Corsair Obsidian 650D: Transmuting Graphite to Obsidian
by Dustin Sklavos on July 29, 2011 1:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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The Sorcerer - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
NZXT Gamma and now Shinobi. Both brilliantly made cases for that price. Get a good set of fans and that's all one needs for a mid-end gaming rig.Just a question, wouldn't filling up the HDD bays and doing the required cable work (SATA Power connectors and SATA cables) give more clear idea about how good the cable management should be? MATX layout boards are bundled with shorter SATA cables, whereas a full-fledged atx motherboards (Like...890GPA UD3H) comes with bit longer cables.
Its been a very long time since I got my hands on those prebuilt systems with "slim" unit linueups, but back in the days negative pressure enclosures were nicely made and well thought construction to hold the adds-ons nicely.
Dustin Sklavos - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
I can actually comfortably say cable management in the 650D will still be stellar even if you load the whole thing up. Why? Because internally it's nigh identical to the 600T and I did exactly that with my primary machine.randinspace - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
Why doesn't Corsair just produce a model that comes with one of their popular (?) water cooling units?AlexKitch - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
I'm a big fan of this case but had such problems getting my hard drives into the hard disk bays. I felt like I was about the snap them every time.Also, make sure you get the update to this case which upgrades the fan controller and mounts the front intake fan on rubber standoffs rather than the original screws - this solves a lot of noise/resonance problems.
darckhart - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
what's the model number for the "update?"AlexKitch - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
Corsair's website has it listed as product SKU# CC650D-FANKIT . When I bought the case, it had already been included in the box (but not fitted)Locklear - Friday, July 29, 2011 - link
The front fan is a real offender in noise. Something to do with the pitch of the fan-blades in combination with the front mesh. Just built a new comp with this case, and switching the 200mm fans with Cooler Master Megaflows worked wonders on noise. The annoying "whirling" disappeared completely. The fan change will come at a slight price though. You have to sacrifice one drive cage and move the other to the middle position in the cabinet due to the added 10mm depth on the megaflows (200x30mm). Using other 200x20mm fans should also work fine.rbg08 - Saturday, July 30, 2011 - link
Good to about this fix. I own this case and just yesterday ordered a Xigmatek XLF-F2004 White LED Black Case Fan (200x20mm) on sale from Newegg to match the fan on my Dark Knight-S1283W CPU heatsink. I was debating whether to install it in front or on top. Sounds like I may decrease noise as well by mounting it in front.malignate - Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - link
This is my biggest complaint about this case since I've set it up! If you do a search on youtube for 650d and noise, there is a video demonstrating this problem. I went back and forth with Corsair on a solution and the best they could come up with was to send me another fan. As mentioned, it has to do with the combination of the fan and the front mesh.I tried replacing the front fan with the XIGMATEK CLF-F2004 White LED fan, which is also 20mm so it still fits without drive cage modification. This took some adjustment because the fan screw mounts on the fan are facing for an exhaust fan, not an intake fan. I ended up using wire ties and attaching it to the front mesh. Not pretty but it still works. Unfortunately, this fan has the same problem with this case but is slightly muted. I think I'm going to have to go the Cooler Master Megaflow route and move the hard drive cage as has been recommended by others. This is a ridiculous design flaw for a case that costs this much and seems otherwise well thought out. Corsair needs to fix this.
flong777 - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
I own the 650D and the case is not noisy - nor does the Anandtech review reflect excessive noise. I don't think that I have the updated fan kit either. No case that moves air is going to be entirely silent. Read the reviews on the Fortress FT02.People should not be misled into thinking that this case is noisy. I mean if you are really sensitive about noise, turn the fans to low and you will have trouble hearing the system at all.
With the fans on low I hear my CPU cooler but not the case - I have the Noctua NH-D14 cooler.