Corsair Obsidian Series 800D

Very nice! I think they went a little crazy on the grommet covered holes for wire routing, but the attention to detail overall is very good.
 
Side panel window is ugly as hell. I do not want a giant Corsair logo on my case. Too many through-holes, as another said, which is going to make it look messy no matter how careful you are with routing. What's going on in the front of the bottom chamber?

I don't know... when Lian-Li does simple and understated it looks good, generally speaking. This, at least basing it on the 4 pictures there, just looks boring.

And really. My god. That side window is terrible.
 
Very nice. I don't like the shape of the window, or the giant Corsair logos, but that can be overlooked if the price isn't too obnoxious. I'll agree somewhat with the grommets and cuts, but they really do give you a mountain of options for someone that wants to keep their case stock, and kudos to them for giving access to the back of the mobo for installing backplates.

The front and top panel are both just sexy as hell.
 
silent-circuit said:
Side panel window is ugly as hell. I do not want a giant Corsair logo on my case. Too many through-holes, as another said, which is going to make it look messy no matter how careful you are with routing. What's going on in the front of the bottom chamber?

I don't know... when Lian-Li does simple and understated it looks good, generally speaking. This, at least basing it on the 4 pictures there, just looks boring.

And really. My god. That side window is terrible.
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Over-react much?

Side window isn't as atrocious as you want to make it out to be. Not the greatest one out there but hardly that bad.

The "through-holes" are covered by the grommets when not in use so how is it going to be messy? With all the super clean build people have shown around here with much less cable-management friendly cases - you don't think your average [H]'er isn't going to be able to do wonders with the cable management features of this case? Hell, at least they put the thought into it - and I think it's well designed. On all the Lian Li's I've had, the ones that have cable routing holes only have a couple and they aren't enough to accomodate the numerous mobos out there. Yes, there are a lot more on this case - but I'd imagine it's to allow better compatibility with more mobos.

It's a good case - and excellent for a first attempt. I'm sure subsequent revisions will improve on it even further.

And really, is that "GIANT" Corsair logo any bigger than the Lian Li logo on my PC-V1010B now?
 
It looks like there is room for a dual slot card to go into the 7th expansion slot and hang off the bottom of the expansion slots frame. Very nice. If this is the case I may have to look into getting one of these.

I need that very feature so that I can reclaim a PCI-Express slot in my machine. (Using the EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified.)
 
Looks pretty slick, a lot of good ideas incorporated into it from the description and pictures. I don't think the window is obnoxious, but hopefully there will be a windowless version for those who simply prefer a normal side panel (as I do in my advancing age).

Also, Corsair is in a position to make PSU combos that do not suck. Would be cool to at least see some good combo deals even if they aren't formally packaged together or whatever.

I'm definitely interested to see more details/impressions/reviews in the future.
 
yeah its about time someone thinks about that tri-sli with dual slot cards problem. i think this is a great case. theres nothing wrong with having a big logo. every name-brand company in the world does that. i dont get angryy at evga when they piss their logo all over my video card. the grommets seem like they might be a bit much. i dont remember seeing that many on the prototype but then i dont even remember if we got an inside shot of it. even if it is too many, they look just fine, and will make any sort of modding and cable routing a breeze in this case. it will be a real blessing for those who dont like modding their $200+ cases. and redbeard: thanks for making the i/o shield, back panel, and insides of the case all black. that is not doe enough. a truly supreme effort on this case, and when they get around to a first revision, it will probably be about perfect.
 
Dan_D said:
I need that very feature so that I can reclaim a PCI-Express slot in my machine. (Using the EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified.)
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Think you'd use the Corsair case then?

Might get this case for my new system. I'm a fan of the Corsair company, but Coolermaster as well.

I like this statement "A dust-filtered 140mm fan draws in cold air at the bottom of the chassis and exhausts it at the rear and top. This clever design forces fresh air directly over the graphics card and CPU."

As for the side panel window, it does not bother me at all.
 
