Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB PC Case Review — Premium space at a premium price

When it comes to PC building, we are living in the era of RGB and cable management. Not only do builders want to have a case that looks great, but it needs to be tidy as well. Enter the Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB mid-tower case, made to show off your management skills as well as your overall setup.

Retailing for $399.99 USD, the 5000T offers a more detailed lighting, cooling, and management system compared to most mid-tower PC cases. And for that price, that should be the claim. It includes three LL120 fans mounted to the front, six RGB strips on the perimeter, a Commander Core XT, and plenty of space to work with.

Building with ease

First off, the pre-routed cables of the 5000T are a thing of beauty to anyone who prides themselves on proper management. There are so many routing options in the back panel that the idea of ultimately having to force the panel shut shouldn’t even cross your mind here.

The case comes with support for three 2.5-inch and two 3.5-inch drives, and all can fit pretty easily without problems. An ATX motherboard looks somewhat small for a mid-tower case, but that’s because Corsair made sure to give you as much space as possible to work and fit your hands. Luckily for me though, I don’t have that problem with any case type (#TeamTinyHands).

Speaking of that space, you’ll have no issue fitting even the largest of GPUs in it. One, two, or three slot cards be damned. The 5000T fits them with ease. My only frustration when building has nothing to do with the case, though, but instead has a lot to do with power supply cables. It’s 2022. Can we please make low-profile PSU cables more accessible and prominent in this space? Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

One feature on the 5000T that should get a lot of praise are the hinged side panels. Working on a PC where you can just pop a door open instead of risking losing screws will always be a win in my book. Provided you have the table or desk space, opening both sides and doing your work makes for a nice experience. There’s also a replaceable shroud should you decide not to take advantage of the 3.5-inch drive bay. Swapping it out gives you even more open space within your case. 

But how cool is it?

It’s one thing for your case to look good, but how much it helps with cooling is just as big of a concern. With the 5000T, there isn’t much to worry about. There is so much open air within the case that you can fit up to 10 120MM fans, which includes a spot on the back panel for extra exhaust. 

Before getting into specific temperatures, it’s worth noting that the PC used for testing within the 5000T featured an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU, a Corsair iCUE Elite Cooler, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition (FE) graphics card.

When idle, the temperatures hovered around 33C for the CPU and 29C for the GPU. Using internal temperature monitors, the overall temperature would stay between 23C and 34C depending on usage. Even at the highest usage I put my PC through on average (rendering 4K60 video), the internal temperatures never reached over 59C for the CPU and 53C for the GPU. Even the case itself always seemed cool to the touch, signifying it was doing its job.  

Not being able to vertically mount a three-slot GPU is a bother

Some strange omissions

Though there is a lot going for the case, there are some things that didn’t sit well with me for a case that costs as much as the 5000T does. The first involves the front USB I/O. While there are four USB 3.0 ports on the front, most motherboards will only be able to utilize two of them. If you want to use all four you’ll either have to make sure your motherboard has multiple onboard USB 3.0 headers, or you’ll have to use a splitter. 

Another annoyance, though this will vary greatly based on your CPU cooling setup, involves the Corsair Commanders. The case comes with the aforementioned Commander Core XT already installed with every fan connected. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any connection on board for AIO coolers, like the Corsair iCUE Elite LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler. For that, you’ll also need the Commander Core that came with the cooler, meaning two are needed to get the full benefit.

That alone could lead to some potential cable management issues, as well as iCUE recognition problems. To alleviate that, it’s best if you do a completely fresh install of the iCUE software after installing multiple Commanders.

Lastly, there’s the inability to vertically mount a three-slot GPU, like the RTX 3090 FE. Yes, the 5000T is technically a mid-tower case, but there’s clearly enough real estate to allow for a vertical mount. Again, for the price of the case, that should be an option for users who prefer that aesthetic.

Should you pay premium for the Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB?

The Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB doesn’t just look like a premium PC case, but it feels like one too. At 32 pounds, it’s one of the sturdier cases I’ve ever used, and it gives the clear impression that all of your precious PC parts are well protected. The side fan mounts and hinged panels are great features, and the cable management is second-to-none when it comes to mid-tower cases. And with 208 RGB lights included, it will give you the colors of your dreams.

Despite the odd omissions for a case this premium, it’s still one of the best cases I’ve ever built a computer in and used. Sure, some may question the inclusion of older LL fans, but that doesn’t bother me as much because of the quality. If you can stomach a $399.99 USD price point, there’s no reason to not look at this case. That said, if budget is a concern for you, there are certainly other options out there for you.