| Corsair Vengeance C70 Computer Case |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 02 July 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Corsair Vengeance C70 Computer Case
Manufacturer: Corsair Memory, Inc. Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Corsair. Corsair has been catering for the hardware enthusiasts and gamers for many years now and have gained a lot of praise for their high quality and high performance hardware. In this review Benchmark Reviews examines and tests out the Corsair Vengeance C70 mid-tower gaming PC case. Many of us believe that consoles killed PC gaming and Intel killed overclocking, but now we have another problem - Case manufactures killing case modding. The bonus about case modding is that you will have an individual and unique case that no-one else has, the problem with the C70 is that I forsee it being a popular design which means it will quickly lose its appeal as it gains popularity.
The Vengeance C70 has an ammo box theme and comes in military green to boot (also available in white and black). The C70 has some new features unique to this model and comes fitted with two 120mm intake fans and one 120mm exhaust fan, and also has removable mesh intake filters. There is also lots of room and support for many different watercooling configurations including dual radiators for the deep pocketed enthusiast out there. before we get stuck into the review let's have a look at the features and specifications from Corsair's website.
Vengeance C70 Features
Vengeance C70 Specifications
Source:www.corsair.com Closer Look: ExteriorIn this section we will get a good look at the exterior design of the Corsair Vengeance C70 Mid-Tower PC case.
The front of the Vengeance C70 has a very simple uniform look that looks quite plain. There is plenty of vented area for air intake and a sufficient amount of 5.25" bays. One great feature of the Vengeance C70 is that it is almost completely made of metal. The plastic parts are the intake filters, the HDD sliders, the side window and the fans of course.
This side of the C70 will for the most part be hidden. The side panel is embossed slightly to give more room for cable routing behind the motherboard tray, it's only a few millimeters but it could make all the difference. We also get our first peek at the new side panel clamps at the top of the case that contribute to its military/ammo box theme.
The rear of the Vengeance C70 case can tell us a lot about its features, for instance we can see that there is plenty of clearance above and behind the motherboard tray, there are eight expansion slots and there is support for water cooling. There is plenty of ventilation at the rear to keep heat moving out of the case and the bottom mounted PSU slot has two sets of holes to cater for those who like to install their PSU with the fan pointing up or down.
The left side of the panel has a large window with two pre-cut fan mounts that will support 120mm or 140mm fans. Side panel fan mounts are great if you need them but should really be an option, I think that a solid window would look much better and it shouldn't be too hard to fit a new piece of Perspex to get the look I like.
The top of the Vengeance C70 has plenty of ventilation and also has two fan mounts that will support 120mm or 140mm fans which in turn means there is support for 240mm and 280mm long water cooling radiators. The handles that you can see at either side are really strong and spring back into position when you release them.
The bottom of the Vengeance C70 case has two sliding intake filters, one for the PSU and one for the bottom front intakes (2x 120mm/140mm mounts). There are two full width feet with rubber strips that keep the Vengeance C70 really sturdy. Detailed Exterior FeaturesIn this section we look even closer at the exterior features for a more in depth look.
As previously stated the carry handles are spring loaded and return to this position when released and this is a nice touch that shows some thought has gone into this design. The side panel clamps are really unique as far as PC cases are concerned but have been around for years in the industrial sector and are of course used on ammo boxes amongst other things. These clamps hold the side panel on really secure and also allow easy access to the inside of the case.
The front I/O panel follows along with the design theme thanks to the military style power and reset switches, the power switch also illuminates white to show power status. Between these switches are two USB 3.0 ports as standard (Corsair supply a cable to convert them to USB 2.0), also there are headphone and microphone jacks and a HDD activity LED.
The large vented intake area has a double honeycomb effect thanks to the intake filter on the inside (shown below in more detail). The Corsair Logo sits bang smack in the middle of the vented area letting others know what calibre of PC hardware you are dealing with.
The front of the case can be removed to get access to the front intake filter for removal and cleaning. This is quite a process though, which involves removing both left and right side panels just to access the release tabs. You will also need to remove this front panel if you wish to remove the 5.25" bay covers when installing new hardware.
With the intake filters removed from the bottom of the Vengeance C70 case we can see that it has a lot of ventilation. We can also see the two 120mm/140mm fan mounts (interior) which can also be used to mount 240mm/280mm long watercooling radiators. Closer Look: InteriorIn this section we take a look at the inside of the Corsair Vengeance C70 mid tower PC case and see what sets it apart from the rest of the crowd.
