Corsair Carbide Series Air 540
High Airflow Mid-Tower Case
Installation Guide
Congratulations!
Congratulations on your new Carbide Series Air 540. With its Direct Airflow Path™ design and tons of easy-to-use features, you can build a well-cooled PC in minutes, so you can spend less time building and more time enjoying your new system.
Key Features
Outstanding Cooling
Our Direct Airflow Path design utilizes dual chambers to deliver cooler air to your CPU, graphics cards, motherboard, memory, and other PCI-E components without your drives or power supply getting in the way.
Quieter Operation
Carbide Series Air 540 includes 140mm Corsair Air Series AF140L intake and exhaust fans. The AF140L is based on the award-winning AF140 and provides great airflow performance at lower noise levels than typical case fans.
Ideal for Advanced Air Cooling and Water Cooling
You can mount up to six 120mm or five 140mm fans, or install a 240mm or 280mm top radiator and a 240mm, 280mm, or even 360mm radiator on the front panel. Corsair's innovative cable routing system gives you more options for hiding pumps and tubing out of the way.
Built for Builders
Like all Corsair cases, Carbide Series Air 540 is designed for fast, neat, and satisfying builds. You get tool-free PCI-E and storage installation, two internal hot-swap drive bays, and more features for making assembly, upgrades, and maintenance quick and easy. And, the tinted, oversized flush-mount side window lets you show off your work.
Clever, Space-Saving Design
Moving the power supply, SSDs, and optical drives into their own chamber not only improves cooling and lowers noise - it makes for easier builds, too. At only 16" (407mm) deep and 18" (457mm) tall, the 540 offers better cooling performance and flexibility than many larger, more traditional cases.
Specifications
Maximum GPU Length
320mm
Maximum CPU Cooler Height
180mm
Included Accessories
- Fan screws (short) x12
- MBD/HDD screws x10
- ODD/SSD screws x8
- Motherboard Standoffs x1
- Cable ties x6
Installation Steps
Step 01: Removing the Side Panels
Unscrew thumbscrews and remove, then pull side panels outward.
Diagram shows the case with thumbscrews indicated for removal and arrows showing the side panels being pulled outwards.
Step 02: Installing the Motherboard
Install your motherboard's I/O shield (refer to motherboard manual for guidance).
Align motherboard with the standoffs in the case.
Secure with included screws (MBD/HDD screws).
Diagram illustrates installing the motherboard I/O shield, aligning the motherboard with case standoffs, and securing it with screws.
Step 03: Installing the Power Supply (PSU)
Unscrew and remove PSU mounting bracket.
Place the PSU on the bottom of the case with the fan side facing outwards.
Align holes and secure with screws.
Diagram shows the PSU mounting bracket removal, PSU placement with fan facing out, and screw alignment for securing.
Step 04: Installing the PCI-E/PCI Cards
Remove thumbscrews and corresponding slot cover(s).
Install the add-on card & secure with thumbscrews.
Diagram depicts removing slot covers and thumbscrews, then inserting a PCI-E card and securing it.
Step 05: Installing 5.25" Drive/Devices (ODD)
Remove the front panel 5.25" drive bay cover.
Insert ODD into drive bay until tool-free latch clicks securing the drive.
To remove drive, push tool-free tab to release.
Diagram shows the removal of the 5.25" bay cover, insertion of an ODD until it clicks, and the release tab mechanism.
Step 06: Installing 3.5" HDD/ 2.5" SSD
Remove Tool-free 3.5" HDD tray.
Insert HDD into HDD tray.
Align HDD holes with the tray pins to secure.
Diagram illustrates removing the tool-free HDD tray, inserting an HDD, and aligning holes with pins. Notes compatibility with 2.5" SSDs.
Step 07: Installing 2.5" SSD into Tool-free expandable SSD cage
Place the SSD into the tool-free cage until you feel it secure.
To remove the SSD, pull tab to release.
Diagram shows an SSD being placed into a tool-free cage until it secures, and the tab for release.
Step 08: Installing Hot-swap connectors
Plug the SATA connector to the SATA power cable.
Plug the SATA data cable to the motherboard SATA header.
Diagram shows SATA power and data cables being connected to the PSU and motherboard SATA header.
Step 09: Attach Case Fan Cables to Motherboard Headers
Refer to the motherboard manual for fan header locations.
Diagram shows case fan cables being connected to motherboard fan headers.
Step 10: Installing Front I/O Connectors
Refer to the motherboard manual for front panel header locations and pin-outs.
Diagram illustrates front panel I/O connectors (USB 3.0, HD AUDIO, HDD LED, POWER SW, RESET SW, POWER LED) and their corresponding motherboard headers.
Step 11: How to Remove/Install SSD Cage
To remove, push the tab down to release the SSD cage.
Lift SSD cage up to remove.
To install, align the SSD cage with holes and slide down until secure.
Diagram shows how to push a tab to release the SSD cage, lift it up to remove, and align/slide it down to install.
Step 12: How to Remove Front Magnetic Dust Filters
Unscrew the thumbscrews from the rear top dust filter.
Pull the top dust filter back and upwards to remove.
Pull the front dust filter up and outwards to remove.
Peel back the magnetic dust filter to remove.
Diagram illustrates removing dust filters: unscrewing rear top filter, pulling top filter back/up, pulling front filter up/out, and peeling magnetic filter. Note: Top filter must be removed first.