Looks pretty good. Should be a fairly good price as it's made out of steel from the description. Grommets are definitely nice, makes cable hiding/routing much easier.
 
I still don't get why many are saying that there are too many grommets. They are designed to accomodate both mATX and ATX boards. In a case of this size, many/most will be using an ATX board - which will cover up all of the mATX grommets. With an ATX board installed, the only grommets exposed will be the two on top, two on the right and about half of each one on the bottom. That's hardly overkill.
 
This case is going to be 299. I feel that for 299 we should have gotten aluminum and not steel.
 
silent-circuit said:
Side panel window is ugly as hell. I do not want a giant Corsair logo on my case. Too many through-holes, as another said, which is going to make it look messy no matter how careful you are with routing. What's going on in the front of the bottom chamber?

I don't know... when Lian-Li does simple and understated it looks good, generally speaking. This, at least basing it on the 4 pictures there, just looks boring.

And really. My god. That side window is terrible.
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But how do you feel about the side panel window?
 
Redbeard said:
But how do you feel about the side panel window?
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I dunno man. :D

Personally, the side panel window isnt really much of a sticking point. Its the fact that the case uses a steel frame as opposed to aluminum and you guys want to promote this thing for watercooling. And yet... you're almost using the heaviest possible frame for it.
 
Everett1 said:
Think you'd use the Corsair case then?

Might get this case for my new system. I'm a fan of the Corsair company, but Coolermaster as well.

I like this statement "A dust-filtered 140mm fan draws in cold air at the bottom of the chassis and exhausts it at the rear and top. This clever design forces fresh air directly over the graphics card and CPU."

As for the side panel window, it does not bother me at all.
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I might. I'd really love to get a chance to see one in person for myself. I'm very critical of computer cases and often I find that many of the reviews wouldn't have answered my concerns or questions in advance. I've gone through many cases because of this over the years. Often they don't work for my exact application or once I get the system built I find wire management lacking, or I find that parts of the case rattle, or I find that the airflow isn't all that great. My write up on the Antec P190 illustrates how anal I am when it comes to computer cases.

Initial thoughts on the design:

I like the overall design of the case. The black insides are a nice touch. Several of the cases features on the whole seem very good. I am not sure about the feet on the case. I think I like Silverstone's high quality "audio receiver" style feet better. Not a huge complaint but I'm just nit picking. On the side of the case I noticed that the drive cage has a 120mm fan present (from the looks of it) but due to how the side panel is designed, airflow would seem to be less than ideal. It doesn't have the ability to efficiently pull air in to the drive cage. Again this is an assumption based on the photos shown in the link, so I can't really see the case and look at how the air flow will work out.

I'd like to see a window-less version of the case. I am not big on windowed cases. I'm anal about making my wiring look good, but for some reason I don't really want to see the guts of the thing while its on my desk. That is just my personal tastes talking there.

On the plus, the huge amount of routing holes, vent holes, and basic layout are excellent. There is plenty of room and provisions for fans to be mounted throughout the case. There appears to be ample room for the power supply as well. One concern here is reaching the top of the motherboard while keeping the power cable as hidden as possible. Many times cases this large can be problematic for cable routing, not due to lack of routing room, but because the needed distance between components is too great for the lines coming out of the power supply. i don't know if this includes extensions, or if it would need them. Though 8-pin CPU power and 24 pin ATX extensions don't seem to be super common items. Though I know they are out there. I'd hate to have to use really long ones, or build my own extensions. I'd prefer the case to come with some that would work for most if not all power supplies out there.

I'm not always a fan of tooless case designs or removable drive trays. I can't make a call on those one way or another without physicall inspecting the quality of the materials and using the case to find out if it makes unnecessary noise or anything.
 
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RussianHAXOR said:
This case is going to be 299. I feel that for 299 we should have gotten aluminum and not steel.
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Aluminum would have made the cost closer to $399 as built.

The hot-swap hard drive bays are not the cheap little plastic things you'd see in a lot of competitor's cases. These are very rigid, the entire hard drive tray design was ripped right out of server cases basically. There's a lot of hidden cost in this case you'll see when you see on in person. It's hard to tell online.


