CORSAIR Obsidian 750D Computer Case Review

Cases by leeghoofd @ 2013-10-03

CORSAIR has established grounds in the enclosure market. At start only with the high end versions  in the form of the Obsidian and Graphite cases. Later on targeting another segment of the market, with the more affordable cases, under the Carbide brand name. The Obsidian series are straight competition for big names as Lian-Li, sporting high build quality, offering maximum hardware compatibility and they are multi GPU ready, plus the possible liquid-cooling options are a big bonus. The mixture of steel and brushed aluminum,  enhances  the rigidity and adds that little extra touch of elegance to the CORSAIR Obsidian enclosures. The brand new 750D model is a full blown tower case and looks at first glance like a trim-down version of the 900D flagship. Nevertheless what is most exciting is, that this case is retailing at the price of a high end Mid-Tower chassis. Time to take a closer look at the CORSAIR 750D Obsidian case.

Unpacking

The brand new Obsidian 750D features a big side panel window, that allows you to show of your neatly installed hardware to the masses. The pictures might not do 100% justice to the case's design, which sports sleekness and elegance, yet assuring maximum hardware compatibility. Both side panels are secured by two thumb screws.

       

 

 

Once the windowed side panel removed we get access to the spacious 750D interior. One would not expect less from a full tower case, yet we have seen designs that lacked some of the clever ideas the CORSAIR engineers integrated in this case.

Let's start off with the storage design: Two removable or modular HDD cages, each allowing to slide in three 3.5” HDDs or SSDs. Either stack the cages or mount them side by side for maximum ventilation or GPU compatibility with ultra-long graphic cards.

 

 

 

The HDD trays are tool-free, the drive just clips in. On the bottom you can spot the 4 screw holes to secure the fixation of a Solid State Drive. The optical drives are also secured via a tool-free clip mechanism. For the die hards, if needed, you can further secure the drives with screws.

 

 

A Closer Look Part I

We continue with the storage concept. Usually most vendors either allow the end user to mount the SSDs in the HDD drive trays or mount them on the backside of the motherboard tray. Especially the latter solution is more of a look we got this SSD thingy covered. The 750D OBSIDIAN is far more flexible and versatile then the previously mentioned solutions.

 

 

 

 

Near the right hand side panel we spot four quick removable plastic trays. These allow easy install of the Solid State Drive without the requirement of a screwdriver. Plus the tray clips in on the case's structure for a secure fix.

 

Cooling wise the 750D has got a solid offering out of the box. Three big 140mm fans, baptized as AF140L (maybe the L stands for Light) are strip downed versions of the Air Fan series. No special rubber grommets or interchangeable colored insert, just a basic fan case design with the proven Fan Blade Technology from the Air series. One fan takes care of the exhaust, while the two 140L front fans assure good airflow over the hardware components.

 

 

 

The same fans are being utilized on the Carbide 540 Air case. While not being the most quiet versions, they shift some serious air. For the purists, the 750D leaves the option open to install an extra 5 fans ( 3 top and 2 in the bottom ) The case supports large 360mm radiators for the water-cooling enthusiasts in the top. This by sacrificing two optical drive bays. Plus the 750D is ready to house up to two 240 rads, one in the front and one in the bottom of the case ( removal of the two HDD cages is a requirement ).

Who thinks of fans thinks of dust filters and the 750D case has got you covered. Alike the Carbide 540 Air, the OBSIDIAN 750D has a easy removable magnetic dust filter. This time however on the top part in stead off in the front.

 

 

 

 

The front part has got a front brushed aluminum bezel, which can be popped off by pressing the two upper sides. This gives easy acces to the front dust filter and the two front 140mm fans.

 

 

 

The power supply is also protected against the dust by a slideable filter version. In contradiction with some other enclosures,  this dust filter version securely locks into position.

 

 

 

A Closer Look Part II

Cable management is no brainer with the Obsidian 750D, thanks to the numerous and well dimensioned cutouts. Of course as it fits a high standard case, rubber grommets are included. On the backside of the motherboard tray there is about 25mm of space to tuck away them nasty power supply cables.

 

 

 

 

A humongous cutout to facilitate the installation of processor coolers without the need of removing the motherboard. In the top of the motherboard tray we spot two extra well dimensioned holes to route the 8 pin CPU power plugs and multiple fan cables.

The power supply is not supported by rubber anti vibration dampers, which is a surprisingly missing feature in this 750D. A fan controller would also top this case off, especially if most will build in a high end water-cooling setups, an integrated two or three speed fan controller would be a real bonus.

 

 

 

 

The front I/O panel includes the usual in and out jacks for the audio, a tiny reset button on the left hand portion. Two blue USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports on the right hand side. The on/off button is located in between the power on and HDD LED.

Test Setup and Methodology

Compared to previous case reviews Madshrimps opted to install a single AMD 7970 graphics card instead of the regular two GTX480s we usually used when reviewing gaming enclosures. For the cooling tests the case is equipped with the Corsair H100i Hydro cooler.

