Corsair claims its new Frame 4000D case gives new meaning to the word ‘customisation'. It’s a case that can change and grow to suit your needs with almost limitless options, such as billet aluminium motherboard trays, interchangeable front panels and upgradeable front I/O. It also comes equipped with Corsair's new InfiniRail fan mounting system. It's designed for reverse connector motherboards and multiple 360mm radiator installations and optimised for high airflow and powerful cooling. That all sounds great on paper, but how does it work in the real world? Let's find out.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:50 Overview / Pricing
01:51 Side/Top Panels
03:30 Front panel / IO
04:13 InfiniRail / Cooling support
05:07 Cable Management panel / Anti Sag bracket
05:47 Motherboard Support
06:02 CPU/GPU support
06:13 Modular Design
07:10 Rear of Case
08:05 Right side / Storage / PSU
08:58 Motherboard Tray
09:29 iCUE Support / Headers
09:50 Floor of Case
10:34 Accessories
11:26 4000D Build thoughts
12:00 Test System hardware
12:37 Thermal Testing Methodology
13:10 Test Results
14:25 Worth buying? James discusses

Corsair Frame 4000D Features:

• Frame 4000D is a spacious and fully modular PC case with near limitless customisation options, including outer panels, motherboard trays and upgradeable front I/O panels when they become available.
• It's a spacious fully modular case that supports multiple 360mm radiator installation, 120, 140, 160 and 200mm fans using Corsair's new Inifirail mounting system.
• Equipped with versatile front I/O connectivity, large GPU support with an integrated anti-sag brackets as well as support for back connect motherboards drive trays for multiple 3.5/2.5 inch drives and easy iCUE link integration.

Specifications:

• Case Type: ATX Mid-tower
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 487 x 239 x 486 mm
• Net Weight: 10.38kg
• Material: Steel, Tempered Glass, 3D-Y Airflow Steel, Plastic
• Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX (305mm x 277mm)
• Back Connect Motherboards: Yes
• Expansion Slots: 7 Horizontal or 3 Vertical
• Storage bays: 2 x 3.5”, 4 x 2.5”
• Max GPU Length: 430mm
• MAX GPU Height: N/A
• MAX GPU Width: N/A
• Max CPU Cooler Height: 170mm
• Max PSU Size: 220mm
• Pre-installed Fans: 3 x 120mm RS ARGB Series
• Fan Support:3x 120mm, 2x 140mm (Top) 3x 120mm, 2x 140mm, 2x 200mm (Front) 1 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm (Rear) 2x 120mm (Bottom) 3 x 120mm / 2 x 140mm (Side)
• Radiator Support: 360mm, 280mm, 240mm (Top) 360mm, 280mm, 240mm (Front) 140mm, 120mm (Rear)  360mm, 280mm, 240mm (Side)
• Dust Filters: Front, Bottom
• Font I/O: 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1x USB-3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 1x combined 3.5mm Audio, Power button
• LCD Screen: N/A

Thermal Performance Testing

To simulate thermal demand we run the Cinebench R23 multi-thread benchmark and 3DMark Speed Way stress test simultaneously in a loop for 30 minutes to load the system fully. This gives the CPU and GPU enough time to reach constant steady-state temperature. With this data, we can compare how the system handles the thermal demand and measure peak noise levels.

Thermal performance is measured with the case in various configurations, such as the default, with the tempered glass left-hand side panel removed and with the front panel removed to see how these configurations affect the CPU and GPU temperature. During testing, only stock case fans are used unless otherwise specified. All water pumps are set to maximum RPM and fans are set to a custom RPM curve by the Motherboard software/BIOS.

All temperature measurements are presented as Deltas – meaning the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU temperature giving us a Delta. Data shown in the charts represent the average component temperature over the length of the test as measured by HWiNFO and then the last 15 minutes of the data are calculated to get the average. The ambient temperature during thermal tests is between 19-20⁰C.

