Corsair Carbide SPEC-ALPHA Review

Corsair add another mid-tower chassis to the Carbide Series; the SPEC-ALPHA provides the gamer with a modern and eye-catching design.

Product on Review: Carbide Series SPEC-ALPHA
Manufacturer & Sponsor: Corsair
Street Price: UK: £70, US: $80

Corsair’s SPEC lineup within the Carbide Series has been a popular set of computer chassis which tend to lean towards the gamer who wants an affordable enclosure while still receiving a good balance of features and build quality. Back in 2014 we reviewed the SPEC-01 and were mightily impressed by the budget conscious offering to which Corsair presented and today we’re to look at their latest addition to this series and range with the SPEC-ALPHA.

The SPEC-ALPHA first made its appearance at CES 2016 earlier in the year and it attracted lots of attention with its funky and bold styling. SPEC-ALPHA is a mid-tower chassis and is really designed for gamers who want to make an impact – the case has a large Perspex window, a trio of cooling fans (which also include LED lighting) and plenty of space for high-end systems.

Corsair on their SPEC-ALPHA

The Carbide SPEC-ALPHA’s bold, angular looks and direct airflow path cooling are just begging for you to build your next gaming rig. A gorgeous, oversized window shows off the roomy interior, and the three included 120mm fans can be easily controlled with the three-speed switch on the front panel.

The SPEC-ALPHA isn’t just another case, it’s got a great internal design that eschews the legacy 5.25” drive cages completely for better cooling, but still has plenty of drive capacity, with room for up to three 3.5” drives and four 2.5” drives, as well as front panel USB 3.0 support.

Technical Specifications

Below are the technical details surrounding Corsair’s SPEC-ALPHA– taken directly from Corsair themselves:

Weight
5.7kg
Colors
White/Red
Black/Black
Black/Grey
Case Form Factor
Mid-Tower
Dimensions
518mm x 220mm x 474mm
Case Motherboard Support
MicroATX, ATX, Mini-ITX
Maximum GPU Length
380mm
Maximum CPU Cooler Height
156mm
Maximum PSU Length
190mm
Case Expansion Slots
7
Case Drive Bays
(x3) 3.5in
(x4) 2.5in
Case Material
Steel
Case Power Supply
ATX (not included)
External Connections
(x2) USB 3.0
(x1) Headphone Port
(x1) Microphone Port
Fan Mount Locations
Front: (x2) 120mm
Top: (x2) 120mm
Rear: (x1) 120mm
Fans Included
Front: (x2) 120mm
Rear: (x1) 120mm
Radiator Mount Locations
Front: 120/240mm
Rear: 120mm
Warranty
Two years

Closer Look Video

We’ve produced a video review of SPEC-ALPHA which details all of the included features, demonstrates an ATX test system being installed and highlights the clearance options inside for components such as water-cooling. Please check out our video review or hit play on the video below:

Thermal Performance Testing

Within SPEC-ALPHA there three cooling fans included which are all 120mm. There are two at the front as intakes and one at the rear which is positioned as an exhaust. This arrangement follows a traditional cooling methodology so we should therefore expect good results.

To discover the thermal performance of SPEC-ALPHA we will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. We will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 20 minutes have elapsed.

The delta temperatures are recorded for the test with the ambient being subtracted from the reported maximum core temperatures from the test. The cooling fans will be connected to the fan controller and set to “high” for the purpose of testing.

System Components

CPU Intel Pentium K G3258 @ 4GHz
Motherboard GIGABYTE Z87X-D3H
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 760
Memory 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU DeepCool DQ750

Noise

Since SPEC-ALPHA uses a fan controller we can manage the noise/performance of the fans within the case. On the low-mid settings the cooling fans are whisper quiet but moving up to high is distinctly noticeable and could be deemed disruptive.

Conclusion

We’ve become quite accustomed to minimalistic designs from Corsair over the years and with only a few exceptions they’ve presented to us a multitude of elegant enclosures but with today’s release, we have a bold, futuristic and almost flamboyant design.

SPEC-ALPHA may divide with its outlandish exterior but there is a market for such an approach. Gamers will favour such a design and it won’t look out of place in a contemporary setting either.

By following a traditional layout inside, SPEC-ALPHA can host a variety of hardware. We particularly like the fact that Corsair has decided to tear out the customary optical cage – a design move we’re seeing more manufactures adopting. The exclusion of such a feature means there is more space for other hardware; in SPEC-ALPHA’s instance, the front cooling system has a clear pathway to direct airflow across the system. Such a decision can only improve the effectiveness of the cooling for critical components within an enclosure.

SPEC-ALPHA can house 2.5” and 3.5” drives in a variety of locations, some of which feature tool-free mechanisms which are helpful for efficient system building. Although adding a water cooling radiator at the front does require the removal of the only hard drive cage, we can still install a single 2.5” drive in its place or even add in another two SSDs on the reverse side.

As with any case its only right to also comment on the shortfalls too and there are a few with SPEC-ALPHA. For a mid-tower at this price-point there are certain features which are to be expected and yet they are absent – there are no rubber grommets on the cut-outs for cable management, the dust filters resemble those found on entry-level cases; just a thin sheet of material without any option to easily detach. Both these aspects of SPEC-ALPHA are at the top of the list, and then we also have the lack of radiator support at the top and rather tight spacing for cable management on the reverse side – both of which aren’t necessarily disastrous to the overall outcome.

Sitting at £70 GBP, $80 USD, the SPEC-ALPHA is still within the realms of affordability for many but there is quite a lot of competition at this price-point – well-established cases which could highlight SPEC-ALPHA’s weaknesses. However, SPEC-ALPHA does offer up an interesting option which breaks away from the discreet and subtle designs which are appear to be saturating the marketplace.

Gamers with an affection towards unorthodox styling will find the SPEC-ALPHA appealing. This case can house an assortment of hardware, features good cooling performance but does have areas which require attention.

VIDEO REVIEW – VORTEZ TV

Pros
+ Aggressive, futuristic design
+ Can accommodate high-performance hardware
+ Water cooling support at the front
+ Plenty of storage options throughout
+ Good cooling performance
+ Includes a fan controller

Cons
– Lacks rubber grommets on cut-outs
– Poor quality dust filters
– Problematic cable management
– Lacks radiator support at the top

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.