Published: September 18, 2009 | Source: Corsair | Author: Tom Logan

Corsair Obsidian 800D

Installation

With the hype proceeding this cases release we couldn’t fit any old system into it, so I opted for a highÂ heat gaming system to not only test the cases size when installing but most importantly how it copes with the heat created.

Test set up
Intel Core2Duo Q6600
Intel stock HSF & Nexus HOC-9000
Asus Rampage Extreme
4GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800 Ram @ 9-9-9-24 1.9v
2x HIS 4870 1GB IceQ 4+
Corsair HX1000w
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB – OS
Samsung Spinpoint F1 – 1TB
Windows 7 RTM x64 Ultimate

The accessories pack that came with the case is brilliant, I like small details it shows thought went into something.Â ItÂ may only seem a small thing to some but all black screwsÂ and motherboard stand offs is a firstÂ with a retail case as far as I’m aware. Theres an all black SATA power cable for the hot swap bay that matches the Corsair PSU sexy black cable theme and 4 black SATA data cables also. A rubber fan gasket for the 120mm lower optional HDDÂ fan, some cable ties and a 4/8pin power extension cable.

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Due to the size of the case installing the hardware was a breeze, everything went in very fast and cable tidying was made very easy by all the grommets in the motherboard tray. I used a push pin style CPU cooler but should you use one that has a back plate or need to fit a CPU block there is so much room behind you wont have any problems. One thing I wasn’t sure about was the lack of zip tie tabs behind the motherboard tray. There is an awful lot of room for cables but no way of fixing them in place, this means that even with all this room when fitting my back panel it still had the ‘cable bulge’. It could easily be fixed with some sticky zip tie fixing tabs, but where the case didn’t come with any I didn’t use any.

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There are rails in the lower section to help support the PSU, these are millimetre perfect both in width and height, very simple design but work very well, its a shame more cases don’t have detail like this. As the case has 360mm radiator support, and a great deal of you will be looking at this case as a basis for a water cooled system I decided to fit one of the thickest radiators on the market just to show you the space available (this will not be used in testing)Â – a Black Ice Extreme. Even with the large heat sink fitted the case easily swallows the full sized radiator and fans, if running a smaller heat sink or a CPU water block you could also fit a second set of fans for a ‘push pull’ configuration and still have room above the motherboard.