Monkeypillow said:
Would love to see what water cooling setups are possible with this.
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Wait until you see the watercooling rig I built up for Computex. It should show up in photos tomorrow.
 
Redbeard said:
Aluminum would have made the cost closer to $399 as built.

The hot-swap hard drive bays are not the cheap little plastic things you'd see in a lot of competitor's cases. These are very rigid, the entire hard drive tray design was ripped right out of server cases basically. There's a lot of hidden cost in this case you'll see when you see on in person. It's hard to tell online.
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So can we get an all aluminum version for $399 next? Still a better deal then the LL X500.
 
Redbeard said:
Aluminum would have made the cost closer to $399 as built.

The hot-swap hard drive bays are not the cheap little plastic things you'd see in a lot of competitor's cases. These are very rigid, the entire hard drive tray design was ripped right out of server cases basically. There's a lot of hidden cost in this case you'll see when you see on in person. It's hard to tell online.
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I dont really have any quabbles with the majority of the case, just the fact that its made out of steel and it costs 299. I would gladly pay an extra 50-60 dollars to see an aluminum version.
 
ND40oz said:
So can we get an all aluminum version for $399 next? Still a better deal then the LL X500.
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Here's the thing. Tooling for Aluminum and Steel is completely separate, and most parts of the case would have to be completely re-tooled.

Cases aren't cheap to make - the tooling costs commonly run anywhere from $250,000 up to the millions. I shudder to think what Cooler Master spent when they tooled the Cosmos and Cosmos S, just about everything in those is customized.

But I assume CM has a good mix of profits on their other products - they sell dozens of cases and have done it for a long time, so they can afford to lose a few bucks on a new case at first and make it everywhere else.

We're a bit smaller from a Case standpoint - this is our first. We need it to be profitable.

Also, we know from talking to various etailers what the price points need to be in order to sell cases. This is done by calling up Newegg, Scan.co.uk, etc, and asking how many cases they sell between $X and $Y, and that gives you a picture of the overall market.

We know that the sweet spot for cases is lower than this - we don't expect too many people to buy $300 computer cases. We felt that our first case shouldn't sacrifice features - but we also needed to be able to sell it.

Making it out of steel was the best way to incorporate all the features we wanted and not sacrifice the price to the point where only 25 guys a month would buy the thing.

Would it be nice to have full aluminum? Yeah, why not. It looks good on the box, and it would make the case lighter. But other than that it added no benefit and just increased our costs. So honestly, it was a pretty easy decision.

GJSNeptune said:
Is it $299 after rebate? :(
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$299 will likely be the MSRP.
 
Redbeard said:
Aluminum would have made the cost closer to $399 as built.

The hot-swap hard drive bays are not the cheap little plastic things you'd see in a lot of competitor's cases. These are very rigid, the entire hard drive tray design was ripped right out of server cases basically. There's a lot of hidden cost in this case you'll see when you see on in person. It's hard to tell online.
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Yeah it is hard to tell looking at the photos. I'm glad to hear about the drive trays being well made. I'll have to take your word for that at this point, until I can see one in person. I do like the basic design of the drive cage.

Redbeard said:
Wait until you see the watercooling rig I built up for Computex. It should show up in photos tomorrow.
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Looking forward to it.
 
I like my steel Twelve Hundred. I've had a few Lian Li's, and the brushed aluminum is sexy, but it smudges. I don't mind the weight of steel, especially since I can connect cables and plug in thumbdrives without the case moving. And a steel case is typically quieter.
 
guys, the exterior is aluminum, so that is good to me. It'll still have that sexy brushed aluminum look. Anyway, I wish you guys would've incorporated stealth drive bays for optical drives like Lian Li does in order to hide our ugly optical drives (plastic optical drive next to aluminum just does not look good) Also, while some people prefer a window, others don't, so I hope there is a non-window version. I myself prefer no window because it looks a bit too nerdy/geeky. Other than that, the case looks good, and I can't find anything to complain about. It has everything an enthusiast would want, besides possibly 10 pci slots.
 
