Corsair Obsidian 750D Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on September 24, 2013 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- ATX
- Case
The script for Corsair cases is pretty much down pat at this point. You can expect ease of assembly, clean design, great liquid cooling support, and middle of the road air cooling stock performance. In these respects, the Obsidian 750D is a pleasant surprise; air cooling performance isn't pack leading, but it's slightly better than just competitive until you start really beating on the system. I'd come into this review having a clear idea of what to expect, but everyone loves when their expectations are exceeded, and that was true of the 750D.
To be certain, the 750D isn't a total, market-crushing homerun. Corsair has yet to really hit one of those, but this is at least an excellent entry in their portfolio. Usability has always been their strong suit and the 750D continues to improve on that; there simply isn't another company that makes easier cases to build in. The toolless 2.5" drive caddies hammer that home. SSDs continue to be a usability hiccup with modern enclosures, and only Corsair and NZXT seem to really be thinking outside the box here. We also continue to get solid build quality, good looks, and excellent liquid cooling support.
Corsair's seemingly ancient struggle with air cooling performance is starting to finally wane, but their balanced approach with the 750D's fans sacrifices performance in overclocked multi-GPU configurations. The old ATX standard is something Corsair continues to have issues with; only their exotic Carbide Air 540 is really able to offer a solid balance between liquid cooling support and air cooling performance. The cabling issues that spring up around their otherwise innovative SSD mounting system are also a small scratch on their otherwise excellent usability record.
The net result is that the 750D is exceptional, but still requires at least a little specialization. I think it's worth the $159 and I suspect any watercooling enthusiasts out there looking for something solid from Corsair that didn't cost an arm and a leg and weigh twice that much will be happy to see it; in some ways this is really a 900D for the rest of us. Corsair's case designs continue to grow and evolve and they're quickly becoming the new Antec (as that company seems to have unceremoniously ceded the case market they used to own), and the 750D is at least another interesting step on that road.
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just4U - Wednesday, September 25, 2013 - link
Totally agree.. and with that said here's my current system http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9060/g45f.jpg and yes it has a window! (Corsair 350D)pdjblum - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
You continue to be dismissive and arrogant by refusing to even acknowledge by constant complaint about not listing the bill of materials in the spec table. Here is the spec table from the review on bit-tech.net that was also published today:Specifications
Dimensions (mm) 235 x 546 x 560 (W x D x H)
Material Steel, plastic
Available colours Black
Weight 9.5kg
Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, stereo, microphone
Drive bays 3 x external 5.25in, 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5-in, 4 x dedicated 2.5in
Form factor(s) E-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
Cooling 2 x 120/140mm front fan mounts (2 x 140mm fans included), 1 x 120/140mm rear fan mount (140mm fan included), 3 x 120/140mm top fan mounts (fan not included), 2 x bottom 120mm fan mounts (fans not included)
CPU cooler clearance 180mm
Maximum graphics card length 460mm (340mm in extreme low slot with storage caddie installed)
Extras Removable dust filters
Too bad you cannot do the same.
jdon - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
And you continue to be arrogant by refusing to even acknowledge that you are a reader, not an editor. Take a powder, and cut Dustin a little slack or ask nicely. We can Google any information we want that isn't here.Too bad you cannot quietly do the same.
pdjblum - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
I have asked nicely numerous times to date, but he has not even responded. The review is not complete without the build materials, and a reader should not have to search outside of the review to find out something as pertinent as this. I would have not been such a big shot and responded to one of my polite comments over the years already.just4U - Wednesday, September 25, 2013 - link
Yes but that certainly doesn't mean he's being arrogant or pig-headed about it. Dustin's pretty damn good about fielding questions/comments about his articles.A5 - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
What is in that list that isn't in the table on page 1? The dust filters?LB-ID - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Dustin, whatever HAS happened to Antec? They really used to be the market leader in cases, and now they just seem to have whimpered quietly off into the night.HisDivineOrder - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Can't wait for the inevitable cube-shaped Obsidian case. Hope they go 550D and try to make it silent, but deadly with lots of fan ports. Also, they can toss the window and give me some places for GPU cooling on the side instead.Too many windows of late, too few places for GPU cooling.
Teizo - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
More like 350D's big brotherjust4U - Wednesday, September 25, 2013 - link
Yep