready for the future if ever AMD or Nvidia graphics card came out even longer. The space between the top of the card and the fan is 200 mm higher cons reduced but since it is a way round, it just makes sense. If you put a watercooling radiator, space will be further reduced obviously. At the top left is entitled to a grommet for the ATX connector 8-pin +12 volt and for once, we were able to connect from behind the motherboard. It is mainly due to the proximity of the hole in the card but a credit to the proximity of the cable glands in the diet.

The installation of devices or 5 ¼ inches is easy. After removing the front cover without penalty from the inside, you slide the optical drive from the front and is secure through the system without fixing screws. Net and flash. Bays 3 ½ inches are 6 in number and distributed in two cages. They each comprise three independent racks that can accommodate a disk drive 3 ½ inches or 2 ½ inches. Installing a disk 3 ½ inches is not overlooked by twisting slightly to the rack to retract the pins in the mounting holes provided in the disk. These pins are mounted on rubber grommets to absorb vibration. For a disk 2 ½ inches, by cons must use the screwdriver as it attaches to the bottom. But thanks to this system, you can pitch six SSDs, no less.

But that's not all because the cages are removable. The top one is removed by loosening two thumbscrews and can take place alongside the first, between the latter and diet. The goal is to free up space to promote the breakdown of graphics cards. This will also reduce noise because the air flow will come up against the cage less. If you only need three discs, you can use a single cage in the center of the frame and so make room in the front for example by installing a pump and a water cooling tank. In short, the possibilities are many and we should welcome this modularity intelligent.

The cable management is inspired by Obsidian with rubber grommets to facilitate the storage and concealment of cables. These holes are in a reasonable and ideally placed. Note also that a space is provided opposite the central location of the hard disk tray again to run cables from the rear. In short, everything has been thought for a very clean installation, as on Obsidian. In addition, the space behind the motherboard is important and a small space under the stands of hard drives used to hide unused cables. As for the USB 3.0 cable, it can go behind the motherboard and exit at the top of the motherboard and then follow the fan and out from the cover provided for PCI since its passage is a hole.

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Cooling

The breakdown of Corsair 600T Graphite is entrusted to three fans: two 200 mm light on the front and top and a 120 mm rear. The two 200 mm operating at 730 rpm at 12 volts while running 120 mm to 1080 revolutions per minute. These three fans are attached via screws through the rubber washers. Note that 8 extra washers are supplied with the case for sites located 120 mm above the chassis.

These fans have connectors to 3 points and therefore can be plugged into the motherboard or be managed by the Rheobus at the top of the box. To do this, leave this Rheobus four pin male connector 3 in which he must connect the sockets of three fans. A fourth connector is provided if you wish to connect an additional fan, useful if you replace the top two 200 mm 120 mm. The problem is that this Rheobus has an operating range reduced. Indeed, equipped with a voltmeter, we measured 11.67 volts issued when the button is set to maximum and minimum of 10 volts. This is not strictly speaking a Rheobus. But it is also understandable because Corsair base, these fans are not working quickly and by applying a voltage of 5, 7 or even 9 volts, it is not certain they would start. This would obviously be unfortunate for cooling configuration.

The configuration used was as follows:

• Motherboard Asus Blitz Extreme P35/DDR3
• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 - quad core 2.66 GHz - 130 Watt TDP
• 2x1024 MB DDR3-1333 Kingston
• ATI Radeon HD 5870
• 30 GB OCZ Solid (boot disk)
• Hard disk Samsung 400 GB (lower bay)
• Hard Drive Seagate 160 GB (central bay)
• DVD Samsung
• Cooler Noctua NH-U9F
• Gigabyte Odin GT Power
• 550 Watts

We opted for the Asus Blitz Extreme motherboard because it allows checking many temperatures: probe motherboard, northbridge, southbridge, etc.. Tests have been to launch the software by performing OCCT test alternatively the CPU and Power Supply stressful test both the processor and graphics card. Temperatures are recorded after 3 hours of testing.

These results confirm that between the minimum and maximum position, there is too little difference in speed because the performance differences are small. The results here are rather average when compared for example to the Antec DF-85 Dark Fleet which offered better cooling. The processor and motherboard quickly reach high values without this starts the machine stability but Mid Tower case may be equipped with a cooling less suited to very large configurations. You should also add in its defense that the left side panel is perforated with grids as the DF-85.

This allows it to be cons not too noisy. It obviously remains audible, particularly because of the 200 mm that are a little sound. These fans are also disappointed this case as they are of poor quality and are very cheap. Just watch them to see that the rotation of the blades is not steady around the axle. For this case that price, we expected better ... Too bad also that the Rheobus has a range of variation is so limited. The use of PWM fans would have most certainly go lower. Conclude with a problem that we encountered, the resonance of the case by the hard disks. Upon investigation it was found that removal of the right side panel to stop this throbbing noise. In reality, it is the HDD power connectors which touched the wall which were responsible for this noise. This could happen to us with other cases and this reminds us that the cable management is far from useless.


Conclusion

The final evaluation of Corsair 600T Graphite is rather positive. Despite its status as a way round, it offers a lot of interior space. But make no mistake, this is a Mid Tower chassis only for height. Indeed, its depth and width are important and higher in many cases great ride. This allows it to accommodate very long graphics cards such as the famous AMD Radeon HD 5970 and this without removing the hard drive bays. It is even almost 5 inches of space. One of the strengths of the 600T is constituted by the modularity of two cages for hard drives. If original, they are stacked in front of the chassis, they are completely removable. Through the removal of two screws per cage, we can indeed remove them. Better, Corsair has provided a system for attaching one of two cages in the center of the box, next to food. Placed one beside the other cages and leave room for a reservoir, a pump, or simply to promote cooling of graphics cards.

Other touches are notable as the front dust filters and power. They are well designed, easy to remove and enjoy an excellent quality of workmanship. The possibility of integrating a watercooling radiator based on a 240 mm at the top of the housing will be of interest to fans of the cooling liquid. We also appreciated the ease with which the side doors can be removed. What about the storage possibilities of the cables are simply excellent. The space behind the motherboard is more than enough while the rubber grommets used to arrive at a proper row configuration. Add bulk yet fans mounted on rubber washers, USB 3.0, 4 USB ports and Firewire port on the front to complement this painting flattering. As for the look of this 600T Graphite, we are committed because we finally have a sober housing and equipped with nice features. Too bad for the white LED 200 mm fans but they are quieter than the red, blue or green. Obviously, this remains a matter of personal taste. However, ventilation is taint this idyllic picture. The first problem is the pseudo-Rheobus offering a too small range of variation since we measured 10 volts with Rheobus minimum and maximum of 11.67 volts. This small beach can be explained by the fans of 200 mm, which probably does not start in this voltage of 10 volts. Still, a better solution with PWM fans would have been more timely. Add that the quality of 200 mm is poor and they are very cheap.

As for the breakdown in itself, it is average, nothing more. The absence of side vent grille, which is a more aesthetic, limits the possibilities for discharging the heat generated by the graphics card. At this level, the 600T Graphite misses a bit the express aim of enabling Corsair installed in a way round beefy configurations which usually take place in a great ride. Ventilation is indeed a bit tight for that. But this breakdown is not prohibitive for anyone looking for a housing sober, functional and offers good quality workmanship. In our view, the 600T Graphite offers an interesting alternative to those seeking to replace an Antec P180 and assimilated and who despair of Antec offer it a one day series. To be honest to the end, yours truly is on the verge of replacing it family by the P180 Corsair Graphite 600T combines compactness and good interior space compared to the behemoths that are the Obsidian 800D or Cooler Master ATCS 840.