Corsair Obsidian 450D Review

[Sonefiler]

Hello! Welcome to my review of the Corsair Obsidian 450D case. 

The first thing that I have to mention is that the front click-on click-off fan grill is extremely fragile and the clips on the bottom of mine broke within 5 minutes while building the computer. I am not happy with this.

 

Otherwise, Pros:

First of all, it has plenty of fan filter. Front, top, PSU all have one, and it's removable and water-washable (just make sure they're dry before reinstallation).

It has removable and rotatable drive bays.

It has two SSD mounts on the back, which really came in handy for me because I had to take out the drive cage to fit my H100i, more details in the cons section.

MOST of it is brushed aluminium. (see the front fan grill breaking section).

It has a nice big window and a lot of cable management room that I didn't use properly.

A magnetic mesh fan filter on the top that actually looks fairly nice but slides around when I try to rest my feet on my computer.

It was easy to work in for the most part, except the radiator for my H100i.

 

Now, there are a lot of cons with this case, which I will detail.

 

First of all, the fan grill at the front. Not cool, Corsair. I don't want to send the case back because of a broken plastic clip that you could've made more durable.

Second, Why, Corsair? Why don't you support your OWN AIOs in your case? This does not support an H105 AT ALL on the top, and does not support an H100i or H110 in push-pull on the top either. Good thing I didn't need hard drive cages or else this would've been really frustrating. You seriously could've moved the motherboard mounting area a centimeter down and it would've been fine, but that wouldn't work due to the next issue.

Third, Did you seriously cheap out like this, Corsair? You used the exact same motherboard plate for the 300R, which costs like $50. Couldn't you spend a bit more to make a more durable motherboard tray? 

The cable management is difficult due to a short HD audio cable and very few zip-tie hooks on the motherboard tray (due to it being from a cheaper case).

Unlike some competitors, it does not support 360mm rads (H440) or have noise-cancellation features (Define R4) and looks a bit cheaper than the other Obsidian series cases in person, or even the competitors, because of the 5.25" bays, which are either hidden (R4) or non-existent (H440) in other cases and making them look much better.

The H100i, after not even being able to mount on the top, when I tried to mount it on the front I had massive issues. The holes at the front to install radiators are very confusing and hard to use, and don't have the rubber vibration cancelling grommets that the other parts have. The H100i and the 450D combined don't have enough screws for the H100i Push-Pull either! I had to diagonally screw in fans and screw the radiator to the case to keep it on.

It would also be nice as to which screws we are supposed to use to screw in the fans, especially if you don't include enough in the FIRST PLACE, and how much force we have to use to put them on. Took me forever to get the screws on tight enough that the fans didn't shake around.

The side panels are extremely hard to put back on. When I got the top to go on properly, the bottom would pop out and not let me put in the thumb screws (which aren't self retaining) and ultimately I needed my dad to help me get it back on. The side window was scratched when it arrived as well and I don't think it was UPS's fault. 

The shipping is horrible. I got this the day after it was released so I had to buy directly from Corsair's site and although all my other parts were here, I had to wait another 3 days to get my case. Thanks, Corsair! /sarcasm

 

 

I thought that this would be a perfect case for me, a guy who was looking for a windowed case at the $100 price point, and too bad I didn't know that the R4 had a windowed version or I would've gone with that. I'm not pleased with this case and I would not buy again compared to the competition at the mid-tower $100 range.

 

Features: 6/10

Durability: 5.5/10

Looks: 7.5

Easy to use: 7

 

OVERALL: 6.5/10

 

I expected better of you, Corsair.

[NInety]

Does durability really matter? It's not like you're going to take your PC into a war-zone.

[Sonefiler]

Does durability really matter? It's not like you're going to take your PC into a war-zone.

If you have a heavy heatsink it means a lot. Also my front fan grill doesn't click in properly anymore because it broke within 5 minutes of use (I was not even using it incorrectly or anything).

[NInety]

If you have a heavy heatsink it means a lot. Also my front fan grill doesn't click in properly anymore because it broke within 5 minutes of use (I was not even using it incorrectly or anything).

Wow.... Corsair really cut back on their case quality.....

[Sonefiler]

Wow.... Corsair really cut back on their case quality.....

I really hope it's only for this case because of the competing NZXT H440. Corsair needs to get their shit back together.

[Hunter259]

Probably should have put this in Member reviews but a good review none the less.

[Enderman]

Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean everyone will too. There are plenty of people who bought this case and are happy with it...

Many of your cons are something you should have researched before buying the case. Why are you complaining about it not having triple rad support, or visible 5.25" bays, or no sound dampening, when you can easily look at pictures or specs BEFORE BUYING it.

This is like someone buying a red car and complaining about it not being blue.

Seriously, know what you are purchasing before purchasing it...

Also if you had done your research you would know that corsair AiOs do not come with screws for push-pull fan configs. You need to buy your own m4 screws at the right length.

[unsubscribed]

Flimsy HDD tray, meh. I am waiting for mine CM 690 III. So far best value case. Includes a budget water cooler too. Though that will be sold off and will use Hyper 212 for my Xeon build instead.

[lachyman]

This case supports 360mm rads.

[CommonCurt]

I was so upset when I saw the 450d. When I first heard they were making it I was like "YES, Corsair is finally making a Obsidian model in the size I want".

Then it comes out with a different looking front plate, and seems to not be of the same quality as the rest of the Obsidian line.

[mikeeginger]

Why this over the Phanteks Enthoo Pro

 

seems Corsair dropped  the ball on this one

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhmn21ylkc

[daemonowner]

Flimsy HDD tray, meh. I am waiting for mine CM 690 III. So far best value case. Includes a budget water cooler too. Though that will be sold off and will use Hyper 212 for my Xeon build instead.

I have one thing to say. Enthoo Pro.