Today's PC case prices don’t always seem tethered to current events. Shipping and steel prices were supposed to have driven them up 50% two years ago, but cases introduced in that time have seen largely stable MSRPs. More recently, the US market has been roiled by on-and-off tariffs, but the kind of case that would have cost around $80 in the late 2010s still typically costs less than $100 today. The $89.99 3200D RS ARGB, though? It’s price-stable, looks like it costs more, and delivers something a little extra. A funky translucent front-panel trim area, lots of colorful fans, and an interesting bit of interior angled design set this ATX case apart from the budget pack. It’s an Editors' Choice winner for a price-conscious ATX chassis. It's not perfect, but for what you pay, you get better than what you’d expect.

Design: A Template for Modern Mainstream Cases

It’s been a while since I've seen a case with translucent-plastic parts (the last one was probably blue), but here’s a wealth it. Smoke tint is just one of the three colors available to the 3200D RS ARGB’s face panel; the other two are black and white. Surrounding parts are painted to match, and those who want to save a little money can even find a version without lighting, the 3200D RS (no “ARGB”), for $79.99 MSRP. Putting aside those options, all six variations come with three intake fans behind a 3D-patterned snap-on plastic face (but no exhaust fan).

Nearly 16 pounds of material will generally make a case feel sturdy enough to satisfy mainstream buyers, but the first compromise that buyers might not notice is that this case’s single Type-A front port is USB 2.0. That means you won’t even get fast-charging off the port from a Type-A-to-C or micro-USB cable, as that modern wonder requires at least USB 3.0. Perhaps I'm just being old-fashioned in thinking that you’ll want to reserve the ultra-fast Type-C port for data rather than charging your phone, but that’s not in the cards here.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

A lighted power button and a four-pole headset jack are also up here. The audio jack supports both stereo headphones and single-cable headsets (plus dual-cable headsets, when paired with the correct type of splitter).

Around back, you'll see the traditional arrangement of seven expansion slots, a dual-pattern power-supply bracket, and a 120mm exhaust-fan mount. A pair of captured knurled-head screws works for power-supply mounting. You’ll note: There are no separator bars on the PCI Express slot panel (which would have been between the card slots).

The right-side panel is a sheet of steel, as expected, but with a 3D center to increase rigidity and cable-stowing space.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Two 2.5-inch drive bays are positioned behind the motherboard tray. From this angle, you can also see that the angled fan bracket that’s built into the top of the power supply’s shroud limits the power supply’s depth, here to around 200mm.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

You’ll spot a third drive mount at the front of the power supply tunnel, with several stands that support mounting either a 3.5-inch or a 2.5-inch drive. While a drive mounted here technically reduces the space available for installing a liquid cooler, the space is already somewhat limited by an installer’s ability to slip that drive past other obstructions.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

You could choose to focus entirely on the top panel for mounting your one radiator, since its 394mm internal space is sufficient (just barely) to hold some 360mm-format models. (Check your specs.) Radiators in the 280mm and 240mm formats are a much clearer fit.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

I removed the front filter to show Corsair’s three included RS120 ARGB (120mm) fans. They sit on a mount that, alternatively, can support up to two 140mm fans. This view also gives a good perspective of the angled internal fan mount that’s cut into the power supply shroud.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The front panel’s filter uses bits of magnetic strip tape to hold it in place (center), while the top panel’s identical mesh is lined at the edges with a thinner continuous magnetic strip. To the left, you can see the same material covering the power-supply inlet on the bottom panel. Removing this type of filter from beneath its tabs to clean it has always been more trouble than it’s worth to me. Use your vacuum cleaner's brush attachment for that task.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

A 35mm gap behind the 3200D RS ARGB’s intake fans and the power supply shroud allows most 360mm-format radiators to slip in behind those fans, though obviously none can be more than 35mm thick. A larger cable passage behind the fans is mostly concealed by a stepped-in piece of sheet metal, and a card brace behind that is vertically adjustable by loosening the knurled screw on its end.