The hardware comprises of the following parts:

 

For the IDLE tests we allow the setup warm up during a 30 min period. The temperatures of the CPU cores are monitored by the Realtemp software. The temperatures of the motherboard components are read out by the ASUS Thermal Radar software. For the stress test we go flat out and test our the six cores of the overclocked i7-3960X CPU (4500MHz) with the Prime95 64bit software with a custom 12-12K setting. For the GPU test we ran a 3 time loop of the Futuremark Vantage 3D bench software to heat up the graphics core.

Here are some screenshots of the ASUS Thermal RADAR software in action:

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS:

  • Form Factor: Full-tower with side panel window
  • Motherboard support: ATX, E-ATX, XL-ATX, mATX and  Mini ITX
  • Material: Brushed aluminum, plastic and steel
  • Storage: 2 x modular drive cages, with each 3 Tool-free HDD trays
  • Storage: 4 x Tool-free dedicated SSD cages
  • Expansion slots: 9
  • Cooling: 3 x 140mm AF140L fans ( room for up to 8 fans )
  • Water Cooling: top 360mm supported, front and bottom 240mm supported
  • Front I/O: 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, headphone & microphone, power & reset button
  • Maximum CPU Cooler Height: 170mm
  • Maximum GPU Length: 450mm
  • Dimensions: 21.5 x 9.3 x 22 inches or 546 x 235 x 560mm
  • Weight: 9.7kg

The Build, Temperature and Noise Results

Without any surprise the ease of installation in a full tower chassis of this grade is peanuts. Just shake it and it will all fall into place. We build in our usual X79 Sabertooth motherboard and the CORSAIR H100i 240 rad cooler. The GPU used this time was an ASUS 7970HD Matrix PE card. Even while being slightly longer then the reference model, the GPU still has got loads of room to spare from the modular top HDD cage.

 

 

 

 

Cable management couldn't be any easier, thanks to the numerous cutouts and the massive amounts of space behind the motherboard tray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No surprises in cooling performance, thus those looking for shockingly low hardware temperatures here, please look elsewhere. The Obsidian 750D is even in it's out of the box configuration a well-ventilated enclosure. We also opted to test the 140L fans to run flat out versus the PWM mode, however not much temperature differences to spot, on the utilized X79 Sabertooth motherboard

 

 

 

The noise level generated by the 140L fans is slightly below the versions used on the 540 Air, we measured 28dBa, which is acceptable, yet this is slightly audible in a quiet living room.

EK Waterblocks L360 Inside

Modern full tower cases are usually ready, out the box, to house complex watercooling setups. The CORSAIR OBSIDIAN is no exception to this rule. Being able to support a 360 radiator in the top part, a 240mm radiator in the front and/or bottom section is more then most watercooling purists would ever require.

The installed hardware are:

 

 

 

 

We installed our EK L360 complete kit, without breaking a sweat inside the spacious interior of the 750D.  Now there's one glitch, if ever opting to install a huge 360 radiator, you will need to sacrifice two of the 5 1/2 slots. Or opt like we did to just use two fans.

 

 

 

Conclusion

The Corsair OBSIDIAN 750D is another welcome addition to the ever growing enclosure lineup of the Fremont giant. That high end doesn't always needs to carry an exuberant price tag is one of the strong points of this 750D.

Being a full tower there is no problem with hardware compatibility whatsoever. Our large E-ATX motherboards and longest video cards fitted as a glove, the latter even without removal of the modular HDD cages. Multi GPU solutions will fit in snuggly inside the 750D. The tool-free storage solutions and the modular HDD cages are well executed. The drive space amount should satisfy the need for even the most die-hard storage geeks out there.

 

 

Cooling wise the inclusion of the 140mm PWM fans is an improvement over the ones use din the 540 Air case; nevertheless I'd still rather prefer the inclusion of a 3 or more channel 2/3 speed fan controller. The 140L fans, when run flat out, are still audible. Okay they shift some serious air, but the utilization of 140mm Fans is all about a great balance between airflow and noise, with the accent on noise. Also with the inclusion of an integrated Fan controller, the end user could hook up some of the fans from their water-cooling gear. But hey that's just my two cents.

The great liquid cooling support will be a big plus for the sales of this 750D. This besides the very sleek and stylish looks. Of course if you find this a stunning looking case or not, is purely subjective and is all about your own personal taste.

The best is that this complete package will not cost you an arm, nor a leg. In fact the 750D is the not so wealthy man's 900D case. Retailing around 150 Euros is far from cheap, however you get darn good value for your money. Hence why we award the Obsidian 750D with the high end and the value award.

 

 

 

 

PROS:

  • High build quality
  • Value for money
  • Execution of Storage solutions
  • Cable management
  • Ultra liquid cooling ready
  • Good cooling performance
  • Hardware compatibility

 

CONS:

  • No fan controller
  • No rubber dampers for the PSU

 

 

We wish to thank Harry and Rick from Corsair for the Obsidian 750D sample:

 

 

Sven from ASUS for the X79 Sabertooth motherboard:

Niko from EK Waterblocks for the provision of the L 360 kit:

 

 

 

The nutty crew from Tones for the years of support:

 

 

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