Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB Mid-Tower Case Review
Peter Donnell / 3 years ago
How Much Does it Cost?
A lot, there’s not really much point in sugar-coating that at all. It’s a lot of money, but let’s break down a few things first. You get the case, which is basically a modified 5000D, and that’s around £150 on its own. Three ARGB LL120 fans with a lighting node, that’s another £86 right now, and the Commander controller is around £60 also. Then you have those lighting strips that are providing light on both sides of the case at the top and bottom, and on the sides of the front panel. I don’t have a price for those as they’re bespoke, but Lighting Node Pro strip kits are around £50. Suddenly, we arrive at roughly the same price. So expansive, yes, but when you’re decking a case out in premium RGB hardware, you get what you pay for.
Check for stock on Amazon UK here – £349.99
Overview
I really like this case, and I’d be crazy not to. It’s a very high-end product that’s brimming with features that are sure to appeal to the enthusiast PC gaming market, and high-performance system builders in general. Plus, it looks absolutely awesome, and aesthetics are as big a part of the performance in the enthusiast market these days.
I’ll admit, the RGB may be complete overkill on this case, but if that’s what you like, who am I to argue with you! For me, it’s too much, I have my main PC in my living room, and this would be a little on the flash side. However, for the gaming PC in my son’s room, well, he’d still say it doesn’t have enough RGB. It’s all about customisation though, and while the puking rainbows may appeal to some. For me, setting all the lights to a deep red and dimming them down a bit is what I really want, and of course, I can do that.
The accent lights on the sides and edges of the front panel are really cool though, adding a lot of customisation but still only adds highlights to the case, rather than causing it to light up your room too much. Cheaper RGB cases tend to light up light lamps and make my room glow, but the 5000T feels more constrained, despite having a lot more lights on it. Having all the fans and light strips heavily recessed in the case is the most obvious factor in this.
RGB thrills are easily controlled too, thanks to the built-in hub, and the fantastic Corsair iCUE software. Plus, it also hooks up to your fans, allowing you endless levels of control over both. There are a couple of thermal probes included too, so you can monitor PC temperatures more directly, and have everything like the fans and RGB respond to temperature differences, which I really like.
The core of this case is superb though, with very robust build quality, lots of space, and all the quality of life features we’ve come to expect from a high-end PC case. A durable PSU shroud, lots of cable management space, good quality grommets and plenty of routing holes and fixtures to ensure a clean build. Add to that the plentiful fan mounts, dust filters, and impressive cooling support, and there’s not really a whole lot this case can’t do. The price may be putting it out of the reach of most, I can understand that, but if you want a lot of RGB hardware, that stuff doesn’t come cheap! If you want a cheaper alternative without all the RGB, the Corsair 5000D is a welcome alternative.