Hardware Corsair Interview – Michael Hooper (PM for Cases, Cooling and Fans)

I haven't read this yet but I just wanted to say that this is fantastic, both in terms of seeing the sites users needs and requests being listened to and the way that it has been organised. A big thank you and well done to all those involved. It is so nice to get some direct contact with those behind what many of us obsess over.

 

This was a great read! Looking forward to see what Corsair comes up with soon, as it sounds like they're really going to have a crack at a decent SFF ITX case and improve upon their fan quality! Kudos to the Mods for organising, it's really good to hear directly from manufacturers like this!

 

An interesting read, thanks guys.

I too am looking forward to see what Corsair produces now they don't have to cater for ATX PSUs in their ITX cases.

 

Very cool!

I'm glad you asked the more 'closer to the bone' questions too.

Hurrah!

 

Having read this, I am very impressed. Some interesting questions and points of view. It interesting to hear that even today many large companies are struggling in terms of synergy between department. Also it is interesting to hear that there is some level (although small) of internal conflict over ITX. I tend to agree with Michael however that the reason ITX is so niche is due to the lack of options rather than the lack of demand so I am glad to hear there is someone fighting the good fight internally.

 

Yep, another person thanking Bit-tech for this article - I hope it's just the start of a series giving manufacturer's perspectives. Also, as someone who's a new convert to Corsair cases (recently going from a 550D to a 600Q) it's interesting to see how big companies like Corsair think re: case design.

 

Very interesting. Is that Corsair admitting that others laid the foundation for more customizable chassis. Lian Li did this for YEARS in old catalogues you could PO them. More recently this is based on the foundations laid by Hex/Parvum(Ncase?) guys in eschewing the channel and using their own website stores because their volume is so low (as stated by Michael).

Corsair had their own online store before them but never used it in anger for fear of upsetting their retail partners (prices were always higher). Cooler Master's Master Case, and even Thermaltake: the companies who have lost most marketshare in recent years, and so have less to lose - have embraced it for chassis' and chassis components already. And there's irony in that Lian Li is now totally left behind.

Unfortunately Cooler Master did it for ATX, and I think Michael is totally right in that mini-ITX is where it's at. Mini-ITX is trying to be everything to everyone and it's too much choice so it remains niche. Reviewers typically have 1 set of kit for everything: HTPC:iGPU/dGPU? Gamer:long card/short card? NAS? Silent? Fanless? Watercooled? LAN portable? Tall or square? Full PSU/SFX? A single SFF design can't be everything.

Therefore I think Corsair/whoever need to be brave and go even further: almost fully custom in a sort of MakerBeam/Kenx/Tecnix style around two or three common, foundation steel construction backbone kits (small square, large square, tall and thin) is going to be the 'killer case'. SFF customers need complete control over shell sizes, colours to match components, internal feature options and cooling layouts. Throw in an online virtual design tool and it becomes almost gameified; Minecraft-like. Community discussions and videos will balloon over ideas. As most people want to be hand-held, you could have 'most popular designs' and 'Corsair suggestions' to shortcut/guide the process (direct people to most the profitable spec *cough*), and reward the top community designers with free gear for their efforts. The issue then is internal stock control over the large list of items, but put a lead-time on delivery to help - just like ordering your car. If they're willing to spend hours designing/specing they'll be willing to wait a couple of weeks. On the popular stuff you'll have more stock so time is cut. It also means you flat-pack sell it and that's IKEA's winning formula: shipping cost reduction, easier to prevent damage, fun to construct.

Big and military versus price-performance and modest versus real big, brash, showy, gold+bling. This was also true of ASUS Sabertooth, true of CM HAF: EU hated it, US loved it. Another reason you can't please all.

A bit of cognitive dissociation there

low-key "these guys are just cheap" actual lol

JFC Baz >_< I'll buy you some slippers, mate.

 

I have to say, that whilst usually feel that bit-tech is usually a bit sub-par compared to other tech sites when it comes to reporting about new products, reviews, and general number of articles, articles like this are why I keep coming back.

 

When I think customisable case I think Trigger's broom.

'I've had the same PC case for twenty years. It's had eight new side panels five fronts two tops and bottoms and three interiors"

 

I wonder what happened to the 730T, wanted to buy it and it was gone...

 

This resonates with me - I've ben very interested in an ITX build now for well over a year but haven't found a case that's 'the one'.

 

Something that I think people need to learn to do is compromise.

People buy more than they need as they're afraid of compromising, even when the things they're giving up don't affect them. Most people don't need more than one PCIe slot, most don't need a 600W PSU, hell the majority don't need multiple terabytes of storage either. Still, these people are afraid to cut down to an ITX motherboard, a case with only 1 HDD slot or step below a 750W unit "just in case".

IMO a lack of compromise results in design stagnation. Apple understood this with the iPhone, it had massive compromises all over the place, but the main focus caught on and now all smart phones follow the same principles. NZXT took a similar jump with the H440 and removing optical bays, look how many cases are removing them now.

ITX needs a similar push. IMO rather than showing how a case can do everything, prove how the consumers don't need everything in the first place.

 

Too true - people really over-spec PSUs and cooling. It's also a case that you have to spend more on the upgrade. Replace a small SSD and big HDD with a single, super-size SSD or SSD+M.2 is an extra cost. Same for replacing a perfectly good PSU with an SFX; something I'm not prepared to do with my fanless Seasonic. :-/

 

..ist that frowned upon? (I do that, well, inside my own office anyway, i do put on my shoes when I go somewhere)

Anyway, most ITX cases are so big (due to ATX-PSU size I suppose), they could easily support mATX as well....but they dont. Why?
I mean, I'd understand if they'd be tiny, but they're not.

Also, why the fixation on AIO-watercooling? Todays processors run so cool, you can easily run them on aircooling cheaper, more silent and with a lot less breakable parts.

 

I'm still a bit sad they're wanting to include 3.5" drive bays because people need them for "storage". SSDs are getting cheaper and cheaper, and there's always the laptop-aimed mechanicals if you really need a spinner. I'd love to see a case that has two tiny slots for SSDs and that's it - especially as M.2/NVme are enabling storage to be directly connected to the motherboard.

 

I'm stuck with a 4tb HDD for games, videos and music etc, but if there was a case with an optional external enclosure that could be slotted on the roof (or hang off the sides/under the case in the gap the feet make) then that'd solve the whole "storage" argument!

Are M.2/NVME worth the upgrade from a Sata ssd?

 

Get a bloody NAS + iSCSI it for crying out loud. No need for fat storage in a PC these days unless you're doing regular multi-TB work like video or sound editing.