Corsair TC200 gaming chair review: "A great chair for both work and play"

The brand new Corsair TC200 gaming chair is the latest addition to the brand's suite of seats. However, this one is geared toward those slightly larger, slightly taller users, offering a greater range of adjustability, wider seat, and less restrictive bolstering.

Like many of Corsair’s offerings TC200 Gaming Chair sits comfortably (geddit?) in the mid-range of the best gaming chair market, priced at $399.99/£349, it's certainly not cheap, but is it worth the investment and does it represent good value?

Construction, design, and features

Building the TC200 was straightforward, but, like always, I try to make the builds as 'difficult' as I can, by not asking for help from friends and building it in my tiny gaming space. This was another easy offering from Corsair, with simple-to-follow instructions and about a 15-minute build time. The chair goes together quite easily, and a bit of common sense means you can’t go far wrong.

Just like the Corsair T3 Rush I tested and reviewed, this chair is available in a variety of colours, with the added option of a leatherette (read: 'faux leather') option. Our unit came in charcoal - the other options being grey and white (the colourway of my T3 Rush which is the colourway I have the T3 Rush in), charcoal and white, and a charcoal-coloured leatherette. Any choice you make will leave you pleased with its appearance, as it is a well-designed and finished chair from an aesthetic point of view. However, I would say that fabric edges it over leather or leatherette for me in a chair, as it regulates temperature better.

The TC200 is a design that came about in response to user feedback for the T3 Rush, with buyers suggesting that they would like a simple black colourway, a leatherette option, a wider seat base, a wider back and a higher range of height adjustment. And I can tell you that this has been accomplished.

Corsair has also added internal lumbar support instead of including an optional cushion (as on the T3). This was one of my only complaints about the T3 Rush, so it's a welcome improvement and elevates the quality and feature set of the TC200.

The base of the chair (wider than the T3) is now powder-coated metal rather than plastic, it adds a touch of quality to the chair. The improvements in materials don’t stop there either: the seat feels thicker, and the armrests are hewn from an improved carbon fiber-esque material, which is softer than before. When I reviewed the T3, I said that they had used a car manufacturer's technique of having high-quality materials in high-touch locations, but on the TC200 Corsair has improved nearly all of them - this is really top work, and means it has a feel that's far from those offering budget or cheap gaming chair solutions.

As an interesting note, over the next few years, we may well be going to see some EU users complain about the wheels on chairs. This is due to some complicated legislation that requires chairs to remain stationary unless they have someone sitting on them - the actual means this is achieved is to stop the wheels from rolling unless you are sitting in the chair. Obviously, Corsair has implemented this but, for me, it is a bit problematic, as every time I move my chair the rug underneath gets rucked up. It’s a heavy, sturdy chair, so picking it up isn’t always easy.

Finally, a pet peeve of mine is an office or gaming chair that squeaks; when you're deep in a tricky encounter, there's not much that breaks your concentration and the magic of games quite as quickly as a squeaky or rattly chair. And the TC200 has good news on this front: it is silent with not so much as a faint rattle anywhere during all of my testing and use.

Adjustability, Comfort, & Performance

From a pure comfort perspective, the T3 Rush took me a little while to find my comfort zone; I did end up finding it very comfortable, but it took some time. I have experienced the reverse of this with the Corsair TC200, and the second I sat on it I knew that the seat and I were going to get along well.

The wider seat and specifically the less restrictive bolsters mean that my Big-Lad frame fits into the chair much more comfortably and snugly (without being too close). It really felt a bit like a Cinderella moment; the glass slipper just slid right on.

Like all of the chairs I have and will test, they have to go through many 8-hour days of work - at my Flexispot E7 desk; one of the best standing desks - and a fair few hours of gaming too on most days. The headline on comfort is that the TC200 is a joy to sit in for all these hours, no matter what I was doing. And I want to particularly highlight the lumbar support in the TC200, as this made it so I didn't need to adjust my position too much. All day comfort is a real thing here.

Just to fully inform you though, the lumbar support is also the source of my only real complaint about the T3 Rush: the lumbar support isn't adjustable. This seems like a missed opportunity to emulate the feature on the like of the Razer Iskur or the Secretlab Titan Evo (something I also mentioned with the T3 Rush which had nop lumbar support).

I am a pretty big chap - 6ft2 and 260lbs - so a larger chair is always going to be a better fit for me, but I think this would be an improvement for anyone who doesn't want the tightest of bolsters. This is a chair built for comfort, not as a bariatric device, and with a weight limit of 122kg, this is more about height and width, rather than pure mass and increasing the amount it can take. A subtle, but important difference.

The included, but optional, neck pillow is great, but only when really lounging and relaxing with this chai like you would in a gaming chair for PS4, PS5, or Xbox, otherwise its mounting position is a bit low for me and sits more between my shoulder blades than on my neck when sitting upright.

Overall - should you buy it?

All in, the Corsair TC200 Gaming Chair is a great chair for both work and play. As a result, it's easy to recommend, and I think most folks looking for their first gaming chair or an upgrade are likely to find it comfortable and supportive. I did 12-hour sessions in this chair with no ill effects.

It also stacks up well to its predecessor and fellow Corsair gaming chair, the T3 Rush: in fact, I would say that the TC200 stacks up so well against that chair that it is worth the premium and represents a great evolution from the Rush. The materials and build are better, and the support is great - it's just a more comfortable chair (and I already like the T3 Rush).

The high-quality materials and the well-thought-out design that takes users' feedback into account have left the TC200 as a very strong value proposition, providing all-day comfort, in an attractive set of colours. What more could you want?! Well, a bit of adjustable lumbar support, in all honesty, but beyond that, the Corsair TC200 gaming chair is an easy chair to recommend and to sit your posterior in for hours at a time.

How we tested the Corsair TC200 gaming chair

We like to be thorough over here, and I used the Corsair TC200 gaming chair for over a week before coming to my conclusions. I have used this chair for hours for gaming, working, watching quite a lot of youtube videos, and trying to negotiate moving house.

You can read more about how we test gaming chairs and desks at 12DOVE here, and if you are intrigued to know our more general approach to gaming gear, you can see our full Hardware Policy.

Remember to fully research your gaming furniture setup and check out the best gaming desks too.