Final words and conclusion

The Verdict

Small form factor computers have become a trending market ever since the last year or two. And it makes a lot of sense for Corsair to jump on that with a product like the Graphics 380T. See Mini-ITX isn't slow stuff anymore, Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI offer the most high-end Z97 motherboards at that 17x17cm size on which you can place even a Devils Canyon processor and up-to 32GB of memory. Combine that with a GeForce GTX 780 Ti or Radeon HD 290X and you will have a power-house of a PC injected into a 35 CM in height product like Corsair offers today. So to make Mini-ITX chassis fairly high-end makes a lot of sense. And let's be honest here, it really is hard to critique any of Corsair's chassis offerings.

The entire line-up from A to Z scores high as they are well thought through concepts. The team behind it certainly deserves a pat on the back as with the yellow edition graphite series 380T chassis, once again Corsair puts something very unique on the market. For the 380T the it is the outside that counts the most with its intricate design and style alright. That inner part of the chassis however is nearing perfection with the black design, cable management and smart HDD tray. That said, it has room to work in but the PSU space is rather limited, keep that in mind.

Aesthetics

The chassis base a  tool free design. We see easy to use and mount  storage options including easy installation of the mountable SSD/HDDs. The package is very complete. But aesthetics wise, it's the outside that matters with the Graphite series. The rounded edges the yellow/black design, that front-panel which allow you to control your fans, yeah we like it very much. We applaud the side panel top see-though window option and the ability to easily remove the side panels. Overall it does need to fit your taste and preferences, but I think it is save to say that this is a great looking and well developed chassis.

Features

The only thing we can think of in terms of critique would be some more USB 3.0 connectors at the front-side opposed to the two USB 3.0 connectors that there are now.  But moreover that's wishful thinking I guess. Installing a 3.5" device is as simple as inserting it into a plastic rubber mounted bracket and sliding it into the drive bay. For optical or other 5.25" devices there simply is no space and place, which might be a hindrance for some. The overall feature-set is plentiful though, and boy do we like that carry handle.

Final Words

This yellow edition Graphite 380T is as complete as it can be for its form factor, let's be honest hare as very few brands will be able to offer something close to what Corsair did here. But with any chassis review we always add this line, it will boil down to sheer taste and preference whether or not you will opt to purchase one. The SRP is set at 129 USD and thus roughly over a 100 EURO, though here in the Netherlands we have spotted the unit as tested today already for 95 EUR. Now that certainly is a lot of money for a small form factor chassis, but i am sure that you guys can see where the money is spend, as this really is a unique product. You are of course restricted to smallest form factor motherboard, but the end result can be a super-duper-hyper-fast PC if you choose your components well. There are plenty Mini ITX motherboards based on the Z87 / Z97 chipset available, read our MSI Z87I review here for example.That is a product we equipped with a Core i7 3770K, but could have easily been a 4790K. The chassis offers proper cooling to deal with that, that said the fans at the highest fan RPM settings are not the most silent ones though. You will be able to hear some airflow, but nothing annoying. Just put the included fan controller at low levels and you are good to go when it comes to noise. Combined with the space and options available you can install two SSDs whilst installing a nice R290X or GeForce GTX 780 Ti card inside the chassis connected to your ATX form factor PSU as long as that one fits.So yeah, please do realize that the small form factors are really not a restriction any more. You can build a PC that is massive in performance whilst being nice and small in size. 

• MSRP Inc VAT 380T Black: €125
• MSRP Inc VAT 380T White or Yellow: €140

Though i am sure that the style and color scheme will not please everybody, but the ones that do like it will easily fall in love with it, I certainly did as it is a great looking and feature rich product. The chassis is very complete and extensive in it's feature set. And that fan controller, well that's just lovely to see included stuff. The yellow edition Graphite 380T mini-tower chassis as such comes very much recommended. Remember there will be several colors available for it.

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