In and Around the Corsair Vengeance C70

While I've generally appreciated Corsair's aesthetics (even the Vengeance branded keyboards have a nice, simplistic design to them), the Vengeance C70 enclosure threw me for a loop. I'm not sure when the military styling became popular, but the C70 looks like an awfully good place to store an ASUS Sabertooth (just like in the reviewer's guide!) or one of Gigabyte's G1 series boards. The "Military Green" finish is probably the most garish of the three; I suspect the "Gunmetal Black" is probably going to be the one everyone will want to shortlist, but I could be mistaken.

The front of the C70 boasts a trio of 5.25" bays, with the power, reset, and I/O occupying the space that ostensibly would've been a fourth. The stylistic choice is clean enough, but the power button has a distinct "this-belongs-inside-a-tank" look, and you actually have to flip up a tiny plastic door to access the reset button. It's a cute touch, but also practical, ensuring nobody ever accidentally hits the reset button. Beneath the drive bays is a honeycomb-style vent with a honeycombed grate pattern behind it (honeycomb is pretty much the pattern of choice across the C70), and there's room beneath the fascia for two 120mm fans.

When we move to the top of the case is when we see the oddest parts: the two 120mm/140mm fan mounts (and corresponding ventilation) are dead center of the top, flanked by the clamps for the side panels and the two carrying handles. Centering the fan mounts (and thus the internal mounts) is actually a smart move; if the end user wants to install a 240mm radiator, the radiator winds up being out of the way of the AUX12V line and some of the power circuitry. The only way this could be improved would be to shift its alignment closer to the left side panel as SilverStone did with the Temjin TJ04-E.

While the back of the C70 offers no surprises (eight expansion slots, a bottom-mounted PSU, and a couple of rubber-lined radiator holes), the left side panel features a large window with two vertically aligned 120mm/140mm fan mounts. Corsair offers rubber grommets for all of its case fan screws (and extras are included in the package) to prevent issues with fan vibration. Removing the side panel is accomplished similarly to opening a toolbox: flip the latches up on the side panel, then release the clamps. Panels hinge out from the bottom. The clamps are remarkably snug, leaving me with none of the reservations I had with the panel mounting system used on the 550D.

Of course, the inside of the C70 is par for the course for Corsair at this point; in fact there's surprisingly little variation in here, and that may be this design's Achilles' Heel. The pair of removable drive cages each supports three 2.5"/3.5" drives on sleds, but they also each include a 120mm intake fan on the inside similar to Antec's design with the P280 and Eleven Hundred. In fact, Corsair opted to include the intake fans here instead of behind the front fascia. The 5.25" drive bays are toolless, but you can secure drives with screws anyhow if you so choose.

The rest of the interior is traditional Corsair, with rubber-lined cable routing holes in the motherboard tray along with a cabling "channel" that saves on case width while allowing you to tuck cables neatly behind the tray. In fact, when you check behind the tray you can see the other major addition to Corsair's internal design: latches that open and lock closed to help keep cabling neat. Cable ties, begone! This is a fantastic feature that makes Corsair's traditionally clean interior assembly even easier to manage.

I'm not totally displeased with the C70's design, but the exterior is unusually gaudy for them. The build also seems a little fragile in places; I get the impression my review unit was roughed up in shipping, as one of the bottom fan filters was cracked and bent, and one of the long bars the C70 uses for feet was dented inward. The drive trays are also nice and flexible, but at the same time it seems like they almost need to be occupied to maintain their shape enough to stay in the cage.

Introducing the Corsair Vengeance C70 Assembling the Corsair Vengeance C70
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  • Sabresiberian - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link

    Me too; appearance wise, I think it looks pretty cool. Otherwise, not so much, but it gets a "+1) from me for appearance.

    What I really want though is a case that will handle a 10-slot mainboard. Your case can't, it's not in the running for my dollar.

    ;)
  • Samus - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link

    I think its awesome. I painted a case ammo can green for lanparties 15 years ago, I loved that hunk of case and 17" CRT :)

    All they need to do is team up with LG or Lite-on to make a matching faceplate.
  • exordis - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link

    I'd love to know how easy it is to set watercooling up in this case. If that's what they were aiming for it might explain the bad thermals for an air cooled set up.
    Not that they shouldn't be trying to do both well.
  • ZekkPacus - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link

    I really feel like Corsair's cases, similar to most of Antec's higher-end cases, are designed with the idea and suggestion that the end user will install more fans. Most of Corsair's cases are also designed with a fairly obvious radiator mount, too.

    Would be interesting to see you go back to a few cases (for example, the 500R, this case, and the Antec 1100), add 2 fans per case and a 240mm rad, and see how they do. I can't imagine anyone would spend $100+ on a case just to use the stock fans.
  • bah12 - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link

    "I can't imagine anyone would spend $100+ on a case just to use the stock fans."

    I can't imagine paying $100+ on a case and NOT using stock fans. That is a good bit of money to be spending for bleh cooling. One should not be asked to pay that amount, then turn around and spend more. Either sell it for less and I'll buy my own fans, or perform reasonably in a stock configuration. Just my 2 cents.
  • ZekkPacus - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link

    Pretty much every case I've ever used, I've added fans to the stock configuration. Mostly extra intakes.
  • ClutchNerd - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - link

    What kind of 1d10t spends a crapton of money on a rig and DOESN'T buy some bada$$ fans to go with it? Thats like buying a McClaren F1 and NOT buying z-grade tires to hug the road... or buying a Cadillac Escalade without the spinners then b1tching that you're caddy doesn't have enough chrome on it. Or buying an 84" tv without the sports package. Think about it...
  • zyxtomatic - Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - link

    I know this is an old comment, but I had to reply: A McClaren F1 *does* come with extremely high performance tires from the factory. Absolutely no need to upgrade those until they wear out. :)
  • Robert in Calgary - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link

    This case comes in three colours from the get go, yet I still can't get a White 550D?

    Rather.....annoying!
  • ExodusC - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link

    This actually seems to be a decent case, and since aesthetics were obviously in mind here, I can't stand the fact that they cut side-vent fan mounts/perforations- I personally have stopped running my systems wide side fans as I don't run a dual-GPU setup and with logical fan placement and case design, side fans are unnecessary (and can often times hurt airflow if you're not smart).

    Just my personal preference- for cases with large windows (see: aesthetics), fan perforations are ugly and can let out noise and let in dust if you're not using them (and if you are, you need dust filters, obviously).

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