We take a look at the first computer chassis under the Vengeance moniker. Will the ‘hard as nails’ military themed C70 mid-tower case destroy all other gamer offerings?
Product on Review: Vengeance C70
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Corsair
Street Price: £120 / $139 (At time of review)
Corsair’s Vengeance gaming brand has been around for a number of years now but it is only recently that this series has branched out to supply their very first computer chassis. In other computer chassis product lines Corsair certainly excel. The Carbide and Obsidian series have won countless accolades for excellence and so today the air is full of anticipation and expectation.
Today we will be reviewing the new Vengeance C70. The C70 promises to deliver on build quality, cooling and other key areas but there is one distinct difference to anything we have seen from Corsair in the chassis segment so far – being marketed at the gamer the C70 does away with the sleek, elegant and minimalist approach we have seen with offerings from the Obsidian and Carbide series and instead we are greeted with the rugged and lurid styling found on the gamer case. Join us as we explore all areas of the new C70.
Corsair’s take on Vengeance C70
Vengeance cases are designed for travelling gamers. With durable steel construction and high-airflow designs, they’re built for LAN party dominance. When it’s time to take your competitive gaming on the road, the Vengeance C70 mid-tower PC case is a great choice. It’s crafted out of solid steel and made to survive trips with less wear and tear, and the ergonomic carry handles help you move your gear with confidence.
Features & Technical Specifications
Compatibility
• Room for two 240mm radiators when lower drive cage is removed for outstanding watercooling potential.
• Tool-free thumbscrews for each of the eight expansion slots, making it easy to upgrade to dual, triple, or quad video card setups
• Front panel USB 3.0 ports with internal header for modern peripherals
• Tinted side window with dual fan mounts lets you cool, and view your hardware in style
• Three 5.25” bays and Six 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays for excellent expansion capabilities
• Two included 120mm intake fans directly blowing across your GPU for maximum cooling potential, and a single 120mm fan for heat exhaust
• Tool-free thumbscrews for each of the eight expansion slots, making it easy to upgrade to dual, triple, or quad video card setups
• Front panel USB 3.0 ports with internal header for modern peripherals
• Tinted side window with dual fan mounts lets you cool, and view your hardware in style
• Three 5.25” bays and Six 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays for excellent expansion capabilities
• Two included 120mm intake fans directly blowing across your GPU for maximum cooling potential, and a single 120mm fan for heat exhaust
Technical Specifications
Warranty
Two years
Dimension
501mm (H) x 232mm (W) x 533mm (L)
MB Support
ATX, mATX
Expansion Slots
8
Form Factor
Mid-tower
Material
Steel
Drive Bays
Three (3x) 5.25” bays
Six (6x) 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays
Cooling
Three (3x) 120mm fans
Front I/O
(x2) USB 3.0, (x1) Headphone, (x1) MIC, Power, and Reset Switches
Two years
Dimension
501mm (H) x 232mm (W) x 533mm (L)
MB Support
ATX, mATX
Expansion Slots
8
Form Factor
Mid-tower
Material
Steel
Drive Bays
Three (3x) 5.25” bays
Six (6x) 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays
Cooling
Three (3x) 120mm fans
Front I/O
(x2) USB 3.0, (x1) Headphone, (x1) MIC, Power, and Reset Switches
Packaging & First Look
Typical of Corsair, the Vengeance C70 is presented in a eco-friendly double-walled cardboard box. There is a depiction of the C70 on the front with predominant features listed and the rear of the box covers these features in even further detail. The technical specifications are found on the sides.
Inside, the C70 is covered in a clear plastic sheet and held in place via polystyrene blocks for protection during transit.
Vengeance C70 packaging
As you will have seen from the introduction page, C70 is available in three different colours – Gun metal black, arctic white and military green. We will be taking a look at the Military Green variant today; taking the case out of its packaging we get our first glimpse of the C70.
Initial impressions of the case reveal a very rugged exterior. The C70 certainly models itself on a military theme with the rough and robust styling – there are clips fixing the side panels in place and the front panel controls have been given the military treatment also.
The prominent side panel features a large Perspex window which is tinted and has a fan grill to assist with mounting dual 140/120mm cooling fans. On the reverse side, the side panel is convex to allow for greater cable management clearance.
Prominent side features a large tinted Perspex window
Military design has the rough and ready approach
With our initial look at C70 over let’s move in for a closer look at the external elements.
Exterior
Observing the external aspects of C70 we first come to the front of the chassis. The front panel is quite reminiscent of previous Corsair cases – one that springs to mind is the Corsair 300R. In the lower region there is a perforated mesh section and on the underside placements for dual 140/120mm fans though there are none included. This area also has a removable dust filter. Above there are 3x 5.25” drive bay covers – these are removable from the inside of the chassis and are metal. At the very top of the front panel are the front panel controls. This front panel has steel construction as is good quality and robust.