The card bracket its topped with a foam-rubber strip to reduce vibration noise between contact points.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Here you will see another economy move. The most expertly crafted cases traditionally use a boxed-in slot panel with its screws on the inside of the case, while the cheapest cases often use a folded-out tab with its screws on the outside of the case to secure the top of the card. The difference Corsair applies to its budget design here is that it fills all seven slots with reusable covers, whereas the very cheapest cases employ disposable knock-out slot covers.

My experience has shown that troubles with getting your video card’s bracket past the back edge of the motherboard can be mostly eliminated by making the slot pictured below at least 19mm high. The 3200D RS ARGB’s screw tab slot is just over 22mm. Good work, Corsair.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

And now for the motherboard tray in its full glory. It has a complete set of passage holes for motherboards with rear-facing connectors in both ATX and MicroATX formats, along with an extra set of cable passages at the top and front for boards that have regular front-facing header connectors. The piece of sheet metal that might have been removed from the front access hole is instead bent in an S-shape to help hide a portion of the cables that pass through it, and, in a nice move, it’s even spaced to clear boards up to 12 inches deep.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

You might be thinking some EATX-labeled boards might fit, and you'd be right. So-called "EATX" boards for enthusiasts, as opposed to the server/workstation market, tend to measure around 10.6 inches deep. Those will fit, though you’ll have to remove the adjustable card brace. I merely skipped the EATX label altogether in the spec list here, since the larger variety of boards that also carry the EATX label won’t fit.

Building With the Corsair 3200D RS ARGB

Our 3200D RS ARGB arrived with a bundle of zip ties, a bag of panhead screws for mounting the motherboard and one 3.5-inch drive, a bag of M3 recessed-head screws for attaching 2.5-inch drives, a bag of long screws for attaching two fans atop the power supply shroud, a tenth standoff packed with a Phillips-head adapter socket, and a tiny block of adhesive-backed foam.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

A nine-pin combined F_PANEL header block connects the 3200 RS ARGB’s front-panel button and power indicator LED, an HD Audio block its headphone/microphone combo jack, a Type-E internal connector its Type-C external port, and a USB 2.0 block its Type-A port. The Type-E connector is handily labeled 20Gbps so that you’ll automatically recognize that it’s at least Gen 2x2-capable, however fast your motherboard feeds it.

Pass-through connections allow the 3200D RS ARGB’s three lighted fans to run off a single PWM fan and single ARGB motherboard header, and the first connector on each of those cables is fitted with an extension cable to help it reach my motherboard’s header locations.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Our full ATX board fits with so much spare space that I’d readily consider fitting this case with something bigger, even if it meant leaving out the card brace. Oh, the brace is in there, it’s just hard to see since it sits so close to the underside of my graphics card.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

The finished build looks amazing with all that light shining through the translucent face, though the pictures I’ve seen of the black and white versions of this case look pretty good, too.

(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)

Testing the Corsair 3200D RS ARGB

Here’s a recap of my standard case-testing component mix, which I use to provide you accurate comparison data across many months of reviews. Today’s test uses my ATX configuration of parts.

For comparison, I'm adding the five most recent sub-$120 ATX cases I’ve looked at that are factory-equipped with multiple intake fans behind the front grill. Among them are the Lian Li LanCool 217, the ADATA XPG Valor Air Pro, and the SilverStone Fara 514X.

The only exact price match to the 3200D RS ARGB in today’s comparison comes from the Valor Air Pro. The 3200D RS ARGB beats it in CPU and voltage-regulator temperature, but the test graphics card ran a bit cooler in the XPG case. The other four cases cool slightly better on average, but they all cost a little more. 

The 3200D RS ARGB’s show side isn’t as quiet as that of the identically priced Valor Air Pro, but the right side-panel vent on the latter puts it on the 3200D RS ARGB’s noise level when measured from that angle.