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The first thing you're likely to notice after removing Corsair's well-engineered side panels is just how roomy the 350D's micro-ATX interior is. All five of the PCI slots have a clear path of 360mm, meaning that even the largest graphics cards on the market can easily be housed inside the 350D.
Two 5.25″ devices can be mounted in the 350D's tool-less area. A pair of 2.5/3.5″ drives can be mounted in the lower bay, and a further three 2.5″ devices can be secured in the separate plastic rack.
For users who don't require the services of the 350D's 3.5″ drive bay, it can be easily removed by unfastening screws on the case's underside and behind the motherboard tray.
Removing the 2.5″ bay from its original position allows it to be fastened to the top of the 3.5″ mounts. This will reduce expansion card clearance to around 270mm, but it may also make cable management an easier task.
Once the 2.5″ drive bay is clipped in the 3.5″ mounting location, it is very awkward to remove. The only clear method is to remove the 350D's front panel and dust filter before poking a screwdriver through the fan blades to loosen the clip that is almost touching the front 140mm unit.
Unless you have very small and strong fingers, the only realistic method is going to be a needless waste of time. Corsair needs to improve its method of unfastening the 2.5″ drive bay.
A 3-pin 120mm rear exhaust fan removes heat from the system. There is 75mm of clearance between the fan's upper surface and the 350D's roof, giving watercooling users plenty of clearance for a tall 120mm radiator and tubes.
Each of the five expansion slots is held in place by a large thumbscrew.
Power supply clearance is 270mm (including cables), meaning that even the largest units on the market should have no problems fitting inside the 350D. The lower dust filter and vented area extends for 200mm from the case's rear.
A pair of grommet-equipped holes located adjacent to the power supply area should help to hide cables leaving the unit.
A pair of 120/140 mm fans can be mounted in the 350D's roof, meaning that radiators of an identical form factor can also be installed in the same location.
Each of the 120mm mounting holes features a vibration-absorbing piece of rubber, perhaps in anticipation of users resorting to a 120 or 240mm watercooling unit, such as Corsair's own H100i.
With a 280mm radiator, such as Corsair's H110, in the roof position, the uppermost 5.25″ bay will be partially blocked. Use a thicker, custom 280mm radiator with push-pull fans, and both 5.25″ bays will be rendered inaccessible to optical drives.
There is 23mm of space behind the motherboard tray for storing and routing cables. An extra 7mm is located in a rectangular form adjacent to the power supply's location.
To allow for a hassle-free connection of power and data cables, the space behind the 3.5″ drive mounts is 40mm and the 2.5″ bays have 50mm of clearance. 30mm of clearance behind the 5.25″ drive bays allows front panel cables to be routed without interference.
Corsair's positioning of cable management grommets is excellent. Being very picky, we would have liked a slender cut-out in the lower-right section for routing of audio and USB cables, and the grommet nearest to the 24-pin connector would benefit from a size increase.
A huge CPU cooler cut-out should allow access to the vast majority of motherboard backplate areas.
The front panel covering is formed from a plastic sheet which is then covered by brushed aluminium for aesthetic purposes. Removing this cover is very simple; just push against the two specific spring-loaded fasteners and the cover can then be unclipped.
Each dust filter is also equally simple to remove; just pull them out.
A pair of 120/140 mm fans can be mounted in the 350D's front section. Corsair includes a single 140mm unit which is positioned to bypass the HDD cage and blow air directly onto the graphics card area, by default.
Three holes situated to the fan's right side allow cables to be routed behind the motherboard tray.
A fan controller is a good idea, but few companies add them in, which is sad. I know my last thermaltake case was very loud. Corsair fans are generally slightly higher quality although I know a lot of people are complaining lately.
This is a great case.
The window really makes this case IMO, would be criminal not to have one with it if you bought it. THe price is ok too. nice one.
Great review luke, tons of detail on the fitting and inside, really wanted to make me look at building a second system now.
Great series of cases, I own an Obsiadian already and its going to last me many years – great build quality on their products which always distinguishes them from the masses.
I agree, bundle a corsair bundled fan controller in future, if the budget allows it. would be hugely beneficial as we could turn down the fans when working on the machine or general use, then enhance the speeds when gaming.