Corsair Obsidian 650D Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Corsair Obsidian 650D: Exterior4. Corsair Obsidian 650D: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Final Thoughts7. View All Pages

To test the Corsair Obsidian 650D we will be using an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition CPU in conjunction with one of the finest motherboards available on the market, the Asus Crosshair V Formula.  To cool the CPU we will be using a Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro.

Test System

Chassis: Corsair Obsidian 650D
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair V Forumla
Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro
Memory: 4GB Kingston HyperX Genesis DDR3
Storage: OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS
Power Supply: Thermaltake Tough Power XT 750W

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Everest Ultimate Edition
Prime 95
Furmark

The diagram above shows how the airflow is set up out of the box.  The 200mm fan at the front of the case is the only intake with a further 200mm fan at the top of the case acting as an exhaust.  There is also a 120mm fan acting as an exhaust at the rear of the case.

For our temperature tests, we used Prime95 and Furmark to load the system for 15 minutes and then recorded our results.  We then restarted the system and left it idling at the desktop for 15 minutes before recording the idle results.

These temperatures are exactly what we would expect from this system.  The 200mm and the 120mm fans do a good job of shifting lots of air through the case, even on the minimum speed setting.

When the case fans are set to the minimum speed, the noise level is acceptable but far from inaudible.  The case fans are still clearly audible over the other fans in the system at this speed.  When the fans are set to the maximum speed they are very loud so we would recommend leaving them at the minimum setting as they still shift plenty of air.  Those looking for a silent case similar to this should consider the Fractal Design Define XL which is a good deal quieter.

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