Gadgetory

hello everyone this is Dimitri with Herick nugs and it's always exciting when Corsair releases a new obsidian I mean this was a series that started all for them and they are really populating the line so I guess we can never complain about having too much choice right so this is the Corsair obsidian 450d a second mid tower in the line and brings a few needed improvements with a very attractive price of $120 now one thing I'm very happy about is the new protective plastic that no longer takes ages to remove and it doesn't leave any gunk on the front aluminum plates I'm proving to us that they are listening to users feedback and that is exactly what is needed the obsidian line has always carried that elegant and square design I think that's going to carry forward as the 450d looks the part of the obsidian with a large square window cutout and now a perforated front panel so this case is designed with airflow in mind the panel is easy removal has a built-in dust filter and an aluminum plate installed for that elegant aesthetic for the main intake we have two 140 millimeter fans with a nice open frame internally for resistance free air flow and dual 120 million fans are supported as well there are two optical drives at the front and like with every other obsidian there's no clean implementation of optical installation as the frame is wider and stealth covers are not included so it won't look uniform furthermore there are only two USB 3 ports I think for a case of this caliber at least four should be included is that's very common to see in mid towers but perhaps on the next step City and aeration then we have the standard audio jacks and PR buttons up top you get a large magnetic dust filter covering the entire area so I'm very happy to see triple 120 or dual 140 millimeter fan support so radiator options up top should complement coursers all-in-one Hydra series very well plus the rubber grommets to absorb fan vibrations so that's considerate nothing unusual at the back a 120 millimeter high airflow exhaust fan is included there's a seven PCI slot so ATX is the maximum compatibility for your motherboard then there's the bottom mounted power supply with large magnetic dust filter also covering the entire bottom so I'm very happy to see full dust proof with the 450d now let's get inside the Smith Tower to see how the latest obsidian stacks up as a 2014 release now one thing I want to point out are how thin and flimsy the side panels are it shouldn't cause any concern over structural integrity but it becomes difficult placing the panel's back as one side is flush against the case while the other isn't also the front element of the case is plastic and snot steel so it seems like the compromising quality has been made to hit that price point internals look very open and that's something we've come to expect with every coarser chassis an additional 120 or 140 mm air intake fan can be installed beside the drive cage at the bottom there's a large gap to allow direct airflow and also longer GPU compatibility now drive cage supports three drives with standard caddies so regular tool is three and a half inch mounting and this is these as well you'll just have to remove one the metal pegs on the side and that's why I prefer centered SSD mounting holes now notice how high the base is for the drive cage this means the cage is on the level with the bottom three PCI slots and given we just have over 11 inches of GPU clearance this internal spacing may not favor dual graphics card configurations or even some PCI lanes on the motherboard I think the base should have been shorter or at least accommodate an additional drive caddy luckily the drive cage is modular so you can relocate it to the above position that opens up an additional fan spot at the bottom so a 240 mil irradiated is an option without sacrificing on drive storage but because the chassis isn't very long there's practically no room for your power supply with the radiator installed limiting maximum power supply compatibility to 150 millimeters and the little extra wood just a fan I think this is a huge oversight from courser I definitely was not expecting such a major compromise for the bottom mounting options and a simple power supply bracket extender at the back would have allowed compatibility for longer units without compromising on potential for that additional bond rate however the front does support 240 and 280 million radiators with appropriate spacing but this means getting rid of the entire drive cage completely however the 450 D is equipped with a couple of tooless SSD brackets at the back so not totally left without storage so you just like the SSD in and in case you're using very slim Drive removing the bracket is very simple with just a single screw and the appropriate carrots are available on the SSD bracket to secure the actual SSD now of course coursers major strengths has always been cable management and the 450 d doesn't disappoint with large rubber grommets many cable tie mounts and just under an inch of clearance for all you cable routing and starting with the assembly course there is one of the few companies that pre installs the motherboard standoffs that simplify your process so that's very appreciated and the finished build looks outstanding enforcer fashioned cable management was so simple that I didn't even use any cable ties yet all the cables are completely flushed to the case the CPU cut out is also oversized that would allow seamless cooler swaps now I would have appreciated a few cutouts right underneath the motherboard for cleaning routing but this also does the job and the 450 D will accommodate really well for top radiators with three inches of space fill our memory modules now to the most part the latest obsidian has been successful with its underrated obsidian good looks full dust proof with easily removable filters a non-restrictive front intake with great airflow extremely simple to work in thanks to an effective layout and the additional SSD brackets are sort of expected and very appreciated however the build quality is just not on par to what we've come to expect from the obsidian line comparing to other cases in the same price range like the h4 46 93 from Coolermaster the middie r2 from fractal design and the 450 d just doesn't feel as robust bottom radiator support is not optimal as it limits your power supply length there's no stealth cover included for the optical drive and only 11 inches for the bottom three PCI brackets due to hyperdrive gauge that is limiting for this form factor I do love all the improvements however that Corsair has added but it seems that some compromises have been added as well that I'm hoping would be fixed in the next generation and the simple solution to make this a top-level contender is basically an extended power supply bracket that would allow at least 160 memory units supported with a 240 millimeter bottom radiator but what do you guys think of this new obsidian at the hundred twenty dollars when you look past the compromises or with the 450 not hit the right spot for you let us know in the comments below make sure to like if you enjoyed this review subscribe for more similar content and we'll see you in the next one