Page 2 – Physical Look – Outside
I am a big fan of clean and minimalist computer cases, and the Corsair 4000D White fits the bill. The Corsair 4000D White has a tempered glass side panel like many cases on the market today. The use of tempered glass allows you to show all your RGB LED goodies in the case, but it can also be messy if you leave fingerprints on it. The other side panel is made out of steel with a matte white finish. It is less likely to show any fingerprints on the steel side panel, but you probably will not see this side as often. To keep the tempered side glass clean, it is a good idea to have some cleaning cloth around, so you can confidently show off your high-end gaming rig to your friends.
Moving to the front of the case, the front panel situation is very interesting. You can see the frame of front panel is made out of plastic, and there is also a steel panel on top of the plastic frame. The gap between the plastic frame and the steel panel is the air intake, while the use of steel makes sure the front panel is strong and durable. The front panel is held on by four ball-and-socket joints, which can be removed by a quick tug to reveal a large removable air filter held on by magnets at the top and clips at the bottom. The front panel has no opening for an internal 5.25" drive, which means no internal optical drives can be installed. Having no optical drive is not a big deal unless you really want to watch some Blu-ray movies without using an external option in 2021.
The dimensions of the Corsair 4000D White are 230mm in width, 466mm in height, and 453mm in depth. It tips the scales at 17.2 lbs, which is surprisingly light compared to cases like the NZXT H710i. The 4000D comes in at the same width as the H710i too, which is always good to have extra horizontal room for cable management.
A power button, USB 3.1 Type-A port, USB 3.1 Type-C port, combination audio/microphone jack, and a reset switch are located near the front of the top panel. A white power indicator LED is inside the power button. There is no HDD activity LED. It is really nice to see a USB Type-C port, since it is 2021 and not 2011, although 2011 did not seem too long ago for me, haha. However, I believe there is still some room to improve for this layout. Normally, a mid-tower would have two USB Type-A ports. I understand we still have two USB ports on the 4000D White, just that one being Type-C, but I still want to have a pair of Type-A ports here. For me, the more ports the better. The combination audio/microphone jack is another nice feature of this product. For most of us, we have both laptops and desktops, and laptops are commonly equipped with a single audio/microphone jack only. When we buy a headset, we definitely want something that can be used on both laptops and desktops, so it will be inconvenient if we have to deal with the situation where the laptop has a single jack, while the desktop has a dual jack. I do acknowledge many gaming headsets come with a separate headphone and microphone plug, so it could be inconvenient to some. An included Y-split cable will rectify this situation.
The 4000D White features an opening for fans or water cooling radiator on top. It has accommodation for up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans or a radiator of equivalent size. Traditionally, case designers install top mounted fans to efficiently draw heat away from the processor and other heat generating internal components. This makes a lot of sense, since heat rises, so we are only adhering to the natural laws of physics. Unfortunately, this is a two-way street, as it is also very easy to get a lot of dust in the system that way when it is turned off. To prevent the dust from getting in, a removable dust filter is placed on top of the case. This dust filter is held on by magnets and can easily be removed for cleaning by a convenient yellow tab with Corsair's branding at the back. The gap between the filter and the chassis is hardly noticeable. Another thing worth mentioning about gap between panels is the connection between the tempered glass side panel and the front panel. The connection is pretty smooth. The gap is really small and there are no sharp edges between the two panels.
The back of the Corsair 4000D White, like the rest of the case, is simple and clean. There are four major sections at the back; namely, the power supply mounting area, motherboard I/O backplate, rear exhaust, and expansion card slots. The power supply is horizontally mounted at the bottom section of the chassis, which is a standard configuration. Since the power supply has already taken this bottom position, the motherboard can only be located above it, meaning the I/O backplate opening is at the top. There are seven conventional expansion slots available on the 4000D White, which, again, is standard for an ATX mid-tower. On the other hand, if you want to have a better view of your graphics card, it is also possible to vertically mount via the two additional vertical expansion slots by the right side of the back panel. As for the rear exhaust, as you can see from the photo above, there is a Corsair AirGuide 120mm fan included from the factory. This fan is smaller than the NZXT H710i's 140mm in the same location, considering both cases have the same width.
To remove the side panels, users do not need to use any tools. Four captive thumbscrews can be easily unscrewed and the side panels can be popped off. Note the side panels of 4000D White do not need to be pulled backward to remove them, since there is no rail mechanism to hold these panels. Each of them are held in place by a pair of ball-and-socket joints near the back and four clips near the front. A pop is all you need to get the panels off the chassis.
There are four plastic stands on the bottom of the case to support the Corsair 4000D White, rising the case up about 3cm on top of the resting surface for better ventilation. The pair of front stands are extended from the plastic frame of front panel. The four stands are on the four corners of the bottom, so there is no doubt about the stability of the case. Meanwhile, there are four rubber bottoms provided to further enhance the grip of the stands. It is nice to have some rubber feet that can offer some kind of protection to your floor or table surface. You can also see from the above photo a washable filter is attached to the bottom grille of the chassis. The filter is nicely reinforced by a hard plastic frame, so they are removable for easy cleaning and installation. The power supply of this case is bottom-mounted, therefore the ventilation area behind the filter is designed for the power supply.
Overall, the Corsair 4000D White is a minimalist, clean looking computer case made out of metal, plastic, and tempered glass. The gaps between panels are small and even, which shows a high level of assembly quality. The tempered glass also exhibits quality attributes in terms of distortion, or lack thereof. The USB Type-C port on the top panel helps this product keep up to date with the current trend of technology.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
