CORSAIR 3500X ARGB Mid-Tower Review – Finally a Corsair show case with an acceptable price-performance ratio!

With the 3500 series, Corsair rounds off its portfolio of current case series at the lower end and offers (with the NON-RGB version) a solid and compact showcase in the double-digit price range. Read today’s test to find out how the stylish tower performs in everyday use.

The new 3500(X) really can’t deny its relationship to the 6500 series. Whether this is good or bad is of course up to you to decide. Personally, I really like the style with the two glass panes at right angles to each other, but every manufacturer is slowly coming up with their own interpretation. Perhaps even the second or third. However, I find it exciting that the price of the entry-level version could be reduced to under €100 without having to drastically reduce the quality. Of course, in contrast to the 6500X, things like the practical hinges for the side panel, the high-quality metal feet and, of course, the complete second chamber are missing. However, practical features such as the dust filter that can be pulled out to the front are still on board and the material appearance is still perfectly fine. But before I get lost in the details in the introduction, let’s unpack the case first.

 

Unboxing

It’s almost a shame that in the age of the internet, you no longer have to put fancy packaging designs on boxes. When I think back 20 years, the boxes couldn’t be flashy enough. Today, people order everything online or get information in advance anyway, so why print anything more than the logo and the series on the box?

But the content is much more important anyway. Allow me: The CORSAIR 3500X (ARGB).

The front and side panels are full-surface glass panels that can be removed in no time at all without tools.

The front panel is continuous; the 3500 series does not have a wide 2-chamber design, as is the case with the 6500 and 2500 series. Another thing that immediately catches the eye: instead of the typical Corsair triangles, the 3500 series has a redesigned grid design.

The rear side panel can also be removed without tools. It offers a large air passage for side-mounted fans and is equipped with a magnetic dust filter insert.

Underneath, we find the three pre-mounted ARGB fans (only included in the 3500X ARGB version!) and gain an insight into the space available for the power supply unit and cabling.

There is almost a full 4cm depth available for the tangle of cables, so there’s nothing to complain about.

The fans are configured as “intakes” as standard and are connected to the standard FAN and 5V ARGB headers on the mainboard as a daisy-chain connection. In the more expensive iCUE version, the fans installed are equipped with Corsair’s LINK system.

The power supply unit is located in the base. Four foam rubber buffers are designed to ensure secure support without vibration transmission. The depth and width of the housing allow both regular power supply units and the “SHIFT” power supply units with side cable connections.

At first glance, the rear looks boring as usual, but it has a feature that I could well imagine becoming standard for ATX cases. More on this later.

Let’s take a quick look at the front I/O. 2x USB 3.2 type A, 1x USB 3.2 type C, 3.5mm combo jack, power and reset button. Solid standard, I would say.

The connections remain on the chassis even when the lid is removed, so there is no risk of tearing off or pinching any cables. The clicked-in cover is also equipped with a magnetic dust filter.

Speaking of dust filters, the base also has one and, conveniently, it can be pulled out to the front so that you don’t have to move or disconnect the PC.

 

Finally, we come to the main chamber, which also has one or two special features. First and foremost is the power supply cover, which is not completely continuous to the front of the case. Personally, I don’t find this particularly visually appealing, but it certainly helps to keep the case dimensions as compact as possible and still install 360mm radiators or three fans as side intakes.

Centering hub: Check!

There is 5.5 cm of space between the lid and the outlet for the board’s I/O. With thick radiators or push-pull configurations, you have to keep an eye on the height of the voltage converter and RAM cooler, but for regular AIOs there is enough space and you can still get halfway to the connectors for the CPU supply.

I particularly liked the fact that the PCIe slots can be “rotated” to allow vertical mounting of the graphics card.

And then you don’t need a proprietary riser solution, but can use any 90° riser cable, which you can now buy for around 30€ (new).

This can simply be fixed to the floor with the regular spacers, which are also used to install the mainboard, and the graphics card can be installed vertically. As an example with the good old Vega 56 Pulse.

Finally, the included accessories. Nothing “special”, but everything you need.