Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Now, for the fun part: Building my PC. I began by installing my motherboard into the case. The Corsair 5000D supports ATX, mATX, and mITX-sized motherboards, which was perfect for my MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk in the ATX form factor. My motherboard has an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, Thermaltake TOUGHRAM XG RGB DDR4-4000 2x8GB memory kit, and two SSDs installed on it. These SSDs include the Western Digital Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 1TB and Samsung 970 EVO 1TB. To make the most of the various mounting options, I installed the Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240 Illusion into my rig. The radiator had no problem fitting into the side of the case.
Installing my power supply at the bottom of the case was a very simple process. I settled with the SilverStone Decathlon DA850 Gold 850W for this build, which has a length of 140mm. I simply slotted the power supply against the drive cage and used a screwdriver to insert the Phillips head screws. Corsair recommends a maximum PSU length of 250mm, which mine cleared with ease. After installing my PSU, I routed all the necessary cables via the back of the case. This included the cables for my Lexar NQ100 480GB, which I was able to install on one of the four 2.5” SSD mounts.
I found the cable management to be very nice and spacious when wiring the components. The back itself was quite clean thanks to the space below the PSU shroud that extraneous cables can fit into. Since all the pre-installed case fans are connected to the fan controller, I naturally hooked up the SATA power cable to my power supply and the 4-pin PWM controller header to my motherboard. As seen in the photo above, I made use of the Velcro straps to hold many of the PSU cables in place. Ultimately, there is a fair amount of space for cables to fit through.
I finished the build by installing my EVGA NVIDIA RTX 2060 graphics card onto the top PCIe slot on my motherboard and connecting my Wi-Fi card onto the bottom PCIe slot. The maximum GPU clearance length is 400mm as outlined by Corsair, which was not a problem for my RTX 2060. If you choose not to go with a liquid cooler, air cooling is also quite flexible if it meets the 170mm cooler height limit. I proceeded to plug in all necessary cables from the power switch to I/O headers into their appropriate headers. The cable cutouts were large enough to fit multiple cables through, making for a fairly clean setup.
With the installation complete, I put the side panels back on and brought my PC back to life by hitting the power button. Out of the box, the only thing lighting up is the white LED on the power switch. The tempered glass allows for any and all RGB goodness to shine through, which, if you have read certain reviews of mine, will know I quite enjoy it. The white and light grey color scheme of the exterior complements this well while also giving the 5000D a minimalist look.
How does it hold up with noise though? The standard APH Networks sound scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 is silence and 10 is a live UFC fight with a crowd. Even though it is not advertised, the Corsair 5000D is very quiet. According to my ears placed on the APH Networks scale, I would rate the Corsair 5000D's sound intensity at a 2.0/10 under daily use.
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Does the Corsair 5000D prove to be an excellent sequel to the Corsair 4000D? Like any good sequel, the 5000D keeps all of the best qualities of the 4000D, including great build quality, clean looks, and well-designed cable management options. The cable management area is very spacious, with the end result of my build being quite clean. The gaps are all small and even. The dust filters are of high build quality, and I really enjoy that they kept the top dust filter lip, which is a minor but very neat feature that just makes removing it so much easier. What really lets the Corsair 5000D stand out are the additions and improvements it adds from the 4000D. For starters, the second USB 3.1 Type-A port is great to see. The additional two 2.5” SSD mounts are nice for users who want to save money on storage and want additional SATA drives. I also really like the option of being able to mount three fans on the side of the case. The swing out right side panel is a nice addition. Changing the pre-installed fans from 3-pin voltage to 4-pin PWM models is a significant change to me, which was also a suggested improvement with the 4000D. Corsair further went above and beyond with this suggestion by adding a PWM fan controller at the back with multiple inputs, which is excellent considering the number of fans capable of fitting in this case. When it comes to improvements with the 5000D, the exhaust and side fan mounts could benefit from being compatible with 140mm fans, especially given how wide the case is. I also wish Corsair would provide a Y-split cable for the front 3.5mm combined audio jack and cable guides under the 2.5 SSD trays, but these are very minor criticisms. Overall, the Corsair 5000D is a great sequel to the 4000D. The 5000D is definitely on the pricey side at a retail price of $165. For great build quality and flexible airflow options though, I think the Corsair 5000D is a formidable choice for your next build.
Corsair provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.8/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Corsair 5000D keeps everything good about the 4000D while improving on areas its predecessor came up short.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
