Corsair is a popular brand in the market that sells CPU case, coolers, ram, SSD, CPU fans, and other essential computer hardware’s. One thing you will notice is that all products of Corsair are of good quality. Corsair does not sell something that is not useful or a product which is overhyped. When
it comes to CPU case then we have some really amazing models from Corsair. There are various models that are divided into different series based on the requirement. For entry level gaming we have this Carbide Series of cases. For better performance you can have a look on Vengeance, Graphite and Obsidian cases. We are going to learn more about Corsair SPEC-03 that falls under Carbide series. SPEC-03 is one of the top models under Carbide Series. There are two more cases that we had tested earlier. They are Corsair SPEC-01 & SPEC-02. Following the line, SPEC-03 is designed to give you more output.
It is an amazing case for high end gaming and overclocking pc. Because of its cooling features, it becomes a wise choice for building an extreme machine. SPEC-03 is a mid tower case. It comes with three fans and a good interior to handle all your hardware with smart cable routing platform. It also has a transparent side panel, through which you can show off your internal hardware. Corsair SPEC-03 is smartly designed on the basis of gaming theme. It is not like a regular flat case. It is attractive and looks like an extreme system. And this is because of its design. The front panel has two 120mm led fans with a thick grill shape design. The cost of Corsair Carbide SPEC-03 is around Rs.4600 approx. It can be a bit higher. I found this on eBay for Rs.5150. So just check among different vendors for the exact price. If you bargain you might get it at a cheaper price.
- Features:
- High Airflow system
- Industrial look
- Game Oriented Design
- Superior Air Cooling
- Dual LED-lit Front Intake fan with single Exhaust fan
- Room for adding 6 case fans
- Transparent huge window side panel
- Smart Cable routing system
- Dust Filter
- Tool Free Hard Drive Installation
- Dual USB 3.0 front port
Specification:
- Warranty – Two years
- Weight – 5kg
- Color – Black
- Case Form Factor – Mid-tower
- Dimensions – 500mm x 220mm x 430mm
- Case Motherboard Support – Mini ITX, Micro ATX, ATX
- Maximum GPU Length – 420mm
- Maximum CPU Cooler Height – 157mm
- Maximum PSU Length – 288mm
- Case Expansion Slots – 7
- Case Drive Bays – (x2) 5.25in. (x3) 3.5in. (x2) 2.5in
- Case Material – Steel
- Case Power Supply – ATX (not included)
- External Connections – (x1) USB 2.0. (x1) USB 3.0. (x1) Headphone Port. (x1) Microphone Port.
- Fan Mount Locations – Front: (x2) 120/140mm. Top: (x2) 120mm. Rear: (x1) 120mm. Bottom: (x1) 120mm
- Fans Included – Front: (x1) 120mm. Rear: (x1) 120mm
- Radiator Mount Locations – Rear: 120mm (Corsair Liquid Coolers Compatible)
DESIGN:
Corsair SPEC-03 brings a good industrial design with amazing air flow features. The front panel features to give good ventilation so that your processor and graphics card can keep on performing well. Corsair SPEC-03 has a good durable design. A mixture of steel and plastic makes this a long lasting case. You won't face any major issue for future upgrades also. It is good enough to build a decent high end gaming pc. And if you think the ventilation is low then you can try adding more fans in it. Corsair SPEC-03 copies a lot of things from Corsair SPEC-02. Like the interior. It only has a change at the front side and brings few additional fans while other things are quite similar. Leaving the front panel design aside, I found Corsair SPEC-03 almost similar to Corsair SPEC-02.
FRONT:
The front side of Corsair SPEC-03 gives an extreme gaming pc look. You can see two 120mm fan with led lit on the same. The top part is reserved for two optical drives. Above you can see the power and restart button with two USB 3.0 ports and audio jacks. This is easy to access by having a few more USB ports that can help when it comes to an extreme gaming pc. The front panel looks attractive when the system is on. The panel is removable. You have to pull it from the bottom side to replace the fans.
BACK:
Corsair offers a 120mm exhaust fan that you can see at the backside. SPEC-03 has nothing special provided on the back. There is regular motherboard connector socket at the top with 7 gpu slots in middle. There are rubber grommet holes also. Below section is for the power supply.
LEFT/RIGHT:
The left side brings a big transparent panel that gives you a clear scene of inside. If you have a led CPU fan, then you can see it working live. This gives the case a bit attractive look. It is thick and looks amazing. While on the right there is nothing. The case comes in black color that makes it look like an industrial grade product. It is not really heavy.
TOP/BOTTOM:
You can see openings for two big size fans on the top side. This the same place where you can also add a 120mm radiator. For liquid cooler I am quite sure this system has enough space in it. It will be good if nothing is kept on the top part so that fans can give good airflow. A simple dust filter is placed at the bottom side. It is like a thin net that you can remove for cleaning purpose. There is no tray here.
INTERIOR:
There are many things inside the case. After opening the side panels the first thing you will see is a clean interior with cable routing.
The space looks well managed for all the hardware’s that is needed to be placed. Like the motherboard part. By keeping the PSU at the bottom, you gain a bit of extra space. In most regular case you can see that on the top side which gets heavy and it also blocks access to optical drives.
The hard drive socket is placed at the bottom right. These are tool free drives. There is no need to use screw. It is a simple clip based structure where you have to push the drive inside. And to remove, on the left you can see a tiny handle that you have to pull outside. Do not push it hard or else it will break. Instead of this, Tool -Less drive trays are much better and easy to use. In the drive bays, you can keep 2.5inch and 3.5inch drives separately with SSD. In total you can add up to 5 drives, among which 2 slots on the top is dedicated to SSD's. Corsair SPEC-03 comes packed with three fans.
Two 120mm with led are on the front side and one is on the back. There is a room for adding two more on the top side. The top slot is for two optical drives. I also found enough space for using graphics card as well.
At the left side you can see cable routing system. This will help you to keep your internal setup neat and clean. Nicely tied cables allow good air flow that will unlimitedly help in cooling of your processor and graphics card.
There are 7 gpu slots at the back that are installed with thumbscrews. They are easy to remove. Above that lies a 120mm Exhaust fan.
The extreme top side is dedicated for dual 120mm fan or radiator.
SETUP:
Corsair SPEC-03 is an all rounder case. It will handle your different hardware’s effectively if you place them in a proper manner. Like placing the drives at the bottom and tying up the cables, so that it does not block any other stuff. Most of the issue occurs due to PSU cable. They are the one that clutter the internal setup. You can use the cable routing system to pass the cable and avoid getting messed up. I am quite sure the setup will be very easy for anyone. Corsair SPEC-03 can also be a good durable case for a work pc. You can buy this case to upgrade your existing one. Being a mid tower case it is not easy to fit a full size graphics card in it. But if you are having standard size then you can add multiple GPUs. A transparent panel on the sides helps you to make your machine more attractive. A few things that is missing, more USB ports on the front. Atleast 4 USB port can help you more, like charging your mobile phone or transferring files between multiple external drives.
CONCLUSION:
Corsair SPEC-03 is a good choice at a price of Rs. 4600. I had seen a few more cases that fall in the same price, with more features. The cases bring fan control directly integrated to the body. You can increase and decrease the speed as per your need. Being a high end gaming cabinet, it is essential that you get all type of benefits on the same. Overall I am quite sure you will like the case. It is not very costly according to me. But it would be great to have a PSU in the same. Then it would become the best choice at the price. Corsair SPEC-03 is enough to give you long lasting pc solution. You can make a professional system for your work, or you can just upgrade to a gaming pc anytime you want. Good airflow is the primary feature that will directly help you to keep your CPU cool. It is an important requirement for all gaming pc.
PROS
- Durable Design
- Good Airflow features
- Dual 120mm LED fan with 120mm exhaust fan
CONS:
- Limited Liquid cooling support
