A true successor to the Air 540
PC builders have been waiting a long time for a real follow up to the classic Corsair Carbide Air 540 cube case. That case was a favorite for roomy, air cooled gaming builds back in the mid 2010s. Now Corsair is finally back with a spiritual successor, the Air 5400, and it is not just a nostalgia play.
The Air 5400 keeps the stocky cube profile but modernizes almost everything. The original Air 540 made the dual chamber layout popular. The Air 5400 goes one better with a triple chamber design that separates the main hardware, cable management, and liquid cooling into distinct zones.
The three chambers work like this:
- Main chamber: Where your motherboard, CPU, GPU, and main fans live. This is the showcase area with large glass panels.
- Rear chamber: Hidden behind a hinged panel, this space handles cable management, storage, and the power supply.
- Radiator chamber: A dedicated zone at the front of the case for an all in one liquid cooler radiator, with its own airflow path.
This layout is designed to keep components cool and the build looking clean, especially for high end gaming rigs with power hungry CPUs and GPUs.
Design, airflow, and cooling performance
The star of the Air 5400 is that dedicated radiator chamber. Instead of bolting a radiator to the front or top and blocking normal fan mounts, you mount it in its own space behind a removable front grill. A clear plastic duct then channels hot air straight out through a tall vertical opening that runs from the top to the bottom of the case.
The logic is simple: isolate the CPU radiator from the rest of the hardware and give it its own direct exhaust route. That way the heat from your CPU does not wash over your graphics card or motherboard. In testing with a Corsair Nautilus 360 RS cooler and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, CPU temperatures stayed around 72 degrees Celsius under heavy multi run Cinebench loads, which is very low for such a demanding chip. An RTX 5090 Founders Edition in the same build hit around 73 degrees Celsius, about 5 degrees cooler than an open test bench in similar tests.
The main chamber uses a chimney style layout. Cool air is pulled in from the bottom and exhausted out the top using up to three 120 millimeter fans at each end. To improve airflow, Corsair includes two sculpted ducts that surround the fan banks. These ducts are designed to focus airflow directly at your GPU and motherboard instead of letting it spill out to the sides. They also add a clean, themed look with a repeating Corsair Y pattern that fades as the ducts taper.
One interesting touch is how Corsair separates the three chambers. Instead of basic rubber grommets, the Air 5400 uses nylon bristle brushes over the cable passthroughs. They work a bit like the bristled flaps you find on letterboxes in the UK, blocking light, dust, and drafts while still letting cables through. They do a better job covering awkward gaps than standard grommets and help keep the interior looking tidy from every angle.
Out of the box you get three 120 millimeter fans. The review build used nine fans in total: six in the main chamber plus three on the radiator. If you want similar cooling performance you will need to budget for extra fans. Corsair offers two main configurations: one with premium LX R RGB iCUE Link fans and one with simpler RS R ARGB fans. Many builders will prefer the RS R option as it is cheaper and does not lock you into iCUE software. Both options include reversed fans where needed so the case looks good from all angles without showing fan frames and motor hubs.
Build experience, features, and who it is for
Despite its complexity, the Air 5400 is surprisingly easy to work in. Most panels are tool free and many are mounted on hinges. The main tempered glass side swings open like a door. The smaller front left glass section is also hinged, giving full access to the main chamber for quick tweaks. Around the back, the rear chamber door also opens on a hinge, as long as you leave enough room for what Corsair cheekily calls the French doors.
The radiator install is a bit more involved than a standard top or front mount, since you have to route the pump and tubing through to the main chamber while securing the radiator into the dedicated bay. Corsair helps here with a removable mounting plate that lets you attach fans and radiator outside the case, then secure the whole assembly with just two screws.
Cable management is handled by what Corsair calls RapidRoute 2.0. The motherboard tray has a pegboard style grid of holes for zip ties and ratcheting straps. A built in cable tray follows the angle of the radiator duct, and preinstalled straps make it easy to secure the bulk of your wiring there. There is also a large amount of unused space under the power supply, so you are never fighting the case for room.
Storage is covered by a removable tray under the elevated power supply. It supports two 2.5 inch SSDs, one 3.5 inch hard drive, or an iCUE system hub if you are going all in on Corsair ecosystem gear. If you do not need the tray, you can pull it out with two thumbscrews to free even more room for creative routing or accessories.
The power supply is mounted high in the rear chamber. This shortens the CPU power cable run but makes the GPU power cable stretch a little more. With proper routing and use of the included straps it is not a problem, though you will want to take a minute to get that 12V 2x6 cable sitting comfortably with some slack so you are not putting pressure on your graphics card connector.
Front connectivity is modern and slightly opinionated. The I/O gives you one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type C, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C, and headset audio. There are no Type A ports on the front, which might frustrate anyone who still uses older flash drives or dongles there, although most motherboards will still offer Type A on the rear panel.
There are a few limitations. The case only supports 120 millimeter fans because of the custom ducts, so 140 millimeter fan fans are out of luck. It also weighs a hefty 16.7 kilograms, so this is not ideal if you move your PC around a lot. The built in GPU support bracket is a nice idea, but its limited adjustment range can clash with some graphics card coolers, especially certain RTX 50 series Founders Edition designs.
For builders who loved the original Air 540, the Air 5400 delivers a true modern evolution: a sturdy cube with exceptional cooling potential, a genuinely clever triple chamber layout, and quality of life features that make high end gaming builds both cooler and cleaner. If you are planning a powerful gaming PC with a big radiator and a flagship GPU and you care about both temperatures and aesthetics, this case is squarely aimed at you.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/pc-cases/corsair-air-5400-review/
