Custom PC – October 2019

Meanwhile, a full-length PSU cover means cables can

be tucked in front of your PSU, but there’s also an excellent

array of cable tie anchor points and cable-routing holes.

The lower chamber’s hard disk cage is fairly basic, with

pull-out, tool-free trays, but it does the job. However, it will

need to be removed if you want to mount a 360mm radiator

in the front. One notable omission, though, is the lack of a

vertical graphics card mount, which is included with some

of Corsair’s other ATX towers, such as the Obsidian 500D.

Performance

Corsair’s SP120 RGB Pro 120mm fans are reasonably powerful

at their full 1,400rpm speed, but are fairly restrained when it

comes to dishing out decibels. However, thanks to the case’s

porous front end, if you’re noise-sensitive, you’ll definitely

want to tune down the fans using your motherboard when

temperatures are low enough. The three included fans and

vented front end certainly seemed to help the iCUE 220T

RGB Airflow deal with our test gear, with the CPU delta T of

53°C being 1°C cooler than the Fractal Design Meshify C.

The Phanteks Eclipse P600S shows what a proper

vented front end and rear exhaust fan can do, though, as

it knocked a further 3°C off that temperature with its front

vent open. The Corsair’s GPU delta T of 50°C comes close

to matching the Phanteks case, though, and it’s better than

the results from closed-front cases, such as the Kolink

Observatory and Fractal Design Define S2. However, the

Fractal Design Meshify C was a couple of degrees cooler.

Conclusion

If you want a case that offers decent cooling as well as

RGB lighting for £100 or less, the Corsair iCUE 220T

RGB Airflow makes a strong argument for pointing

your wallet in its direction. It’s a solid-feeling case with

most of the usual conveniences you’d expect from

an enthusiast case in this price bracket, and its unique

front panel sets it apart from the usual black boxes.

However, the same can also be said of the Lian Li Lancool

One Digital, which costs the same and adds aluminium and

USB Type-C ports to the mix, as well as better water-cooling

support, although it can’t quite match the Corsair cases’

thermals. We’d opt for the Lancool One Digital as our case of

choice in this price bracket, but the iCUE 220T RGB Airflow

still comes recommended if airflow is a top priority for you.

ANTONY LEATHER

VERDICT

Great cooling and a snazzy front panel for a fair price,

although it’s up against some strong competition.

Lower is better

CPULOADDELTAT

015304560

CorsairiCUE220TRGBAirflow 53°C

KolinkObservatory 57°C

PhanteksEclipseP600S(openvents) 50°C

PhanteksEclipseP600S 55°C

LianLiLancoolOne 54°C

FractalDesignMeshifyC 54°C

Fractal Design Define S2 54°C

GPULOADDELTAT

Lower is better

015304560

CorsairiCUE220TRGBAirflow 50°C

KolinkObservatory 56°C

PhanteksEclipseP600S(openvents) 48°C

PhanteksEclipseP600S 51°C

LianLiLancoolOne 53°C

FractalDesignMeshifyC 46°C

Fractal Design Define S2 55°C

AIR FORCE

+ Good value

+ Full digital

RGB lighting

+ Decent cooling

AIR BED

• No exhaust fan


• No USB
  Type-C ports


• Limited CPU
  cooler clearance

OVERALLSCORE

83

COOLING

26 / 30

FEATURES

14 / 20

DESIGN

25 / 30

VALUE

18 / 20

TEMPERATURE RESULTS