To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel Core i5 3570K, Radeon HD 7850 and multiple storage drives. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Corsair Obsidian 350D‘s cooling capabilities.
For stress testing we use a mixture of Prime95 and FurMark to create the maximum heat output. Prime95′s ‘Small FFTs’ setting allows us to stress our CPU. FurMark’s ‘GPU Burn-in’ mode creates the maximum amount of load our GPU is ever likely to see.
Test System:
- Processor: Intel Core i5 3570k.
- Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4-M.
- CPU cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX (100% fan speed).
- Memory: 8GB Patriot Viper 2133MHz.
- Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Dual-X (‘auto' fan setting).
- Power supply: Seasonic Platinum-1000.
- Storage drives: 128GB Kingston V100 (OS), 1TB Samsung F3, 1TB Samsung F2.
- OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.
Thermal Performance Test Procedures:
- The case’s default fan configuration is used to give an accurate interpretation of the out-of-the-box performance.
- The Corsair Obsidian 350D‘s default fan configuration is: 1x 140mm front intake fan and 1x 120mm rear exhaust fan.
- The fans are operating at full speed.
- We allow the system to idle for 15 minutes and record the stable temperatures.
- We allow the system to operate under extreme stress for 15 minutes and record the stable temperatures.
Room temperature was maintained at 23°C.
With just two case fans, the Corsair 350D offers solid cooling performance, regardless of its micro-ATX form factor.
Adding an extra exhaust fan in one of the roof mounts would be a quick and easy way of improving cooling performance.