Redbeard said:
Here's the thing. Tooling for Aluminum and Steel is completely separate, and most parts of the case would have to be completely re-tooled.

Cases aren't cheap to make - the tooling costs commonly run anywhere from $250,000 up to the millions. I shudder to think what Cooler Master spent when they tooled the Cosmos and Cosmos S, just about everything in those is customized.

But I assume CM has a good mix of profits on their other products - they sell dozens of cases and have done it for a long time, so they can afford to lose a few bucks on a new case at first and make it everywhere else.

We're a bit smaller from a Case standpoint - this is our first. We need it to be profitable.

Also, we know from talking to various etailers what the price points need to be in order to sell cases. This is done by calling up Newegg, Scan.co.uk, etc, and asking how many cases they sell between $X and $Y, and that gives you a picture of the overall market.

We know that the sweet spot for cases is lower than this - we don't expect too many people to buy $300 computer cases. We felt that our first case shouldn't sacrifice features - but we also needed to be able to sell it.

Making it out of steel was the best way to incorporate all the features we wanted and not sacrifice the price to the point where only 25 guys a month would buy the thing.

Would it be nice to have full aluminum? Yeah, why not. It looks good on the box, and it would make the case lighter. But other than that it added no benefit and just increased our costs. So honestly, it was a pretty easy decision.



$299 will likely be the MSRP.
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I'm in the mice and keyboard industry, so I know what tooling costs are. Plastics tooling costs for a keyboard aren't too far from the lower figure Redbeard has quoted, and those costs need to be accounted for on a per unit basis. I wish there was more intake air on this case, or at least a way to add more.

And given the weight of a steel chassis this big, I won't buy it until the Egg has it with free shipping ;)
 
i don't like the side window either, and the fact that the hole on the mobo tray isn't big enough to be able to swap out HSF's on my classified board is another deal breaker for me.
 
nightwalker said:
i don't like the side window either, and the fact that the hole on the mobo tray isn't big enough to be able to swap out HSF's on my classified board is another deal breaker for me.
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I can't think of another case that has a hole in the tray large enough to accomodate installation of some of the larger heat sinks without removing the board. Can you think of one? Really the fault is more with EVGA than it is Corsair's because EVGA chose a non-standard location for the CPU socket. I too have an EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified and I'm not going to blame Corsair for EVGA's deviation from the norm. If that feature is a deal breaker for you, then fine. However I question that reasoning given that I can't think of any other case that has this feature. So what's the difference? It isn't as if you could swap out a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme RT 1366 in a Lian-Li or a Silverstone case without removing the motherboard. (Not as far as I know anyway.)
 
Dan_D said:
I can't think of another case that has a hole in the tray large enough to accomodate installation of some of the larger heat sinks without removing the board. Can you think of one? Really the fault is more with EVGA than it is Corsair's because EVGA chose a non-standard location for the CPU socket. I too have an EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified and I'm not going to blame Corsair for EVGA's deviation from the norm. If that feature is a deal breaker for you, then fine. However I question that reasoning given that I can't think of any other case that has this feature. So what's the difference? It isn't as if you could swap out a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme RT 1366 in a Lian-Li or a Silverstone case without removing the motherboard. (Not as far as I know anyway.)
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no you are totally right, it is EVGA's fault, my ATCS 840 has a fairly big hole i swapped out heatsinks with my DFI x58 piece of cake... BUT... this is an enthusiast case.. and a fair few enthusiasts have the classified board (including you aswell) so i just kinda thought they woulda looked at the top enthusiast mobos for little features they coulda added.

and the hole wasnt 'THE' dealbreaker, im more concerned about the window tbh, windows play a huge part in my purchasing decision for a case, and i don't ever want another steel case lol.

i do have to give corsair props for the case though.... it is very nice otherwise, the grommeting i am definately jealous about..
 
