Corsair Carbide Air 740 Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 03.03.17
With the Carbide Air 740, Corsair has yet another cube case in its portfolio, while this is actually the successor of the Carbide Air 540, which was introduced almost three years ago. This new model is compatible only with ATX motherboards. Thanks to the generous size and the dual chamber layout, there is enough space for high-end custom water cooling gear. Furthermore since the power supply is placed behind the motherboard, it is quite simple create very clean and tidy setup.
Almost four years ago Corsair made a statement with the Carbide Air 540 case, which was their first cube-shaped enclosure. A little later later, Corsair introduced a more compact version, which went by the name Air 240. Another few years later the manufacturer is coming up with an even bigger case. Like the previous models, the new Carbide Air 740 is compatible with high-end components and apart from that it's highly modular. Compared to the Air 540, we find a similar design and high-quality materials. Compared to its predecessor the case has grown and therefore there is more space available on the inside.
The Carbide Air 740 measures 426 x 340 x 510mm, while the Carbide Air 540 measured 415 x 332 x 458mm. The largest motherboards the predecessor could house were EATX models, however the Carbide Air 740 can only be equipped with only ATX motherboards. Also on the cooling side Corsair has changed a lot. The new Carbide Air 740 can be equipped with up to three 280mm radiators or even a 360mm one. In other words the new case is way more flexible in terms of cooling and on top of that there is space for more storage devices.
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Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
Corsair Carbide Air 740 |
| Case Type: |
Full tower |
| Dimensions: |
426 mm (W) x 340 mm (H) x 510 mm (D) |
| Material: |
Steel, ABS |
| Color: |
Black |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
0 |
| 3.5": |
4 |
| 2.5": |
3 |
| Expansion
slots: |
8 |
| Form factors: |
ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
3x 120mm / 2x 140mm (2x 140mm included) |
| Rear: |
1x 120mm / 1x 140mm (1x 140mm included) |
| Top: |
2x 120mm / 2x 140mm |
| Bottom: |
2x 120mm / 2x 140mm |
| Side: |
/ |
| Watercooling |
Front: |
280mm / 360mm |
| Rear: |
120mm / 140mm |
| Top: |
280mm / 240mm |
| Link to the product: |
Corsair Carbide Air 740 |
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Features
Dust filters
In total there are no less than eight spots for 120 millimeter fans in this case. All the air inlets are covered using dust filters. These can be removed easily in order to clean them under tap water. |
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Two compartment layout
Corsair chose a two chamber layout for this case. If you look at the Carbide Air 740 from the front, you see that motherboard and graphics card are placed on the left side of the motherboard tray and on the other side that’s where the power supply and HDD/SSD cage go. This internal layout allows for stunning looking builds, where all cables are hidden behind the motherboard tray. |
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Watercooling ready
The Corsair Carbide Air 740 offers a lot of space on the inside, which for instance, allows for mounting ATX motherboards and SLI/Crossfire GPU configurations. The front can be equipped with a 360mm or 280mm radiator, while the rear and lower parts are compatible with two additional 120/140mm radiators. Furthermore the top can be equipped with another 280mm radiator. Thanks to the dual-chamer design you can really go crazy with custom water cooling gear, since a lot of components can be hidden behind the motherboard tray. |
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Product overview
Overview |
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The Carbide Air 740 comes with a rather unusual design, which to us is excentric. Corsair is using parallel plastic ridges at the front and at the top as design elements. The quality of the plastic used is excellent. The front part doesn't feature and slots for optical disc drives and therefore you won't be able to install any 5.25" drives, card readers or fan controllers. There is your standard I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports, power and reset button as well as the two standard audio jacks. On both the top and the front there are several openings, which allow fans to pull fresh air in. The side panels are rather interesting; like with the Graphite 760T Corsair decided to equip this case with a hinged door that's been equipped with a large plexi window. At the top and at the bottom of the plexi panel there are two metal bars providing enough stability so the side panel feels stiff. The back panel is as simple as it gets. There are eight slot bezels covering the PCI expansion slots, the opening for the motherboard I/O panel, a 120/140mm fan slot and the opening for an ATX power supply. The bottom of the case has been equipped with four plastic feet and there is also an air-inlet for the radiators to breath if the fans are facing downwards.
