PC case manufacturer Corsair has introduced an awesome new mid-tower gaming chassis called the SPEC-ALPHA, part of the company’s Carbide series of cases. It’s bold in its overall presentation with an angular design, giving your PC a futuristic look. It mixes white, black, and red in an impressive combination, and throws in a clear, over-sized window so you can gaze admirably at your internal components.
The specs show that this new case comes packed with three 120mm fans providing an unobstructed direct-airflow path: two mounted on the front (intake) and one mounted on the back (exhaust). There’s also a built-in control panel that provides three fan speeds, letting system builders crank up the fans when gameplay gets heated. Want more airflow? You can mount two extra 120mm fans on the top.
The new case provides tool-free drive installation, too. There’s enough space provided within the chassis to quickly cram in three 3.5-inch drives and four 2.5-inch drives. Builders can also add additional space by adding two external drives by way of the built-in USB 3.0 ports mounted on the front. That said, there are no 5.25-inch drive bays, so you’re out of luck if you want an internal optical drive.
The case supports MicroATX, ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards, supports ATX power supplies, and weighs 12.5lb. In addition to the USB ports, it also provides a headphone jack, a microphone jack, Power On and Reset buttons, seven expansion slots, and integrated dust filters mounted in the bottom and front air intakes.
To keep the innards nice and tidy, the case provides routing cutouts and tie downs, allowing system builders to tuck away cables to increase airflow and to make the hardware look nice and pretty when peeking through the window. The window itself is mounted on the left side while the right side plays host to the ports, jacks, buttons, and vents on the front.
The company says that the Direct Airflow Path layout provides superior cooling because the overall case design rips out unnecessary drive bays, specifically the 5.25-inch drive bay. Thus, there’s a direct path from the front intake to the processor and graphics card mounted inside. Of course, having two 120mm fans mounted in the front, pulling in loads of air, definitely helps keep things cool too.
Currently the new SPEC-ALPHA is listed as “out of stock” on Corsair’s website, but you can purchase the case for a mere $80 when it becomes available again. However, Newegg is also selling this case as is PC Connection Express and Markit. There are actually three versions of this case you can buy: a White/Red theme, a Black/Red theme, and a Black/Silver theme. All three look great, so give this PC case a look if you’re in the mood to build a new gaming desktop.