Corsair’s 3500X series is the company’s latest budget PC case, featuring three tempered glass panels in a highly modular build. You get the option to add the iCUE LINK System Hub at a 50% price premium for the bells and whistles of a high-end chassis with a cheaper and more straightforward ARGB option for just $20 more. In this post, we’ll review the iCUE LINK 3500X RGB Mid-Tower PC Case which costs $150 and competes with NZXT’s H5 and other Lian Li O11 derivatives.
Specifications
The Corsair 3500X is a standard mid-tower case supporting mini-ITX, micro-ITX, ATX, and E-ATX motherboards in 506, 460, and 240mm height, length, and width dimensions. It supports ATX power supplies, but you can opt for SFX options as well. The 3500X supports a maximum GPU length of 410mm, allowing the use of the highest-end GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards. It can accommodate most AIO CPU coolers with a maximum allowed height of 170mm.
| Corsair 3500X | Specs |
|---|---|
| Motherboard Form Factors | Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX (305mm x 277mm) |
| Case Power Supply | ATX |
| Case Height | 506 |
| Case Length | 460 |
| Case Width | 240 |
| Maximum GPU Length | 410mm |
| Maximum CPU Cooler Height | 170mm |
| Maximum PSU Length | 180mm |
| Radiator Compatibility | 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm |
| Case Expansion Slots | 7 Horizontal (or 4 Vertical) |
|---|---|
| I/O Ports | (1x) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, (2x) USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, (1x) Audio in/out |
| 3.5″ Drive Bays | 2 |
| 2.5″ Drive Bays | 2 |
The Corsair 3500X can support up to x10 120mm fans, x5 140mm fans, or 2x 360mm radiators alongside x3 120mm fans. Ergo, you won’t fall short of cooling options with this case. In the I/O segment, you get 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, x2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and 1x audio output port.
Cable Management
The Corsair 3500X offers ample room for even the RGB-est of builds. The iCUE link hub simplifies cable management for RGB fans employing a single unit for up to six RX120 RGB fans and an AIO cooler. Conventionally, we’ve used two cables per fan, one for controlling the fan speed and the other for lighting. The advent of magnetically connected fans eliminates the cable clutter without compromising lighting or aesthetics.
The Corsair 3500X can support up to two triple-width GPUs with ample space for channeling the cable connections. We used the GeForce RTX 4070 for this build and had no trouble routing the cables from below the GPU. The 3500X series also supports the ASUS BTF and MSI Project Zero boards that come with backside power connectors.
On the backside, you get a couple of centimeters of depth to hide the wires with a bunch of space to stuff the extra wire connections into the power supply area. The iCUE and front panel cables can be easily paired with the primary cables for a clean build. The 2-side fan connection allows for a single or dual-lane routing setup.
Case Fans & Cooling
The Corsair 3500X ARGB and iCUE link come with three pre-installed RS/RX120 120mm fans each worth $35 on the US market. These can be controlled using the iCUE controller using only two cables for fan speed and RGB. There’s space for three more 120mm fans on the top, two above the PSU, one on the backside, and one in the front bottom.
We installed the MSI MPG B650I Edge WiFi and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X on this configuration and were pleasantly surprised with the thermal performance. The CPU mostly stayed below 90C at stock with the GPU hovering between 75 and 85C under load. The three-fan configuration barely makes any noise at the default settings resulting in a super-quiet PC even while gaming.
Conclusion: Pros and Cons
Starting at $89.99, the Corsair 3500X series consists of the best under-$100 PC cases. We recommend it to anyone in the market for a transparent mid-tower chassis. Here are the things we liked the most about it:
- Snap-on, snap-off panels: All panels on the four sides of the 3500X attach to the case without any screws or appendages. This greatly simplifies the building and modification process of a PC built using this chassis.
- Magnetic fan connections: The Corsair 3500X ARGB and the iCUE link RGB come equipped with the fan controller hub that lets you connect 6 RS/RX120 RGB fans and an AIO cooler without adding additional cables to your setup.
- Backside depth: The back panel offers ample depth for multiple 8-pin CPU and GPU configurations, with a sizable PSU compartment.
