Corsair TC200 Gaming Chair Review

Assembly

In something that definitely gets a grumble from me, Corsair does not provide you with a physical instruction/assembly manual with the TC200. You are, instead, provided with a QR code on the packaging that takes you to the official product website where one is available to download. – Yes, I daresay Corsair might cite environmental factors in not creating a manual to put in the box, maybe even localisation, given that everything within the box was wrapped up in a small mountain of plastic and bubble wrap though, I think the case for the former is somewhat lost.

So, let me be blunt, for a gaming chair of this quality (and price tag) I find the lack of even a single sheet of assembly instructions annoying. Thankfully, the instructions through the online resources are excellent, but being a gaming chair, about 90% of the assembly is pretty self-intuitive anyway.

Starting with the base, this is probably one of the easiest aspects as all you have to do is insert the wheels into the holes (and give them a nice firm tap to make sure they’re fully in). Once inserted, they really look fantastic and especially so with that while highlight o the inner rim.

As noted above, these really do look more like car alloys than gaming chair wheels.

The base/seat connector is again pretty straightforward with just 4 screws required to attach it. – Now, before you rush ahead at this point, you should always note that this does have a ‘right way around’. It’s an understandable (but rookie) mistake to get this wrong. Fortunately, though, it seems that Corsair has thought of this by putting a little arrow pointing the way forward.

Just make sure that before you install the gas height adjust cylinder (connecting the seat to the base) you fit the plastic covering that sits/slides over it (and get it the right up way). If you do forget, then have fun getting the gas cylinder back out! – (Actually, and in all honestly, when disassembling this to go back in the box, it was actually pretty easy to remove the cylinder).

You’ll also note the ’tilt tensioner’ here. For those of you unaware, this is a screw control that allows you to modify the easy, or resistance, of the soft tilt (rocking) mechanism.

Surprisingly, even only seemingly just a short way in, we’re already pretty close to having this fully assembled. The only real work left is fitting the backrest to the seat and installing the plastic covering. In this specific regard, the only thing I would advise is to use one of your own screwdrivers. While the Corsair TC200 does come with a small screwdriver to help fit the exterior cover (all main fixings are Allen-hex-key which you also are provided with) it doesn’t really grab the screws very satisfyingly making it a pretty frustrating experience. – Put simply, use your own screwdriver for this, or struggle with the one Corsair gives you.

Once fitted, however, you are also provided with 4 soft rubber branded ‘bungs’ (2 for each side), with each having the Corsair logo on it. Simply push into the former screw hole and you have a nice clean finish.

Please note though! – As nearly always is the case with gaming chairs, do not even think of touching the backrest control handle unless the backrest itself is fully installed! This is heavily spring-loaded and giving it a pull without the backrest attached could result in a pretty chunky lump of metal giving your hand a rather unpleasant karate chop!

Finally, we just have to fit the headrest cushion. This is done by simply slipping the straps through the backrest inserts and clipping them together. Once in place, you can adjust the scrap if you’d like it to fit a little firmer or looser.

With this all done though, our Corsair TC200 is assembled.

From out of the box and ready to sit, this took me no longer than 15 minutes to put together which impressed me as based on the size, I thought this was going to be tricky. The truth though is that as imposing as it is, the TC200, as a whole, isn’t as overly heavy as it looks, and, overall, was actually very pleasant to work with.

In terms of gaming chair installation, this is about as easy as it gets. Again though, I just wish I had a physical manual (no, I’m never going to drop this point!).