Corsair 3500X iCUE LINK Case Review

There is an unwritten trend when it comes to buying computer hardware and accessories.  This trend often dictates how parts are designed and what features you can expect to be included.  For instance, there was a time when you would expect to see PS/2 ports on your motherboard and when EVGA released one without these ports it raised some major red flags in the community.  We all knew that PS/2 ports were legacy components, even back then but, we had been conditioned to expect them.  The same can be said for including cooling fans with cases, certain socket hardware with coolers and sample games with your expensive video cards.

In this review we will be looking at the Corsair 3500X iCUE Link chassis.  This case is a bit of a juxtaposition between a purely modern chassis design featuring the “corner office” design wrapped in tempered glass and the often trashed on budget computer case.  While we have seen several case designs focus on being the best, or being the least expensive or, even being complete garbage, the truth is very few cases on the market encompass two sides of the coin.

As you can image, there is balance between making something good and keeping the costs to a minimum.  Most of the time this requires cutting costs on material so, instead of using tempered glass you might find a chassis design with an acrylic side window.  Tooling is also quite expensive and the more fancy bends you add to a case the higher the manufacturing cost.  This is where the Corsair 3500X is a little different. 

Here we have a case that comes with tempered glass on two sides.  You get fully vented metal panels across the top and back, support for a full-sized motherboard and 360mm radiators. 

So, the question is, what makes this case so inexpensive?

• Case Height: 506
• Case Length: 460
• Case Width: 240
• Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX (305mm x 277mm)
• Color: BLACK
• Weight: 9.71
• Radiator Compatibility: 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm
• Maximum GPU Length: 410mm
• Maximum CPU Cooler Height: 170mm
• Maximum PSU Length: 180mm
• Compatible Liquid Coolers: H60, H100, H115, H150 (All Series)
• Case Size: NA
• Case Power Supply: ATX
• Case Expansion Slots: 7 Horizontal (or 4 Vertical)
• Case Front IO: (1x) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, (2x) USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, (1x) Audio in/out
• Case Window: Tempered Glass
• Case Warranty: 2 Year
• Internal 3.5" Drive Bays: 2
• Internal 2.5" Drive Bays: 2