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Installation
Overview |
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Due to the dual chamber layout the inside of the Carbide Air 740 is clean and tidy. Looking at the HDDs and SSDs cages there is space for up to four 3.5" HDDs and three 2.5" SSDs. Both can be installed using tool-less sledges behind the motherboard tray. The motherboard tray itself is made from solid steel, and it features a large opening behind the CPU socket, which allows the user to install aftermarket CPU coolers without taking the motherboard out. The tray features a few openings, which have been covered with rubber grommets to create a neat cable management. Between the motherboard tray and the left side panel there is enough space to hide plenty of cables. The Carbide Air 740 is compatible with ATX motherboards and as we already mentioned there is space for large coolers, a lot of fans and even radiators.
For our test, we used a system based on a ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Aura motherboard paired with a Corsair H100iv2 all-in-one water cooler. Putting the setup inside the Air 740 is quite simple and straight forward. As you can see from the pictures there are plenty of slots for fans and radiators. The Carbide Air 740 offers space for CPU coolers measuring up to 170mm in height and graphics cards can be of up to 330mm in length. In other words you can install any CPU cooler without checking its specs. |
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Ventilation options
Overview |
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| From the cooling point of view, the Corsair Carbide Air 740 is impressive. First of all we have to say that inside the case there are three pre-installed 140mm fans. This case allows you to install up to three 120 or two 140mm fans in the front. On the top and in the bottom there is enough space for two more 120/140mm fans and there is space for one 120/140mm fan in the rear. Regarding custom water cooling setups there is also a lot of flexibility, since it's for example possible to install three 280mm radiators |
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Temperatures
Overview |
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For testing purposes we're using an MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC motherboard, an Intel Core i5-6600K CPU, which receives cooling through a SilentiumPC Fortis 3 HE1425 MCE cooler as well as a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. The ambient temperature is close to 24°C. |
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All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (°C) |
Full (°C) |
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Intel Core i5-6600K |
28 / 28 / 27 / 28 |
52 / 55 / 54 / 53 |
| MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G |
46 |
66 |
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Less is better |
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Conclusion
Rating |
| |
Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Good
compatibility for watercooling and aircooling |
+ Water cooling
+ Dust filters
+ Qi wireless charging plate |
+ Interior
space
+ Good space for cable routing |
+ High quality materials
+ Rubber groomets
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+ Well priced |
| Cons |
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- No Type-C USB |
- E-ATX |
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The Corsair Carbide Air 740 is a cube-chassis for ethusiasts who are searching a different looking enclosure. The Carbide Air 740 is made from sturdy steel and ABS plastic, with a big plexiglass side panel. As far as the design is concerned, we are not big fans of fancy and extravagant cases but it's definitely a subjective aspect and therefore a matter of individual taste. This case offers plenty of space for any ATX motherboard and you can equip it with a total of three HDDs and four SSD. Due to the size of the case, we were surprised it's not compatible with E-ATX motherboards.
There is also plenty of space for the power supply, which helps with compatibility when it comes to high-end setups. Another aspect we really came to appreciate is the compatibility with custom water cooling loops; first of all you get three fans with the Carbide Air 740 and the chassis itself comes with lots of slots for additional fans. As we already mentioned you can install three 280mm radiator and that itself is great already. It's pretty clear that this case is perfect for anybody who's looking for an enclosure with a good airflow. The cable management is well done and the dual chamber design is contributing a lot to that.
The Carbide Air 740 is listed on Geizhals with prices starting at 145 Euro. In our opinion, the price is appropriate and it reflects the quality and the bundle of the product, since there are three fans already included and there are also quite a lot of other features. If you are thinking about building a rig that's compatible with watercooling gear, the Carbide Air 740 might be a case you want to have a look at. The Corsair Carbide Air 740 receives
4 stars out of 5.
