Bigger is Better

Corsair is kicking off with new large-scale hardware, so let’s see how it builds…

CHRISTIAN GUYTON, STAFF WRITER

LENGTH OF TIME: 1-2 HOURS

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: EASY

THE CONCEPT

FULL-TOWER MACHINES can be a point of contention for system-builders everywhere. It’s not because they’re difficult to build (unless you consider lugging a 40-pound case around difficult, in which case, well, fair enough), nor is it because they cost more; it makes sense that more metal and glass is going to end up increasing the price. Generally, the debate boils down to whether or not such chunky PCs are actually necessary, especially given the wealth of excellent mid-tower systems available.

Corsair clearly isn’t familiar with such arguments, because the California-based manufacturer has just unveiled one of its biggest cases yet, paired with a beefy new AIO cooler with a 420mm radiator—the company’s first. The Corsair 7000D Airflow is a seriously big case, designed with the aforementioned Capellix AIO in mind, so we’re putting Corsair’s new components to the test with a large-scale system build.

What’s the target spec here, you ask? Well, it’s essentially just a powerhouse PC; whether it’s used as a monster gaming rig or a workstation system is down to you. We’ll break down some of the potential uses of this case and cooler later on (and you can check out our full review of the 7000D Airflow in this very issue, on pg. 84), but for now we’re just looking to assemble a powerful full-tower machine with the latest and greatest of PC hardware.

We’ll be going a bit more in-depth in our conclusion after assembling this system, because we want to delve properly into the thermal performance of the build. Will Corsair’s shiny new case live up to its name and deliver top-notch airflow to keep our system cool? Let’s find out.

ON THE CASE

WE’VE ALREADY MENTIONED the case and cooler, but let’s get into details. The Corsair 7000D Airflow is a gigantic construction of steel and tempered glass that offers everything from EATX support to numerous drive mounts, with triangular perforation on the top, front, and right-hand panels to ensure superior airflow from any of the four radiator mounts. Meanwhile, the iCUE H170i Elite Capellix AIO cooler offers supposedly top-tier CPU cooling with 57 addressable RGB LEDs (33 on the pump block, and eight per 140mm fan) to ensure your PC looks fly as heck.

For our processor, we’ve got the almighty Ryzen 9 5950X from AMD, a 32-thread powerhouse with a boost clock of up to 4.9GHz. Overclocking in this system should be a breeze with our AIO cooler, which is good since the 7nm 5950X is capable of producing a lot of heat. It’s paired with a SUPRIM graphics card from MSI, within which nestles Nvidia’s spicy new RTX 3070 Ti GPU.