Test System Specification:

• CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9800X3D
• Motherboard – ASRock X870 Steel Legend WiFi
• Graphics Card – INNO3D RTX 4080 Super X3OC White
• Memory – 32GB (2 x 16GB Modules) Corsair Dominator Titanium DDR5-6000
• Storage – 1TB Corsair MP600 Elite PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD
• CPU Cooler – Corsair Nautilus 360 RS
• Power Supply – Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 ATX 3 White 80+ Gold
• Case fans – Stock + Corsair RS120 ARGB
• Chassis – Corsair Frame 4000D
• Operating System – Windows 11

Thermal Performance Overview

We tested the case thermals with a 360mm AIO CPU cooler installed in the roof and with the case in several different configurations. The default configuration shown in the charts is with a 360mm roof-mounted AIO, the stock case fans installed and all case panels fitted.

With the case in the default configuration, how it ships from Corsair with three front 120mm intake fans, both the CPU and GPU average temperature look great at 57ºC and 44ºC over ambient. The airflow is so well optimised that removing the glass side panel has little effect on temperatures.

However, adding three 120mm side intake fans improves the CPU temperature, bringing it down by 3ºC on average. Adding two fans to the top of the PSU shroud as Intake lowers GPU temperature a little, but it isn’t enough to create a noticeable performance increase so the cost of adding additional fans might not be worth it.

Installing a rear exhaust fan has very little effect on either the CPU or GPU temperature when using an AIO cooler, but it may help to exhaust hot air when using a CPU tower cooler.

Since the Frame 4000D has great airflow and cooling, the noise output of the system with the case in its default configuration is low as the fans don’t need to ramp up too high to keep the system cool. Changing fan configuration barely changes noise output as the fan speed can be kept low even at high CPU and GPU load. Removing the glass side also did little to the system noise output as again, fan speed is always quite low even at high system load.

Closing Thoughts

The original Corsair 4000D was a great case, it was competitively priced, had good airflow and optimal cooling, supported all the hardware you need for a gaming PC and was a well built case. Since then Corsair has lost its way a bit with recent launches like the 6500X and 3500X which lacked some basic features and were not particularly good value for money. However, the Frame 4000D is a return to form from Corsair as it has evolved into a modern case but still retains the positive elements of the original 4000D.

Corsair’s new InfiniRail fan mounting system isn’t a groundbreaking innovation but it works fine, the new Frame 4000D has great airflow and cooling potential even with just the stock fans installed. Hardware support is good, EATX motherboards, large graphics cards, tall CPU tower coolers and multiple 360mm radiator installation are all supported. It’s a modular case with easy to remove outer panels and several parts of the interior can be quickly removed to make installation a breeze.

The only issue I found with the case was misalignment of a radiator screw mounting on the top panel. Build quality is OK as a whole but the right hand side panel has a cheap feel to it with lots of flex, but we'd say it is acceptable at this price point. The mesh front offers great intake airflow, there's scope to add more intake fans on the side and bottom of the case so users can play around with fan configurations to optimise cooling to suit their build, as well as customise the case when a selection of alternative panels become available.

Corsair chose to make cable management an optional extra that users had to purchase separately in recent cases, but it is back as a standard feature in the Frame 4000D, which is pleasing to see. The case seems to be priced competitively too at £80 – £100, which I would consider to be in the budget to mid range these days. However, the case still delivers some premium features such as the InifiniRail fan mount, GPU anti sag brackets and modular panels which are all included and not optional extras – so it may have a budget price, but it's not a budget case.

The Corsair Frame 4000D is available to purchase now from Scan starting from £79.99 HERE for the standard version and £99.98 HERE for the RS ARGB version.

Pros: 

• Great airflow and cooling performance.
• Genuinely useful features such as InfiniRail mount, the GPU anti sag bracket etc.
• No iCUE installation needed to function.
• Improved cable management over recent Corsair cases.

Cons:

• Custom panels not available at time of review.
• Some excessive flex in outer panels – right side.
• AIO radiator mounting screw misalignment.

KitGuru Says: If you liked the original 4000D you will love this new evolution, it's got the essence of the original that made it great but Corsair brought it up to today's standards with useful additions and improvements.

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