Corsair Obsidian 800D Gaming Case – A connoisseur’s delight

With the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D chassis, the company has entered the chassis market that has been dominated by the likes of Silverstone, Lian-Li and Coolermaster, which have already amassed a massive product portfolio in the market. The company has gone to great lengths to make their new and first chassis ideal for gaming and customization.

 

 

The first thing you will notice about the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D chassis is its size. The chassis comes with dimensions of 609mm x 609mm x 229 mm, clearly not for users who want their CPU on the desk next to the monitor.

 

Instead of going for an elaborate design for the chassis, Corsair has gone for a professional looking design which indicates that it means business.

 

 

The chassis has been made entirely of steel, apart from the faceplate, which has been fashioned out of aluminum. The front side on the chassis has a small door on the top which houses the restart button, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.ports and one port for fire wire. However, the lack of an eSATA connector has been noticed by many.

 

 

The case has no door in the drive bays, therefore, the drives placed in them will remain visible. In the front, below the drive bays, there is door which contains four interchangeable drive bays that make it easier for the users to change the drives even while the system is running or when shut down, without the need for opening the entire CPU.

 

 

There is a window on the left side of the chassis while at the top; Corsair has provided space for three 120mm fans or a single radiator. The top is perforated to provide ventilation for the fans.

 

When we examined the back of the case, we found that space for the power supply unit was given at the bottom. This feature is consistent with all the large cases. Corsair has placed one 120mm fan, which comes with the case, at the back as well. At the back, some area has been perforated as well, to facilitate ventilation.

 

 

Interestingly, at the bottom of the case, Corsair has put three steel runners in order to keep the chassis steady when it is standing up. The runners also lift the chassis from the ground, so that the air flows uninterrupted from the perforated area at the bottom. The perforated area is fitted with filter in order to keep the dust out of the CPU.

 

 

 

The inside of the case is black in color, similar to the outside. It brings character to the chassis’s imposing design. One of the most innovative features that Corsair has provided in the chassis is three isolated cooling zones, one of the power supply unit, one for the motherboard and the third one for the hard drives.

 

The company believes that by isolating the three components, heat generated by one component will not affect the others. Corsair has provided ample space for a power supply unit at the bottom of the case. The PSU should be placed in such a way that it sucks the air from the bottom as the runners installed beneath the chassis lift it up so that there is no problem with the air flow.

 

 

One other noticeable feature you will notice in the chassis is that its inside is filled with rubber covered holes that can be used for routing the wires. These come in handy when it comes to installing the hardware inside the chassis.

 

Corsair, which has given heavy thought to the cooling of the chassis, has provided another 140mm fan that is located between the power supply unit and the motherboard. In he front bottom of the case, Corsair has located 2 3.5-inch drive bays, which are located behind a small hidden door next to the power supply unit. Couple them with the 4 hot swappable drive bays and Corsair has provided support for 6 3.5-inch drive bays.

 

 

The 4 hot swappable drive bays have circuits behind them in which the SATA cable and SATA power cable can be plugged in. There is also a hole besides the circuit board used to route the wires. The circuit boards are located behind another hidden door.

 

Interestingly, right next to the hidden hard drive bay is another 140 mm fan for cooling the hard drive that can be missed by an untrained eye! Corsair has provided five drive bays for 5.25 inch hard drives as well.

 

 

Coming over to the motherboard area, you will notice that Corsair has provided a lot of rubber holes which can be used to route cables. In fact, beside the three cooling zones, this is one of the most important features of the Corsair 800D chassis. Thanks to the numerous rubber holes, users will be able to install any motherboard with out worrying about dealing with the wiring.

 

 

Interestingly, Corsair has given plenty of space behind the motherboard as well from which the input and output cables are routed. It also has a hole where the CPU is located but it can also be covered by a door, should you wish it. The hole is designed to give one better access to the CPU cooler.

 

 

Corsair has designed the case ground up for gamers and customization enthusiasts and has introduced some new and innovative solutions in the chassis, for which the company is known for. Corsair has a history of releasing state-of-the-art products and this chassis, the first by the company, lives up to that image.

 

 

What stands out in the product is the three zone cooling system for the PSU, motherboard and hard drive. Another feature that we liked was ample room for cable management at the back and rubber holes that can be used to route the cables.