Corsair Obsidian 550D: Starting to Specialize
by Dustin Sklavos on March 29, 2012 3:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Conclusion: Built for Silence
Despite being the first case tested under our new methodology, there's still a lot to process with the Corsair Obsidian 550D, both in terms of its design and in the data that results from it. By explicitly engineering their enclosure for silent running, Corsair has taken a major first step in producing a specialized design as opposed to a more fundamental ATX case like the 550D's predecessors. There's still a lot of experimentation going on here, and the case is designed with flexibility in mind, but the insulating foam should be a dead giveaway that the 550D was designed for silence first and foremost.
In terms of thermal performance, it's tough to make a direct comparison to Corsair's other cases. The conclusion I tentatively arrive at is that despite gunning for a design that's quieter than most, acoustics were never really the major problem with the cases Corsair sells at and above the 550D's price point. It's fantastic that they've developed an enclosure like this, something with real dampening properties, but I still want to see them handle the problem that's consistently hounded their designs: thermals. The 550D doesn't perform poorly, but I feel like the thermal performance is still underwhelming.
This is a very difficult balancing act many enclosure designers go through and I don't envy them, but it again serves to highlight a phenomenon I've experienced with some regularity since I started testing cases: south of $150, you can get some gradient of silent running and thermal performance, but not both. It's only when you spend up that you can get both—as with the Thermaltake Level 10 GT, the Cooler Master Cosmos II, and the SilverStone FT02. Not coincidentally, all of those cases also happen to be gigantic full-tower designs. While Corsair lists an MSRP of $159 for the 550D, NewEgg's $140 price point is more appropriate.
Aesthetically, I think the 550D is an attractive case with a lot of slick ideas, but I also feel like there are large parts of it just waiting to develop issues with vibration in the future. The top grate of the Graphite 600T can produce vibration over time, and I get the nagging feeling that the push-button release for the side panels is going to wind up causing more problems than it solves in the long term. Unfortunately this is also speculation based off of an anecdotal experience with one enclosure; it's entirely possible that none of these parts will develop issues with rattling in the future.
Corsair continues to set the standard in ease of use and assembly, and the Obsidian 550D is ultimately a very worthy entrant into the enclosure market. People who are fine spending $40 on a case and calling it a day are unlikely to be swayed by the 550D, but users looking to optimize and invest may find that the 550D's combination of features and customizability is exactly what they're looking for. I have a hard time coming up with any useful suggestions or solutions for the issues I have with the 550D and I'm not ready to risk armchair engineering something that's clearly at least a little experimental. That said, while the Corsair Obsidian 550D isn't the grand slam I was hoping for, it's still compelling and certainly worthy of consideration.
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ExarKun333 - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
This is very true. Also, buying a quality fan can make a HUGE difference on not just airflow but noise as well. All 80mm fans are not created equal, same with 120mm, and so forth.Folterknecht - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
An other point is available space. Ok - if you just build that machine, use it and never touch it again fine, there small cases are ok maybe . But every time I tinker with my builds (midi/big towers) I m happy with my choices because my hands can reach the desired parts without problems. As a bonus you have better thermals with bigger cases, resulting in less noise if you choose the correct case and invest some thoughts into the right components and fans (their placement and direction of airflow).Rick83 - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
I'm not completely bought by the argument of bigger volume = bigger cooling.Indeed, the bigger volume creates more "dead space", while a smaller case can have more airflow along the surfaces that actually need to be cooled, by more selective "ducting". While this allows for a longer, more gradual ramp-up of temperatures with open-air GPUs, and top-blower CPU-coolers, in the end the final in-case temperature is a direct function of the air passing out of the case (surface are radiation is so small, that I am going to ignore it). Component temperature is a function of cfd along the cooler, cooler surface, and delta-theta of the cooler surface and the air flowing past. I argue that a small case optimizes the first parameter, while the other parameters should be equal, after a burn-in period.
An exception would be a power profile that emits frequent short bursts of thermal energy - in this case a big enclosure has a larger buffer, before the in-case air temperature rises.
The advantage of a bigger volume case is, that you have more area for suction/exhaust with the environment, but you also have less airflow "effectiveness", unless you actually use the space.
Also, few people regularly tinker with their builds. And a well laid out small case may still be superior to a not so well designed large case.
ExarKun333 - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
Bigger cases allow for bigger fans which = better cooling at lower noise levels.DMisner - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
I hate when people, especially reviewers, use a Micro-ATX motherboard in an ATX case. Just a pet peeveShieTar - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
I assume this decision was made in order to test both ATX and µATX cases with the same board, and as such it does make sense.On the other hand I do understand your point too. I did once buils a system into a (admitedly very cheap) case where the cable of the front-USB port was just a tad too short too reach the connectors at the very bottom of the full ATX board. That is a problem that you may not detect when testing with a µATX only.
Not that I expect this kind of problem from a modern Corsair case.
JCheng - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
Dustin, thanks for this review. New testing methodology notwithstanding, your case reviews are the best I have ever seen, not only in terms of the depth of your coverage and very good writing, but also case selection that mostly matches the cases that I personally find interesting/appealing.I am thinking about buying the 550D today or tomorrow (NewEgg's $20 rebate expires tomorrow) for a new build that will have an OC'd 2600K or 3930X, along with a single low-to-midrange passively cooled GPU (I am going to use it as a Linux development workstation). The CPU will frequently be flogged with doing parallel compiles using as many threads as the CPU can handle concurrently. I would like the system to remain extremely quiet under these loads.
My question is whether you think the 550D's "underwhelming" thermal performance would be fixed by the addition of 2 slow 120mm fans, either behind the drive cages (practically empty--I only need 1 SSD for storage) or as intakes on the top panel. Or whether, since I'm not expecting to have the GPU generating much heat, it is even worth worrying about. I would prefer the CPU not reach 80 degrees under any circumstances.
Any thoughts would be appreciated... thanks!
Nje - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
I'm also interested in this - although my plan was to add one or two intake fans on the side because of the conclusions drawn in 'The Big Air Cooling Investigation' at BitTech where they tested fan placements. They did use the R3, but I'm guessing the results would be pretty similar on the 550D. It seems that the most beneficial extra fans are the ones placed to blow air directly onto the motherboard.JCheng - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
I didn't know about that BitTech article, thanks--really helpful information. I'd only worry whether there's enough clearance to put in a side fan if I go with a big tower cooler like Noctua NH-D14.Nje - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
That's a good question, especially since I'm planning to get the Noctua NH-D14.. I'm still waiting for Ivy Bridge and some custom GTX680 cards to get into the stores though. Presumably at least one of the side fans would still have enough clearance?