Around the back of C70 at the bottom there is an opening for mounting the PSU. Above this there are 8x PCI expansion slot covers – each having ventilation holes and are in co-ordinating colours to the chassis itself, military green. Above this is the rear exhaust cooling fan which is 120mm. At very top there is further ventilation and markings for 2x circular slots – in case you want to go down the water-cooling route.
The front and back of C70
Moving our attention to the front panel again we come to the front panel controls. Here there is a variety of connectivity and just like the chassis itself have been given the military touch. The power and reset buttons (far left, far right) have been designed to look like the trigger buttons for a bazooka/fighter jet – though this might not be to everyone’s taste this case is marketed at gamers and these controls fit the bill perfectly.
Other items here include activity LED – headphone/microphone jacks and dual USB 3.0 ports (via motherboard header).
Front panel connectivity with the military touch
At the top of C70 are two handles that are extremely handy for moving the chassis around. As this case is designed to appear at the LAN party this feature is a ‘must have’. The handles spring back to the closed position and offer a robust mode for transportation – being able to sustain a heavy system. The top also features a perforated mesh section with dual placements for 120/140mm cooling fans.
Those with an eye for detail will notice that the side panels have dual clips on either side. These special clips serve more than one purpose. Firstly they make the customary thumbscrew redundant and secondly they continue the military theme. This method of fixing the side panels onto the chassis offers a very firm attachment.
The top with transportation handles
Robust clip fixes side panels in place
Finally, the underside has two rubber pads that are sat on two metal beams. These pads prevent the case from slipping on smooth surfaces. The underside also features two removable dust filters – these filters simply slide out and do move out rather easy. I would have liked to see them click/switch into place and have some resistance.
The underside of C70
We’ve taken a look at the outside of C70, let’s take a look at the inside on the next page.
Interior
After removing the side panels we can examine the inside of C70. All of the major regions within have been coated in military green too. The motherboard tray accommodates both mATX and ATX and has cable management grommets at the sides and bottom. There is also a cut-out for the CPU power/EPS which is great to see.
Around the back of the motherboard tray Corsair have made a channel into the tray to further aid cable management. Cable management has also been given three clipping arms that ensure cables are kept neat and tidy – a very novel idea indeed. It will be interesting to see a full system in C70 a little later and see how it handles this aspect in particular.
A spacious internal layout in military green
Cable management is certainly covered
Moving in for a closer look at the various aspects of the interior the first element we come to is the PSU area. Unfortunately there is no rubber padding for the PSU here and as the case is metal and 99.9% of PSUs are metal this could cause scratching and possible vibrations too. Next to where the PSU sits are mounting holes for a 120 or 140mm cooling fan. The entire underside of the case (as we mentioned earlier) has removable dust filters.
The PSU area
Further up inside C70 there are 8x PCI expansion slot covers – each come in military green, with ventilation holes and customary thumbscrews for easy removal.
PCI expansion slot covers – 8 in total
On the next page we will continue our tour of the interior.
Interior (Continued)
C70 has a 120mm rear exhaust fan positioned towards the back of the case and there are mounting holes at the top of the chassis for dual 120/140mm cooling fans though none are provided.
120mm rear exhaust fan
Over on the other side of the case there are 3x 5.25” drive bays. Each of these bays have a tool-less design mechanism for installing devices – the latch just needs pulling and sliding in order to fix the particular item in place.
3x 5.25” optical drive bays
Beneath this there are two HDD cages with dual 120mm cooling fans attached – these fans have been installed to blow air across the system/graphics card area. It’s interesting to see that Corsair have opted to configure the fans in this position rather than the other side of the HDD cages.
The HDD cages each have 3x HDD trays – the trays can accommodate 2.5” or 3.5” drives. Both HDD cages can be removed from the chassis.
The HDD storage cages with 120mm cooling fans
In the next section our ATX test system will be installed within C70 and we will report back on the entire process.
Installation
From start to finish, installing kit within C70 is a breeze. Thanks to the spacious interior, tool-less design mechanisms and cable management features getting the system presented in a neat and tidy manner is very easy. I encountered no problems during the installation.
The three cable management clips on the reverse of the motherboard tray are a simple yet very useful inclusion – something which I really like and as you can see from the picture allows for complete control over stray cables. The CPU/EPS power cable does route up to the top of the motherboard tray but it is rather tight.
Lots of space around the motherboard
Cable management is easy to maintain
Getting HDDs into C70 is quite simply – there are trays within the HDD cages which can house 2.5” or 3.5” drives as pictured below. 2.5” drives must be screwed into the tray from the underside whilst the 3.5” drives slot into the tray via pins.
HDD trays can accommodate 2.5” and 3.5” drives
Clearance – CPU, GPU, WC, Cable Management
An area that most enthusiasts and system builders will be keen to discover is the clearance options within C70. So in this section we will be looking at key areas inside the case to see what limitations (if any) there are.
