The Corsair Graphite 380T is a stunning looking portable mITX case. The attractive futuristic design is available in three different color schemes: black, yellow and white. The black model retails around 10 dollars cheaper than the other two colored versions. The huge 140mm LED fan is clearly visible through the meshed front grill.

 

In fact this case is almost completely ventilated, meaning even the two easily removable side panels are almost fully meshed. Hot air remaining trapped in this gaming oriented case is nearly impossible if not impossible. Both side panels can be opened by simple pulling the latch, no screwdriver or anything required. Compare opening your Graphite 380T with the doors on one of them fancy super sport scars.

 

 

 

With both panels removed one spots a typical layout for mITX cases; with the motherboard being positioned horizontally. Below the motherboard there is room to house  the power supply. Due to space constraints the latter will have to be inserted via the aft of the case. A dual HDD cage is mounted in front of the power supply. The front of the case is aggressive with the big front meshed grill. With two gentle pushes on both the top corners, the front grill, inclusive dust filter drops out. The front fan is an LED version, white for the yellow and white cases, the black 380T features a red LED front fan.

 

 

A close up on the front 140mm fan: looking at the fan blades we see a similar pattern as with the Air flow models from Corsair's Air series fans. To reduce costs, no interchangeable colored rings, nor rubber mounts to reduce vibration. The LED function can be disabled via the switch positioned on the top rail.

 

 

 

 

A second 120mm Fan at the rear expels the heat, again a simplified version of the Air series fans. Note that the fan is secured via 4 screws within rubber O-rings. The Graphite 380T features a 3 step fan controller for up to 5 fans. Now that is high class, especially for a mITX case. Take note that most mITX boards are really fan-header limited. The selected Fan setting is high lighted via the LED surrounding the Fan selecter button.

 

 

 

 

The top I/O panel features the already described Fan controller button, two USB 3.0 ports, the Power (start/stop) and Reset buttons. Last but not least we spot the in/out audio jacks.

The space below the motherboard tray inside the Graphite 380T is pretty cramped, hence why the Corsair engineers have opted to go with a slide-able power supply from the outside of the case, a design similar to the Obsidian 250D. Corsair goes flat out with the cooling options. First of all from their Hydro 240 lineup, the Hydro H100i is supported out of the box, or an additional 2 fans can be fitted inside the Graphite 380T enclosure, making a total of 4 fans ( 1 x 140 and 3 x 120mm variants ). Again since both side panels are well ventilated it is pretty hard for any heat to remain trapped inside the Graphite 380T.

 

 

 

 

Ventilated panels is one thing, but dust has to be kept outside too. The front panel with included dust filter is alike many recent Corsair solutions easily removable by clicking both the top corners of the front panel. The dust filter for the Power Supply slides out easily, facilitating cleaning big time.

 

 

 

The Corsair Graphite 380T is ready to take up to two 2.5" platters or SSDs in a screw less cage abeam the the power supply. At the end of the same power supply there's more room for two 3.5" HDD storage devices, thus more than plenty for a balanced gaming setup.

 

For the test setup we have to thank Tones for supplying us with the Intel i7-4770K CPU and the ASUS Z97 mITX motherboard. The installed hardware was comprised of following parts:

• Intel i7-4770K cooled by boxed cooler
• ASUS Z97i plus motherboard
• 16GB of CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 2400C10 memory
• ASUS AMD 7970HD video card
• 2 x Western Digital Green Caviar 1TB HDD
• 1 x Plextor M5 PRO SSD
• CORSAIR RM650 PSU

 

 

 

Depending on the hardware you are using, assembling your gaming setup might be either an easy task or a very time consuming one. One limitation is when using the HDD cage for the 3.5" HDDs is that your maximum PSU length is first max limited to 160mm in length, plus preferably make sure your power supply is of the modular type or way shorter than 160mm. Looking at the below pictures you can spot it is getting very crowded below the motherboard tray and the 3.5" HDD cage

 

 

 

 

We had to flip over the Corsair RM650 modular power supply to allow for easier cable routing. Installing the power supply in the normal way, meaning the fan sucking in air via the bottom of the case, would have yielded far more power supply cable and connector strain, hence why we advise the maximum limit for your power supply is at 160mm and modular or you just remove the HDD cage and lose storage space. However the latter will be the least viable option.