Dan_D said:
It isn't as if you could swap out a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme RT 1366 in a Lian-Li or a Silverstone case without removing the motherboard. (Not as far as I know anyway.)
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I can swap a TRUE 1366 in my Lian-Li PC-B70 case without removing the motherboard. The hole in it is pretty big...
 
All of this HSF swapping talk is a moot point to me because I only use TRUE 120's on all four systems in the house - and once on, they don't get swapped out for anything else so it doesn't really matter to me.

How often are you guys swapping out your HSF's anyways?
 
yenniedn said:
All of this HSF swapping talk is a moot point to me because I only use TRUE 120's on all four systems in the house - and once on, they don't get swapped out for anything else so it doesn't really matter to me.

How often are you guys swapping out your HSF's anyways?
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A lot of people will install the included HSF and then decide they want to upgrade later on. This just saves them some time.

Also, say you wanted to replace your TRUE 120 with a Corsair H50. You wouldn't need to remove the motherboard.
 
Redbeard said:
A lot of people will install the included HSF and then decide they want to upgrade later on. This just saves them some time.

Also, say you wanted to replace your TRUE 120 with a Corsair H50. You wouldn't need to remove the motherboard.
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Nice plug ;). Just googled the H50.

I've been following the case since your first post discussing it and looks like a winner so far. Definitely a fan of the hotswap drive bays, as well as the more subtle changes like the space between the mobo and psu compartment as Dan mentioned. I'd like a better look at the bottom front bay though. Glad the fan spacing up top got fixed. Which triple rad spacing did you guys end up using?

Also, for those window haters, Redbeard mentioned that there will be a windowless version. Its not clear if you have to order the panel separately (from what I gather, this is the case) but the alternative is there.

My only concerns would be the fan quality and tool less mounting for optical drives. A matter of preference, but I would take a screw mount over any tool less configuration anyday.
 
kencheeto said:
My only concerns would be the fan quality and tool less mounting for optical drives. A matter of preference, but I would take a screw mount over any tool less configuration anyday.
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You can use the screws if you want, the holes are there, pre-drilled.
 
Looks nice, my thoughts:

1) side window looks pretty nice IMO, and I don't know what other people are talking about huge logos
the only logo I see is on the front and it's small

2) love the all black interior and pop out thing for changing the HSF, the wire management and moving the board placement up so you can have a big video card on the bottom PCI-E are nice touches also

3) as for the hot swap bays - here's my opinion
this obviously adds a lot of cost to the case, it would have been great if you could have had all 5.25 bays on the front and sell the cage as an accessory so that people who don't care about it, could get the case cheaper
also, for those that want more space, they could get 2 of them to hold 8 drives
right now, you've got 6 5.25 bays and what the hell are you gonna put in there? a couple DVD drives maybe, but if you add another drive bay, it won't match and will look bad

4) if you could work on the gallery on the product page so you could browse through all the photos without having to open each one in a new window, that would be nice
also, add the weight of the case on the specs page


about that H50 - be honest, is it going to beat a TRUE?
all similar self contained watercooling products I've seen have to be honest, sucked ass

also, got my PSU cables today, thanks so much!!


edit: after doing some reading, that H50 looks pretty nice
it beats a TRUE by 10%
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18619&page=3
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3822393&postcount=24

now my question is - what speed is the fan on the H50 running to get these numbers?
and when will it be available? I'm definitely interested if the fan isn't too loud
 
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EnderW said:
about that H50 - be honest, is it going to beat a TRUE?
all similar self contained watercooling products I've seen have to be honest, sucked ass
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The H50 beats a TRUE 120. We used our case, our 1700 RPM fan (the fan included with the TRUE is 1100 RPM, we wanted to be fair), and an overclocked Core i7. I ran the tests personally.

To be honest, the H50 has been a labor of love between Corsair and Asetek for almost 3 years now. Until this revision of the product, we've never been able to beat high-end aircooling. Now we do. And at a very reasonable price point.

But I can understand why you guys wouldn't believe me - I do work for Corsair. Believe the reviews you'll see in the next few weeks.
 
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