Corsair Graphite Series 780T Review

Performance Analysis

The CPU delta T of 52°C at full speed isn't amazing to be honest. The Phanteks Enthoo Primo, Fractal Arc XL, NZXT Phantom 820 and even the Nanoxia Deep Silence 6 are all able to post better maximum speed results. Removing the HDD cages does nothing to improve the temperatures, which tells us that it's only really the 780T's exhaust fan that's doing anything to cool the CPU. Even at maximum speed, the case fans are not particularly loud, so the fact that there's only 3°C difference between the maximum and minimum speed results means Corsair might have done better using an exhaust fan with a greater 12V speed, which would give users more choice between performance and noise. Another option would be to include a second exhaust fan in the roof. This is what the Arc XL does, and it has a 6°C difference between its own minimum and maximum fan speed settings.


The best GPU delta T result from the 780T is a more impressive 48°C, though that's without any HDD cages installed. The Fractal Arc XL in a similar set-up is slightly better still at 47°C, but the 780T does enough to beat the Phanteks, NZXT and Nanoxia cases, albeit only by 1°C. With the HDD cages back in place, the Corsair chassis loses this advantages as its GPU delta T increases to 50°C. Evidently, the HDD cages do stifle airflow to the GPU area, so think carefully about how many you need to use and where you position them. Each drop in fan speed from there increases temperatures by 1°C, which is a fair trade for the reduced noise.

Conclusion

The default cooling of the 780T could certainly be better, especially for the CPU. Maintaining high airflow in a case this big is never easy without deafening users, but even so other full tower cases have managed better results. A fourth fan fitted in the roof exhaust position would have a positive impact on CPU temperatures and also increase the case's value proposition. After all, Fractal's Arc XL is at least £40 cheaper and still comes with three 140mm fans and fan control. Of course, if you're going liquid cooling, you needn't worry, as you're very well catered for here, but for air coolers we'd recommend attaching a fourth or fifth fan to the onboard fan controller to achieve better temperatures when overclocking. We also see a few slips in quality in the 780T, such as the loose grommets, the flimsy drive trays and the blocked access to the drive cage screws.


That said, the general picture painted by the 780T is still a good one, as the build quality and ease of use elsewhere are great – exceptionally so for the latter element. Corsair has rightly priced the 780T significantly below the aluminium-touting Enthoo Primo and the Deep Silence 6, which has swathes of high quality insulation. The Fractal Arc XL is cheaper, but it has a plainer design, offers less in the way of water-cooling and isn't as quick or easy to work with.

However, the case that the 780T most struggles against is the £120 Phanteks Enthoo Luxe, which cools better and has neat and more unique features like a PSU cover, PWM fan hub, and multi-coloured LED lighting. It isn't quite as big as the 780T, so you can't cram quite as much storage or water-cooling inside and it doesn't support XL-ATX boards, but it's certainly no slouch in any of these areas either. In the end, the Corsair Graphite 780T comes recommended, especially for water-cooling fans. However, a few too many areas where improvement is needed and stiff competition from Phanteks means it just falls short of an award.