Corsair Crystal 280X RGB

Darksaber · Sep 6, 2018

The Corsair Crystal 280X RGB takes the idea behind the Air 240, and the classy looks and material mix of the Crystal family, and marries them in an even more compact, powerful, and beautiful enclosure that includes not only better liquid-cooling compatibility but also features Corsair's retail-grade LL120 RGB fans and the Lightning Pro Node.

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Solidstate89 · Sep 7, 2018

I still can't believe it's been all these years and they still haven't made a premium and affordable version of the Air 540. Instead Lian-Li has done it.

Assimilator · Sep 7, 2018

120mm fans in a chassis that is designed for 140mm ones? Why, Corsair?

_UV_ · Sep 7, 2018

Assimilator said:
120mm fans in a chassis that is designed for 140mm ones? Why, Corsair?

just to sell fans twice

StrayKAT · Sep 7, 2018

_UV_ said:
just to sell fans twice

Seems like it. I like Corsair, but this is a crappy thing to do.

Tsukiyomi91 · Sep 7, 2018

Basically a slightly enlarged Air 240 with slightly better chassis, tinted tempered glass & complete with Lighting Node PRO + Controller hub for the included fans. Decent but Corsair should employ them LL140 for better value.

Assimilator · Sep 7, 2018

Solidstate89 said:
I still can't believe it's been all these years and they still haven't made a premium and affordable version of the Air 540. Instead Lian-Li has done it.

You mean the Lian-Li 011 Air? It would be a great chassis except for the included too-restrictive dust filters. If you can find better filters of the same size, then yes the 011 Air is definitely superior to the Air 540, but we need to remember that the Corsair case is very long in the tooth now. Considering the reviewed case, though, I'd expect an Air 580 soon.

skates · Sep 7, 2018

Nope.

Darksword · Sep 8, 2018

Not for $160.00. :eek:

Maybe for $100.00, but that's about it.

dennphill · Sep 9, 2018

My white Air 240 is still very impressive and pretty (to me). Was JUST today looking at projections on Cannonlake and 9000-series CPUs - not quite available yet...and eventual B or H chipsets (for a mATX board...also not in the mill yet), and I was thinking if I'd just gut "my current" and rebuild in the Air 240 box. Thanks for the review...this may be the box for my next build (replacing the Haswell i5 I now have with Win 8.1). It nearly killed me to abandon Win 7...and before that it REALLY killed me to leave Win95. Next time round I guess I'll just "drop trou, grab my ankles and" tell Win10 to just "have at me." Tech Powerup, you guys have great news and reviews...keep up the good work!

PopcornMachine · Sep 9, 2018

Assimilator said:
120mm fans in a chassis that is designed for 140mm ones? Why, Corsair?

I have been very intrigued by this case. It looks very nice. And I prefer using 140mm fans if I can.

But even though it can handle 140mm fans, other reviews I have read say there are problems using 280mm radiators. Not enough space.

I think if they were to make a full ATX version, it would address the space issues and possible airflow problems others have noted.

System Name	Meshlicious Monster
Processor	Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard	MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling	NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory	ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s)	Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case	ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse	Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard	Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Home

System Name	CUBE_NXT
Processor	i9 12900K @ 5.0Ghz all P-cores with E-cores enabled
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	EK AIO Elite Cooler w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Memory	64GB DDR5 @ 5600Mhz
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3090Ti Ultra Hybrid Gaming w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Storage	1 x SK Hynix P41 Platinum 1TB, 1 x 2TB, 1 x WD_BLACK SN850 2TB, 1 x WD_RED SN700 4TB
Display(s)	Alienware AW3418DW
Case	Lian-Li O11 Dynamic Evo w/ 3 Phanteks T30 fans
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME 1000W Titanium
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Firelance.
Processor	Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard	ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling	IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory	8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage	2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s)	3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case	Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Razer Pro Type Ultra
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

Processor	FX 8320 @4.2 \| i7 2600 @3.8 \| Xeon W3670 @ 3.6
Motherboard	Asus Sabertooth R2.0 \| Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe \| Gigabyte X58-UD7
Cooling	Zalman Performa 10+ \| Zalman Performa 11+ \| Zalman Performa 10+
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 32GB @ 1866 \| Corsair Vengeance 32GB @1866 \| Samsung 24GB @ 1600
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon 390x \| Zotac GTX 1070 AMP Extreme \| Zotac GTX 980 AMP Extreme
Storage	Intel SSD / SAS 15k Fujitsu \| Intel SSD / Velociraptors / Hitachi 2TB \| Intel SSD / Samsung 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung 245T \| HP ZR30w \| IBM 20" 4x3
Case	Chieftec \| Corsair Graphite 600T \| Thermaltake Xaser IV
Audio Device(s)	SB Titanium HD \| SB Titanium HD \| SB X-fi Elite Pro
Power Supply	Thermaltake 875W \| Corsair 850W \| Thermaltake 1500W
Mouse	Logitech \| Logitech \| Logitech
Keyboard	Mitsumi Classic \| Microsoft \|Microsoft
Software	W7 x64 \| W7 x64 \|W7 x64 / XP x32

System Name	Grunt
Processor	Ryzen 5800x
Motherboard	Gigabyte x570 Gaming X
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	Corsair LPX 3600 4x8GB
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 6800 XT (reference)
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Display(s)	Samsung CFG70, Samsung NU8000 TV
Case	Corsair C70
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	Rainbow Puke Machine :D
Processor	Intel Core i5-11400 (MCE enabled, PL removed)
Motherboard	ASUS STRIX B560-G GAMING WIFI mATX
Cooling	Corsair H60i RGB PRO XT AIO + HD120 RGB (x3) + SP120 RGB PRO (x3) + Commander PRO
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 2 x 8GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16
Video Card(s)	Zotac RTX2060 Twin Fan 6GB GDDR6 (Stock)
Storage	Corsair MP600 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
Display(s)	LG 29WK600-W Ultrawide 1080p IPS Monitor (primary display)
Case	Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow (White) w/Lighting Node CORE + Lighting Node PRO RGB LED Strips (x4).
Audio Device(s)	ASUS ROG Supreme FX S1220A w/ Savitech SV3H712 AMP + Sonic Studio 3 suite
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular
Mouse	Corsair M65 RGB FPS Gaming (White)
Keyboard	Corsair K60 PRO RGB Mechanical w/ Cherry VIOLA Switches
Software	Windows 11 Professional x64 (Update 23H2)

System Name	latest-greatest
Processor	i7 12700K
Motherboard	Z690 Rog Strix-E
Cooling	Lian Li Galahad 360
Memory	corsair vengeance Ddr5 4800
Video Card(s)	2080ti
Storage	980 pro gen4
Display(s)	LG C1 4K 120Mhz
Case	fractal meshify2
Audio Device(s)	Realtec 4080
Power Supply	Corsair rm1000x

System Name	Vulcan
Processor	i6 6600K
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Z170X UD3
Cooling	Thermaltake Frio Silent 14
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Video Card(s)	ASUS Strix GTX 970
Storage	Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 1TB SSD
Display(s)	QNIX 27 Inch 1440p
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	Cooler Master V750
Software	Win 10 64-bit

Corsair Crystal 280X RGB

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer