
The Bottom Line
Pros
- Massive fan/radiator cooling support and excellent build quality
- Able to install two systems at the same time, 1 EATX/ATX and 1 mITX
- InfiniRail fan mounting system
- Includes iCUE LINK System Hub
- Integrated USB Type-C hub with audio DAC
Cons
- High price point
- No included fans
Should you buy it?
AvoidConsiderShortlistBuyIntroduction, Specifications, and Pricing
So, do you think of Corsair when you think of significant cases? Do you remember the 1000D Corsair released a few years ago? Corsair is back at it with a refreshed version dubbed the 9000D Airflow. The 9000D has an MSRP of $499.99, making it $25 cheaper than its predecessor. However, things have changed with the newer model.
A quick look at the Corsair 9000D Airflow
Let's dive in and see what the 9000D Airflow from Corsair offers now.
Item | Details |
---|---|
Model | Corsair 9000D Airflow |
Form Factor | ATX Super Tower |
Dimensions | 698mm x 307mm x 698mm |
Weight | 15.59 kg / 34.38 lb |
Materials | Material 0.6mm SPCC and tempered glass at left side panel |
Color | Black |
Motherboard support | Mini-ITX, M-ATX, ATX, E-ATX SSI-EEB |
Cooling Compatibility | Front: 480mm, 420mm, 400mm, 360mm, 280mm, 240mm, 200mm, 140mm, 120mm | Top: 480mm, 420mm, 400mm, 360mm, 280mm, 240mm, 200mm, 140mm, 120mm | Rear: 240mm, 140mm, 120mm | Side: 360mm, 240mm |
Storage | 3.5" - 5 | 2.5" - 6 |
Included fans | none |
CPU cooler height (max.) | 180mm |
VGA card length (max.) | 580mm |
Warranty | 2 years |
MSRP | $499.99 |

Packaging

Corsair has opted for the plain cardboard box approach, starting with the exterior package. The Corsair logo and 9000D AIRFLOW are printed in black. Also, the funny thing is that they are not joking about how heavy this case is, judging by the bright sticker in the upper right-hand corner.

And inside that cardboard box is another cardboard box, just a cardboard shell taped together.

Taking off the second cardboard layer, we see the 9000D take form. The two side panels, tempered glass, and steel flank the 9000D. On each corner is a piece of open-cell foam.

After removing the boxed side panels and open-cell foam pieces, we have a cloth cover that keeps debris off the 9000D.
Outside the Corsair 9000D Airflow Full-Tower Case

With all the packing materials out of the way, the Corsair 9000D Airflow sits tall and proud. You first see a swing-out tempered glass side panel with a slightly darker tint.

Moving to the front of the 9000D is a removable front panel; gone is the tempered glass panel from the 1000D. Corsair has focused more on airflow, which is great considering that it's in the name. The front panel ventilation pattern looks like a repeating Y, a promising way to allow for additional airflow; again, it's in the name.

As we move to the rear panel of the 9000D, the upper right section has more of the Y ventilation pattern. Previously, the back panel was yet another tempered glass panel; now that it's steel, this saves money and slightly reduces weight.

The top of the 9000D Airflow features more of the Y ventilation pattern, with the edges bent up like a wing to provide additional ventilation.

Now, the backside is where things get interesting. Now, starting at the top of the 9000D, there are buttons labeled "ITX." Can you install an ITX system inside? We will likely find out. The rear supports two 120mm or 140mm fans and a 240/280mm radiator. Moving down, support for up to SSI-EEB motherboards, which are not to say puny. To the right of the 8 PCIe slot covers are two more PCIe slot covers. The PSU bracket is also removable via 4 screws and has additional ventilation. However, removing this bracket can mount an additional SFX PSU in the rear chamber.

Flipping around the front I/O panel is a sizable squared power button, circular reset button, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, and two 3.5mm jacks for headphones and microphones. The entire front I/O is fully illuminated. Corsair also states there is an up-front DAC to aid with better front-panel audio clarity; this alone has plagued front I/Os for as long as I can remember.
Inside the Corsair 9000D Airflow Full-Tower Case

Taking off the tempered glass side panel, we expose the internals of the 9000D Airflow just by lifting up. Once inside, we can see all the water-cooling potential the 9000D offers. The front features one of two InfiniRail fan mounting systems, while the other is on the roof. Each new InfiniRails can support up to two 480mm radiators or a single 420mm radiator. The front and top locations also even support the two 200mm each! So, if one wanted to, you could go crazy and run two of the 400mm (2x200mm) Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta full copper radiators, then have at it.
The back wall can support up to an additional 360mm radiator. However, only 120mm fans are supported, even though there is enough room to support 140mm fans. Moving on to the motherboard tray, which does support. BTF/reverse ATX motherboards are surrounded by 16 doubleshot rubber grommets; you read that right.

