A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior of the Graphite 230T, simply remove the single thumbscrew holding each panel in place, but make sure to push the panel toward the front instead of sliding it toward the rear of the case, since both panels protrude onto the front panel. Unique, this setup still works just as well as the traditional one.

Taking a first look at the interior, the Graphite 230T looks quite simple. Everything is where you would expect it to be, but one does notice the all-plastic 3.5" hard-drive cage right away. The use of such plastic is quite rare as most other offerings in this price segment utilize metal instead. The motherboard tray comes with a large opening for the underside of the CPU area, while numerous smaller openings aid with cable management. These lack rubber grommets, so you will need to invest a bit more time and thought into making the interior look spiffy—simply making the cables disappear won't be enough. The tray only has a few hooks to attach any loose cables to, though, so things may not be as easy as they could be. However, Corsair did construct the Graphite 230T with around 30 mm worth of space between the tray and side panel.


Looking at the aforementioned hard-drive cages, the entire contraption is, curiously enough, made of plastic, even the locking mechanism. Though there is a metal pin in each of the locks, it is good to see a mounting hole for a single screw toward the front of each bay as I have a feeling you may need it. We have seen the 2.5" drive bays in a previous Corsair chassis, and these do work quite well as long as you do not own very thin SSDs, for example. Thin SSDs will have wiggle room and should definitively be kept in place with a screw. The middle of the front is empty, giving you an unobstructed view of the fan: It is all clear and ships with blue LEDs. Three 5.25" drive bays can be found at the very top. Corsair opted for tension locks on these. We have also had the chance to use these in a previous chassis, and they, too, work quite well.


The PSU bay in the rear is quite basic. There is no foam or rubber lining as an anti-vibration measure, which would have been a good idea, and a feature other case manufacturers offer. Above that are the seven motherboard expansion slots. Each of these is protected by an individual, re-usable cover held in place by a thumbscrew. The 120 mm exhaust fan in the very top is all-black and comes equipped with a 3-pin connector.


Another fan mounting position can be found on the floor of the case. It allows for either a 120 or 140 mm unit to be placed there. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a dust filter, which allows dirt to freely enter the chassis. Numerous mounting holes in the ceiling allow for utmost flexibility in the type of cooling you can install. Those installing a 280 mm radiator or two 140 mm fans will most likely end up loosing the ability to use the topmost 5.25" drive bay, though.


All cables within the Corsair Graphite 230T are sleeved black to go with the rest of the chassis. All the connectors are of the default variety. It would have been nice to have a USB 3.0 to 2.0 adapter or secondary plug, though.