Corsair Crystal Series 280X

So I originally was going for an itx build but poor planning and rushed decisions made me buy this case as the original case was too small. My mistake not to measure every dimension out and I got fed up but ended up happy with this case. A little bit on the heavy size but its still a good medium size case.+ Nice tempered glass makes everything look nice/design.+ Back compartment helps me hide all the ugly cables, I don't really need any of the SSD or HDD slots since I only have 1 NVME installed currently.+ Fan filter galore: front, bottom top, side panels all have magnetic dust covers. Really nice to prolong dust buildup.- A bit on the heavy side mainly because of tempered glass on front, side, and top.- My original intent was to put the LL120 RGB fan up front but had to cut all the zip ties that was preinstalled. Kinda annoying if you dont have a wire cutter readily available.- Tempered glass easy fingerprint.+/- Tempered glass design/dust filter, you don't have to keep the filters on but it does give a 100-200 lower rpm (guesstimate) resistance.+/- If you're putting an itx board in this case and you have an AIO or something that uses the onboard USB header, make sure the motherboard has 2 or you have a USB header splitter/hub. The cases's lightning node pro that controls the RGB uses the USB header. My ASUS itx board only had one and I had to control the H115i Platinum as well, so I had to buy a $5-6 splitter. So not really a con if you have a mATX or itx that already has multiple headers.+/- A lot of hard drive/SSD slots in the back, kinda useless if you only use m.2 drives.Overall just make sure you plan out your builds first and not rush it like I did when I became an early adopter for the 9th gen Intel. The case is really nice overall and the tempered glass helps with the overall sleek design if you go the RGB way. Kinda on the heavy side but glass is glass lol.Current setup:CPU - Intel i7 9700K @5.0GHzRAM - 16GB Trident Z RAM @4000CL17MOBO - ASUS Z390-i ROG STRIXNVME - Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMeGPU - MSI RTX 2070 Gaming ZPSU - Corsair AX850Cooler - Corsair H115i RGB Platinum

A Corsair Crystal 280X RGB.. $185 Case for $116 shipped to my door, with quote "Minor Box Damage, but product has no damage" and that's exactly what showed up at my door. The box had a couple little scratches but inside was a brand new Corsair 280X case with zero issues.If you're gonna use this case some things to note..#1: It's expensive, but take into account it comes with x2 LL120 RGB Fans (Example I was gonna buy a Fractal POP for $80, bought Fractal Aspect-12 RGB Fans for $54=$134, so your not that far off, and though I've had issues with Corsairs Peripherals my last case was a 4000D Air Flow which was the best case for the money hands down. When it comes to cases Corsair really do a great job, and honestly I've yet to build in one of there cases I haven't liked.#2: It's Micro-ATX or ITX ONLY, I know it looks like it will take a normal ATX MOB but it does NOT.#3 No Rear Exhaust Fans.. However I believe 60-65mm fans will fit in the small gap in the back, but honestly I'm running x4 LL120 Fans (Bottom & Top Intake)+ Fractal Prism+ S24 AIO x2 120mm Fans (Exhaust out Top) x1 Fractal Aspect-12 Fan for side panel (Do either intake or exhaust) but honestly the case positive pressure is so high i don't see that you'll need anything else.. I've tested small exhaust fans and they don't really do anything.#4 If you Run An AIO Top Mounted, add some rubber spacers (About 1/4") between the top glass panel to allow the AIO to bleed off it's heat better (That's if you wanna keep the top glass panel)#5: Wire management is incredible.. The side basement is incredible.#6: If you're like me and not using HDD or SSD, and remove the both the cages you're gonna have space for days.#7 The Front Glass Panel.. If you don't like it, google some custom panels people have made of lexan and 3D printing that greatly increase air flow (Looking to build a custom mesh panel myself)Enjoy it. I build a lot of Gaming PC's every year, enough it's impossible to count and I've come across horrible cases and I come less and less across good cases but building a ITX setup in this was very unique and also very easy, not like a lot of other SFF cases out there.. and believe me when I say the case looks huge in the pictures and though yes it has a girthy foot print it's pretty short and actually kinda small for what it is.If you end up coming by a deal like a did, and you get the same seller.. If they say it's in good shape then I'd say you can trust them. I fully expected this case to be mangled for $116, but it was perfect.

It's a great case to introduce to the smaller form factor realm (mini-ITX and micro-ATX). The layout is functional for the most part, good size, quality build, and looks best in white.Pair this with other white-ish components (B450M Mortar Titanium, ARMOR Radeon RX580 GPU, VENGEANCE PRO White RAM, C7 SFF Fan/Heatsink, RM750X PSU), and you'll have a nice black/white contrast build.For Corsair: - Make adjustments to the tempered glass and allow more air flow. - Bundle the Commander Pro and ditch the Lighting Node. - There are bits of areas on your case that could be more utilized! - Switch out the feet for added clearance and better air flow. - Re-evaluate your promo video for the Crystal 280X, including the use of fans and mATX compatibility. Like a disclaimer or something.For Customers: - Installing Windows on an M.2 and storing games/data on 3.5" or 2.5" HDDs? Remove one of the cages; you don't need both. - Wanting to install 6 case fans? Might want to stick with 4 (2 on front, 2 on top). - Still want to install 6 case fans? The bottom of the case is very debatable, considering how close they can get to your preferred GPU and/or the pins/headers of your mATX motherboard. Clearance may be an issue here. Same rule applies to radiators. - There's a reason why AIOs exist in most current builds (especially by YouTubers), and why most builds do NOT have fans installed on the bottom.