With the rear side panel removed, two hinged doors, held in place with magnets, hide all the cabling.

Opening up all the panels allows access to the main cable compartment behind the motherboard tray. The HDD cage is under most of the doubleshot rubber grommets on the left-hand side, which can house up to 5 3.5" or 2.5" HDDs or SSDs. Up to four additional 2.5" HDD/SSDs on the swing-out panels can be installed on each side. However, only six HDD mounting brackets are included.

Looking closer, we spy two iCUE LINK modules, the larger one being the iCUE LINK System hub and the smaller one a lighting hub. The iCUE LINK System hub automatically detects, synchronizes, and manages all your system cooling and RGB lighting by linking up to 24 devices, thus reducing the cabling significantly. I noticed no additional system LINK mounting locations, which one would need to build this monstrous super-tower.

Corsair has placed all the case accessories in this nice plastic case. Inside, Corsair has included zip ties, motherboard screws, a front I/O adapter, standoffs, as well as a bunch of their new Quickturn fan screws, which should help the wrists when installing all those fans inside the massively large 9000D Airflow.

Inside the 9000D, we find yet another accessory box, this time in cardboard. Inside, we have a nice microfiber cloth; unfortunately, it's not Corsair branded. Also included are 2 longer braided iCUE LINK cables, additional mounts for the InfiniRail system, and a vertical GPU mount with thumbscrews.

Corsair was also kind enough to send over their new RM850x ATX 3.1 PSU (review coming soon), an iCUE LINK H170i RGB AIO, and three packs of their triple iCUE LINK RX120 fans for a total of 12 fans for this build. So why don't we get to the building?
Test System, Installation, and Finished Product
Test System
Item | Details |
---|---|
Motherboard | GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX (Buy at Amazon) |
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (Buy at Amazon) |
RAM | Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB DDR5-7200 (Buy at Amazon) |
GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 FE (Buy at Amazon) |
Display | Samsung Odyssey G9 Dual QHD 240Hz (Buy at Amazon) |
SSD | Corsair MP600 Pro XT 2TB (Buy at Amazon) |
Case | Lian Li T70 |
Cooler | Corsair iCUE LINK H170i RGB |
OS | Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit (Buy at Amazon) |
Final Thoughts

Building in the 9000D was super easy with so much room available. Installing the iCUE LINK H170i RGB AIO and a bunch of their RX120 RGB fans to help populate most of the open fan spaces was, again, super easy. Using the InfiniRail mounting system was the easiest way to install so many fans that I have used in a build ever, especially when coupled with the iCUE LINK ecosystem. When using a mITX system, using a tower or larger downdraft CPU cooler is not supported. It would run directly into the bottom of the ATX motherboard, not to mention possibly the GPU installed on the ATX motherboard.

For testing, I used the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X on a B650 AORUS Elite AX motherboard inside Corsair's full-tower 9000D behemoth of a PC case. For the memory, two DDR5 sticks of Corsair's Dominator Platinum RGB were run at DDR5-7200M/T. I used NVIDIA's Founders Edition of the RTX 3090 for the test GPU run at stock power limits and clocks. For exhaust, I installed two RX120 fans that Corsair sent along in the rear location. The iCUE LINK H170i RGB AIO was installed in the roof location with its three QX140 fans. I installed six RX120 fans for the front air intake, making for slight positive pressure airflow.
The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU reached a maximum temperature of 83.9C. Still, it averaged 76.7C while maintaining a clock of 5GHz with 1.2v vcore. The NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE reached a maximum temperature of 67.1C but averaged 65.1C. I am thrilled with the system component temperatures while remaining almost entirely silent.
All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v7.35.7000 for over 1 hour; the ambient temperature was 17C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v8.07-5515, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.60.0, and CPU-Z 2.10.0.x64.

So, wrapping up this review of Corsair's 9000D Super Full Tower case, which inherently is not much different than its predecessor, the 10000D. The exception is that it is fully meshed to allow for much better front air intake, and with the integration of iCUE LINK, installing water cooling and fans became much more straightforward. The real amazing feat that Corsair has managed to accomplish is keeping the price of the 9000D the same as its predecessor.
With inflation, I expect the 9000D to cost north of $650, not $500. The 9000D, however, only caters to a niche group of enthusiasts, specifically ones that watercool their high-end hardware.