 

 

 

The ASUS Z97i Plus motherboard blended perfectly with the Corsair Graphite 380T. As you can see even installing a tower cooler poses no real issues as long as the height is limited to 150mm.

 

 

We tested the 3 fan controller presets, though must admit when using the boxed cooler there will not be that much influence, as the limitation is the boxed cooler from Intel and not really the lack of airflow inside the case. Though to keep data aligned we used the results of the boxed cooler on the Intel Core i7-4770K. Switching from high to low only results in a temp increase of around 2°C CPU wise. The boxed fans are pretty decent, silent and yet powerful enough to keep your vital hardware components within safe operating temperatures.

 

 

Noise wise the included fans are pretty quiet, at full RPM the front 140mm Fan was around 32dBA. Though due to the open ventilated nature of this design the boxed processor cooler and fan from the ASUS HD7970 card were very audible during a gaming session.

With the Graphite 380T Corsair has designed a splendid case. Depending on the preferred white or yellow color scheme one can own a real flashy eye catcher, or opt for the more discrete black version; nevertheless the picked version, once you walk in with your portable gaming rig it will attract some extra attention for sure.

The build quality is in typical Corsair style, which is pretty high, featuring an impeccable black coated interior and well executed easily removable side panels. Thanks to the two Fans and the unobstructed air flow the cooling capacity of this 380 is superior. On top of that there's even room for a H100 Corsair Hydro AIO unit. The storage capacity might seem limited at first glance, though with the two full HDD removable bays and room for another  two SSDs or 2.5 HDDs, one should have more than plenty. Remember this is meant to be the foundation for a portable gaming rig, not a storage server.

 

 

Even though I'm a big fan of most Corsair cases this 380T has a design flaw or some might call it a limitation. This is really uncommon to what anyone expects from this company. When installing our normal sized Corsair power supply we ran straight into issues with the cables and the HDD cage. Why didn't Corsair opt to mount maybe the HDDs in a vertical position ? This would create a lot more space to route and tuck away them annoying power supply cables more easily, or maybe even give the end user the option to mount the HDD cage on top next to the motherboard. Last resort would be to include a plastic bracket so the PSU is located partly out of the chassis.

Last criticism before wrapping up is the steep price one has to cash out for this Graphite 380T. Retailing at 135 Euros this is even higher than many high end class mid-tower cases. If one can justify this price with the looks, hardware compatibility and the integration of the 3 speed Fan controller than I could live with it. Honestly a retail price of around the 100 euro mark would have been far more justified, unless this Graphite 380T was build on an aluminum frame. The 5.5Kg weight might be an indication of high quality materials, yet the pricing remains over the top.

The Graphite 380T is another stunning looking case from the Corsair stable. One would even suspect they hired a sports car designer to create the smooth lines this 380T features. Under the hood we see a clever design optimized for maximum airflow, this with even the option to install more fans or even an AIO cooler, though the elevated price throws a dark shadow over this nice looking case. The demanded price tag is too elevated to really recommend this case, as there are far cheaper variants out there. Nevertheless one must admit this Graphite 380T combines a quite unique look, excellent cooling and great hardware compatibility, this when leaving the PSU out of the equation. Though if any of the aforementioned are important and you don't care to cash out, than this Graphite 380T will not let you down.

 

PROS:

• Stunning looks
• Good hardware compatibility (GPU & CPU)
• Excellent cooling
• 3-speed Fan controller

 

CONS:

• Exuberant price
• Clearance between PSU and HDD cage

 

We wish to thank Harry from Corsair for the Graphite 380T and Vengeance Memory kit

 

Sven from Corsair for the ASUS Z97i Plus mITX motherboard

 

Tones for the provision of the 4770K processor