So to start with the CPU cooler – here there is adequate space for the bigger CPU coolers such as Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Silver Arrow and Alpenfohn K2 (all 160mm in height). The cooler pictured is the Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm in height.
Clearance for flagship CPU coolers
Graphics card clearance is very good inside C70. With the fans installed onto the HDD cage there is approximately 12” in clearance – covering all major high-end graphics cards. Pictured is XFX HD7970 which is just over 11” in length.
Clearance for high-end graphics cards
Some enthusiasts will be wondering about water-cooling options within C70. There are two areas to mount radiators – the first is in the roof which is pictured. As you can see the Phobya G-Charger 240 fits here perfectly and has enough room to mount fans also.
The second region to mount a radiator is by removing both HDD cages – here there is space to mount a 240mm vertically or horizontally.
Corsair’s H100 will also fit inside C70.
Water-cooling radiator options
Cable management is C70’s forte – not only is the side panel convex to allow even greater clearance but there is around 1.8cm when measuring the gap behind the motherboard tray. Not to mention, there is also a channel which runs concave for the cables and couple with the rubber grommets and clips below – the tools for creating a clean and tidy system have never been so readily available.
Plenty of clearance behind the motherboard tray
Cable management is a strong-point for C70
In the next section we will test to see how effective the cooling is inside C70.
Thermal Performance Testing
Our thermal performance testing has recently been revised and therefore the list of comparable results is for the moment limited. But as we progress through cases the results list will expand.
Inside C70 there are 3 pre-installed cooling fans positioned in key airflow positions. The 3x 120mm fans are configured to push-pull air out the back of the case (and up through the top).
To discover the thermal performance of the C70 I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.
For the purpose of accurate analysis the idle and load temperatures for CPU and GPU will be recorded and the range between idle and load will be calculated to determine how efficient cooling is.
NOTE: Ambient temperature is 20C
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Noise
Although C70 is quite an open case – having ventilation slots in many places, the noise from the fans is hardly noticeable. Taking the side panels off the chassis and observing the noise levels a little closer reveals the Corsair cooling fans are notably quiet.
Conclusion
The Vengeance brand has already comfortably affirmed itself a favourite with gamers the world over but it isn’t until just recently we have seen this series open out to entertain computer chassis. The C70 is the first chassis to be launched under Vengeance branding, so how does it fare?
The C70 is certainly designed for a specific target audience. The military green variant I have reviewed today is almost certainly going to divide many due to styling and design. It’s rugged, gaudy exterior has some great features such as transportation handles which are perfect for the gamer’s LAN party and side panel latch clips to get in and out of the chassis without losing thumbscrews. The tinted Perspex window is also a nice touch – giving those with or without lighting the option to show off. The build quality both inside and outside is also very good and will stand the test if you happen to be rough or heavy handed. C70 even has metal drive bay covers – something rarely seen but a contributing factor to this case’s ‘hard as nails’ approach.
The areas that stand out to me as being C70’s strong points are the cable management and thermal performance. Cable management has been given close attention – the side panels are convex, the motherboard is concave and there are cable tidy clips to ensure the system is kept clean and tidy of trailing cables. Corsair include 3x 120mm cooling fans with C70 – all are in key airflow regions and coupled with the ventilation at the top of the chassis this makes for a great case for air cooling.
Clearance is also an area which the C70 shines – being able to accommodate high-end kit from big CPU coolers to long graphics cards plus the alternative placements for water-cooling radiators at the top and bottom of the chassis. It really is very versatile for a mid-tower case.
I did however find some niggles with C70 – though they probably can be overlooked. The PSU has no anti-vibration padding – something which should be obligatory nowadays to prevent scratching of the PSU and the chassis and to avoid rattling/vibrations. Another area that could be improved is the underside which has two removable dust filters – these filters move around far too easily and do not necessarily fix into place and as this case is designed to take to a LAN party with the handles at the top this needs to be addressed really.
All in all the C70 is a great offering but just shy of £120 is quite a costly investment for a mid-tower chassis.
The Vengeance C70 not only has a military look but it also has military construction. If you want a gamer case which has superior build quality, great cooling and brilliant cable management then this is certainly a good way to go. C70 receives our prestigious Gold and Creative awards.
Pros
+ Very good build quality
+ Great thermal performance with 3x cooling fans included
+ Available in 3 different variants
+ Easy to transport
+ Removable HDD cages
+ Superior cable management options
+ Clearance options for many different items
Cons
– Lots of openings (could be a dust collector)
– Dust filters on underside slide out too easy
+ Very good build quality
+ Great thermal performance with 3x cooling fans included
+ Available in 3 different variants
+ Easy to transport
+ Removable HDD cages
+ Superior cable management options
+ Clearance options for many different items
Cons
– Lots of openings (could be a dust collector)
– Dust filters on underside slide out too easy
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
