C
orsairhasjustaddedanothercasetoits
arsenalofRGB-equippedmodels,butrather
thanofferyetanotherpremiummodelthatwon’t
leaveyouwithmuchchangefrom£200,Corsair’siCUE220T
RGBAirflowcostsjust£100incVAT.It hassolidbuildquality,
it’savailableinblackorwhiteandit includesa trioofthe
company’sSP120RGBPro120mmfans.
Asitsnamesuggests,theiCUE220TRGBAirflowisn’t
anothertempered-glass-cladcase.It offersa glassside
panel,butthetopandroofareventilated,
withthefrontsectioneasilypopping
offtoprovideaccesstothefilterand
fans.Thefrontpanelisn’tquiteasopen
asotherhigh-airflowcaseswe’ve
seen,butthesnazzydesigncutinto
it certainlyoffersbetterairflowthan
a solidpanel.Thedownsideis that
thetrioofRGBfansinthefrontaren’t
quiteasvisibleastheywouldbeina
glass-frontedcase,buttheystillglow
brightlythroughtheperforations.
Themostobviousissuewiththe
iCUE220TRGBAirflow,though,is the
lackofa rearexhaustfan.Corsairmight
assumeyou’llbeaddingoneofits
liquidcoolerstothisslot,butgiventhe
case’sprice (andname),themajority
ofpotentialownerswillprobablybe
lookingataircoolers,wherethelack
ofa rearfanwillbea hindrance.
Meanwhile,theincludedRGBfansare
alreadyhookeduptoa LightingNode
CoreRGBcontroller,whichofferscontrol
ofuptosixfans,withtheabilitytouseCORSAIRICUE220T
RGBAIRFLOW/£100incVAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukAT X C A S E
a motherboard USB 2 header to communicate with Corsair’s
iCUE software. Each fan has eight individually controllable
RGB LEDs, which can link to a number of lighting effects,
synchronising across all the fans in series if required, while
you can also manually set each LED to a specific colour.
Other components, such as RGB memory, can join the
party too and, unlike Kolink’s Observatory, the fans come
with 3-pin connectors, so you can also control them using
your motherboard. Given Corsair’s prowess in the software
fan and lighting control arena, you might argue the lack of
integration with iCUE and the fans is disappointing, but it’s
fine for a case at this price. Besides, most motherboards
offer excellent fan control these days anyway.
Back to the chassis itself, the iCUE 220T RGB Airflow is
relatively small, not quite stretching to 40cm deep, while
standing 45cm tall and 21cm wide. Even so, there’s space
for a 360mm or 280mm radiator in the front panel, and
a 240mm model in the roof, so there’s plenty of room to
expand your cooling if you fancy some upgrades. However,
if you do add a rear fan, only 120mm models are supported
in this location. The width also means there’s limited height
clearance for CPU coolers, but standard-sized coolers, such
as Deepcool’s Gammaxx GT BK and ARCTIC’s Freezer
34 Esports Duo, will fit with a few millimetres to spare.
Your typical PC enthusiast won’t find much lacking
with the iCUE 220T RGB Airflow. It has a fairly typical
front panel, offering two USB 3 ports, an audio jack, plus
power and reset buttons. Meanwhile, inside there’s
space for two hard disks and a pair of 2.5in SSDs,
although the latter lack tool-free mounts, unlike the
hard disks. Dust filters are present in the base, front and
roof of the case, and all are easily accessible too.REVIEWS / CASE
SPEC
Dimensions (mm)
210 x 395 x 450 (W x D x H)
Material
Steel, plastic, tempered glass
Available colours
Black, white
Weight
6.5kg
Front panel
Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, headphone/mic
Drive bays
2 x 3.5in, 2 x 2.5in
Form factor(s)
ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
Cooling
3 x 120/2 x 140mm front fan mounts
(3 x 120mm fans included), 2 x
120mm/140mm roof fan mounts (fan
not included) 1 x 120mm rear fan mounts
(fan not included
CPU cooler clearance
160mm
Maximum graphics card length
300mmcc
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