The interior of the Corsair Vengeance C70 PC case uses a tried and tested layout that has proven time after time to perform really well, the only differences are the intake fan positions and the extra interior width and height. With the intake fans installed in their default position the width between them and the expansion slots is 32.5 cm, and with the fans removed you get an extra 2.5 cm for a total width of 35cm. If more width is needed then you can remove one or both of the HDD racks but I can't see that you would need to. The Vengeance C70 is quite tall and you can clearly see that there is a lot of room above the motherboard compared to many other mid tower cases. The motherboard standoff's come pre-installed and save some time when building a system into this case.
Behind the motherboard tray on the Vengeance C70 has been given a lot of thought, There are lots of cable routing and securing options and the embossed motherboard tray gives extra width right where it is needed. There is a super large cut out for access to the backplate of your CPU cooler and the fixed cable clamps are a nice addition too.
The Corsair Vengeance C70 mid tower PC Case offers some tool free options for installing 3.5" and 5.25" drives. The 5.25" tool free solution is relatively simple; a spring loaded pin locks the drive into place as it is inserted. The 3.5" drives will fit into these black plastic sliding trays which secure into the HDD racks. The Vengeance C70 will take up to three 5.25" drives and up to six 3.5"/2.5" drives in these allotted bays.
By removing two screws for each caddy (one front one behind motherboard tray) they can be removed from the case. If you wish to install a watercooling raidator in the floor of the Vengeance C70 you only need to remove the bottom HDD caddy and the fan can be re-mounted in the front of the case (behind the front panel) as you can see below.
By default the intake fans are installed attached to the HDD bays, these can be removed and installed here (behind the front panel). There are mounts for two 120mm fans or one 140mm fan (top position). The HDD bays look to have plenty of ventilation and shouldn't restrict airflow that much unless they are completely occupied with 3.5" drives, in which case there wouldn't be much airflow at all.
At the rear of the Vengeance C70 there is one 120mm exhaust fan fitted, and there are eight expansion slots which makes it possible to house a Tri-SLI or 3-way Crossfire setup with the right video cards and motherboard. The PSU mounts allow you to install your power supply fan up or fan down depending on your personal preference. Detailed Interior FeaturesIn this section we will take a more detailed look at the interior features of the Corsair Vengeance C70 PC case.
Cable routing is well catered for in the Vengeance C70 PC case, these fixed cable clamps are invaluable and will secure most of the wires routed around the back of the motherboard tray.
Apart from the obvious grommet cable pass-through holes there are some extra places where cables can be routed, there are two towards the front as shown above, and in the image below we see another large hole towards the rear.
This cable routing hole will cater primarily for your CPU power cable but will also be very handy for passing through exhaust fan cables from the rear or top of the case.
Here we have a nice detailed shot of the HDD rack with the fan still attached. I like the added detail on the top even though it is something that will go unseen.
You can fit a 3.5" HDD without screws in these trays, and once they are slotted into the caddy they will be held very secure. All six are the same which means you can install six 2.5" (solid state drives) HDD's in the Vengeance C70, albeit with the use of screws.
In this shot we can see just how much room there will be once the motherboard is installed. As it is there is 70mm from the motherboard standoff to the roof of the case and once the motherboard is installed it shaves of 1~2mm from that measurement. That's enough room to fit a 40mm thick radiator and 25mm thick fans.
Behind the motherboard tray there is a nice 2cm gap to play with when routing cables, and then some more in the recessed area. Remember also that the side panel is embossed giving an extra few millimeters right where they are needed. Vengeance C70 Final ThoughtsCorsair have really delivered with the Vengeance C70 mid-tower PC case, it meets all the criteria for an awesome gaming case. Firstly the ammo box theme is a real winner (works best in military green) making it aesthetically pleasing and functional too. Next you have heaps of space inside for installing high performance hardware and cooling, and last but not least you have a massive window to show off or admire your self-built beast of a machine.
During a PC build you will normally encounter problems large and small (depending which case you choose) but this is just not the case with the Vengeance C70. I am really struggling to find bad points about this case, installation was an absolute breeze and the finished product just looks awesome. My only gripe is the overall weight of the finished system, the Vengeance C70 is constructed of 100% steel and the only plastic parts apart from the window are the intake filters the fans and the HDD trays. If the Vengeance C70 were made of aluminum then it would be much lighter but also much more expensive.
