Corsair 4000D

Before we dive into how the Corsair iCUE 4000D RGB Airflow stacks up in today's enclosure landscape, it is important to look at the pricing structure. When we first reviewed the original 4000D Airflow, it clocked in at an MSRP of $79.99. As such some may wonder why the iCUE 4000D RGB Airflow sells for essentially twice that. In the Looking at the original's pricing history, its MSRP did hold true back then. However, that variant of the chassis costs $104.99 instead. Yes, a $40 increase - welcome to the new normal with all the supply chain issues, freight costs and inflation. As such, the $45 premium of the ICUE variant feels justified, as it replaces the two non-RGB fans with three RGB units and adds the required iCUE hardware.

Corsair startet sein neues Gehäuse in drei Varianten. Das 4000D soll mit seiner geschlossenen Front dezent wirken, das 4000D Airflow legt den Fokus auf gute Belüftung und das 4000X RGB kommt mit einer bunten Beleuchtung. Die Unterschiede sind gering, das Gesamtkonzept gemessen am Preis aber gelungen.

The Corsair 4000D promises high performance and good airflow, but does it deliver?

Gamers Nexus: Corsair sent us the 4000D, 4000D Airflow, and 4000X for review. This review looks at the Corsair 4000D and 4000D Airflow thermals, case build quality, noise, and more vs. other PC cases.

Don’t buy the 4000D. The 4000D Airflow, however, is worth consideration. It fits in comfortably with recent airflow-focused cases we’ve reviewed in performance, with the biggest knock against its value being the lack of a full set of fans--it’s an $80 case with two fans that doesn’t vastly outperform the other mesh-fronted cases we’ve recommended in price or performance. We’re of the opinion that cases should include a full set of fans, especially in the sub-$100 range where liquid cooling is less common and it’s entirely plausible that a customer might only use the stock fans. The Lancool 215 is one of the best alternatives that we’ve reviewed recently in terms of that key price to performance ratio: it’s $70, and it outperforms the stock 4000D Airflow by a modest margin.

for a relatively basic enclosure, we've come away pleasantly surprised with Corsair's 4000D. It has the ability to look and feel more expensive than it is, and at £80 it's a fine foundation for a sleek 2020 build.

The Corsair 4000D Airflow strikes us as a very safe launch. The company isn’t attempting to reinvent the wheel here, and there isn’t much by way of innovation or stand-out features. That should in no way imply that it’s a bad product, however. Instead, you get a nicely made case with modern features, a user-friendly design, and out-of-box airflow that delivers a decent noise:performance ratio. With adequate clearance levels and hardware support, it’s a good contender for an off-the-shelf case to pair with hardware for a new build, and it’s one you can have up and running (and looking tidy) in little time. It may struggle to stand out given how crowded the market is, but timing the launch with Nvidia’s RTX 3000 series may prove to be a wise move. The pricing also feels fair for what’s on offer, and the 4000D Airflow earns the Recommended award below as a result.

Aside from a bit too much marketing chatter like AirGuide technology, anti-vortex vanes, and words like RapidRoute we feel the new 4000D series is simply put a well-executed product series. Good looks, good performance, and a decent feature set. Not just that, the base model as tested costs 80 USD, which we feel is spot on. The overall looks are in line with many other chassis of course, but yeah how many times can you re-invent the wheel anyway? I can nag about the wish for two more USB connectors and perhaps a separated MIC/LINE out connector, but my nagging would stop there.