The cable routing of the Vengeance C70 was given lots of thought when this case was conceived and it really pays off in the end. Many cases offer good cable management but Corsair has taken it to the next level. The recessed channels, cable clamps, tie down points and cable pass-though points come together very well making cable routing very easy to do and you get a really nice and tidy finish. Corsair Vengeance C70 ConclusionImportant: In this section I am going to write a brief five point summary on the following categories; Performance, Appearance, Construction, Functionality and Value. These views are my own and help me to give the Vengeance C70 PC case a rating out of 10. A high or low score does not necessarily mean that it is better or worse than a similar PC case that has been reviewed by another writer here at Benchmark Reviews, which may have got a higher or lower score. It is however a good indicator of whether the Vengeance C70 PC case is good or not. I would strongly urge you to read the entire review, if you have not already, so that you can make an educated decision for yourself. Performance is very good but Corsair are using a tried and tested design, temperatures of my overclocked system stay well within limits and the noise level is very low. There is so much potential in this case that it would be a waste to just run it as-is. There is support for two 240mm long water cooling radiators and the potential to install up to eleven 120mm fans or seven 140mm fans depending on your personal preferences. Appearance ratings will differ from one person to the next, it is very difficult to please everyone because we all have our individual preferences. There might be something that I like the look of that you may not like. Either way, thanks to the visual nature of this review, you can form your own opinions and even ignore my rating. The theme is a good one and it is a surprise that no other manufacturer has attempted such a design before, also the Corsair craftsmanship really shines through even through to the subtle details like the excellent paint finish and the side panel securing methods. I can't see too many people not liking the looks of the Vengeance C70 but I'm sure some will come out of the wood work. The power and reset buttons are also a nice finish to the military theme. Construction is absolutely excellent, Corsair have done a great service to the gaming community with the Vengeance C70. There is no unnecessary use of plastic in the construction of the chassis and it is very well put together. The case handles and side panel clamps feel really strong, everything feels secure and the whole unit feels very rigid. Functionality is very good. The Vengeance C70 mid-tower PC case has three removable intake filters and tool free solutions for your optical and hard drives. The cable routing is simply excellent and it is so easy to get a nice tidy finish. The carry handles and side panel clamps are equally functional as they are nice looking, the clamps hold the side panels securely and also allow quick and easy access to the inside of the case and the handles allow you to carry the case for short distances. There are eight expansion slots which means that with the right motherboard and video cards you will be able to run a 3-way CrossFire or Tri-SLI setup inside this case. The Corsair Vengeance C70 (Model# CC-9011018-WW) costs $139.99 (NewEgg / Amazon). While the military green is currently out of stock at the time of writing, the black and white/black models are in stock and only vary in color. At this price the Vengeance C70 is competing with the Carbide 500R and the Obsidian 550D also from Corsair, two cases with a solid reputation and rating, and while $140 is far from inexpensive you really will get what you're pay for. It is really simple: Corsair makes great cases and prices them competitively. If you like the looks of the Vengeance C70 and you think it will suit your hardware needs, then there is no good reason not to put it on your shortlist. Pros:
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Comments
This is the best Corsair case I've seen lately and for the price will be difficult to match all the features with some other brand.
As the newest videocards really need no watercooling any longer then a pair of 2 fan radiators is all I'll need.
I agree about the side window. I'd rather it have no fan cutouts or just have full circular cutouts alond with a solid window in the same box. Gigabyte and, I believe Azza, has done this. I would also happily pay extra for a full aluminum case but the steel used fits right in with the ammunition case-style and is pracxtically bulletproof. I can easily decorate the right case side with a large military decal from the local Army/Navy store or cut out a pattern and highlight it myself as I did in the US Air Force.
I see that Corsair finally made a little extra room for wiring with the right side panel as I suggested to Corsair George last year. It's more than a little nice of them that they considered and did as I suggested.
I just wish that they would make a new Obsidian full tower with all of these features. Even the olive drab coloration. But, please, build it with all aluminum!
Are you joking? ;) There are no dust filters on top and the holes for tube are fabricaly blind with steel...Beauty is Carbide 500R (but also is without dust filters!) and Fractal Design Define R4 but not this crap...
"the holes for tube are fabricaly blind with steel". I have no idea what that means. Once again in plain English, please.
"Beauty is Carbide 500R(but also is without dust filters!) and Fractal Design Define R4 but not this crap..."
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I get that. I like it, you don't. So what? The Fractal Design Define R4 is a featureless box that looks exactly like any one of a hundred other cases. No dust filters? So? They're actually quite cheap. I buy and use them myself. Never, ever on top of the case though. Why would any idiot filter exhaust air from a computer case? I guess I just answered that one. Have fun filtering your own exhaust.
"With the intake fans installed in their default position the width between them and the expansion slots is 32.5 cm, and with the fans removed you get an extra 2.5 cm for a total width of 35cm. If more width is needed then you can remove one or both of the HDD racks but I can't see that you would need to"
With the HDD cages removed you get 47.5cm from the expansion slots to the front of the case.
550mm (H) x 280mm (W) x 580mm (L)