Review: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D: the chassis for real builders

by Parm Mann on 19 August 2009, 11:45 4.05

Tags: Obsidian Series 800D, Corsair

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qatgn

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Final thoughts and rating

When Corsair set out to make its first chassis, it clearly aimed big - and the Obsidian Series 800D is mammoth. Its features are plentiful, and practically everything is provided in excess quantities.

Some might say it's a ludicrous solution that nobody really needs in the midst of a global recession. Well, perhaps, but then Ferrari is still producing cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and they continue to sell. Point is, manufacturers must know their customers, and to Corsair's credit, it's well aware that its keenest enthusiasts want kit which mainstream purchasers might consider superfluous in every way.

For most users, whether they know about them or not, (and many won’t) esoteric features such as hot-swappable drive bays probably aren't considered essential. Those same people might not need or understand the benefit of room for three massive 140mm fans and four 120mm fans. And the same could be said of the abundance of well-thought-out cable-management options which the Obsidian Series 800D undoubtedly features. Many more people might conclude that a chassis which stands over 600mm tall is simply too large for their requirements. All of those people may be stupefied by the thought of spending £210 on a PC chassis. If any of that applies to you, you're clearly not Corsair's target market - though, rest assured, that it does have plans to introduce smaller chassis further down the line for the more conservative and mainstream users.

Yes, the Obsidian Series 800D is an extreme product for extreme PC gamers and power users – possibly the most extreme in both counts!

So, if you're known (or you want to be known...) by your mates as a ‘hardcore enthusiast’, money may be of no object and you may need, or just want, a chassis with oodles of room to work with; in which you'll want to be able to fit pretty much as many cooling fans as you're ever likely to need. Then you’re probably the same person who’ll want to use three-way ATI CrossFireX or NVIDIA SLI without running out of space and you'll also want all your cables hidden neatly out of view - so as not to disturb your glowing neon or UV light show - plus you'll want a chassis that has people saying "wow, that's BIG!". If that sounds like you, then Corsair's Obsidian Series 800D is built for you and you’ll almost certainly appreciate and enjoy everything it offers.

It may be Corsair's first attempt at a chassis, and it isn't without its flaws, but it's exactly what Corsair says it is: “a full-featured full-tower for real builders.”

HEXUS Rating

We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.

The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the Obsidian Series 800D is evaluated with respect to our 'high-end components' criteria.

81%

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D


HEXUS Awards

Corsair has arrived on the chassis scene with big ideas, and its no-holds-barred approach is worthy of recommendation.


Corsair Obsidian Series 800D


HEXUS Where2Buy

The Corsair Obsidian Series 800D chassis is currently on pre-order from Scan.co.uk* for £209.99.

*As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

External Links

Official Corsair Obsidian Series 800D product page



HEXUS Forums :: 30 Comments

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OMG i fell in love with that, and it seems it can take my PA120.3 in the top and maybe the pa 160 in the bottom :)
Tarinder
We'd have liked to have seen a little more flair thrown in, perhaps in the form of more curves, or maybe even a larger back-lit Corsair logo?
Oh God no. Tarinder, I thought you were a man out to save Hexus! Don't succumb to the shiny light lovers. :(

It's a case. I don't want tacky lights in a £200 case - I want a case that can be as good as it can be.

Desperately needs an eSata port though. It's a huge omission. This isn't aimed at half-assed enthusiasts - this is for people who'd use features like eSata frequently. It's completely unforgivable in a chassis in mid-2009 at this price.

Impressive, and they've launched it near to the high-end Lian-Li and Silverstone cases… it's just not quite there yet.

All decent chassis should have hot-swappable docks for SATA hard drives now. There's no reason to have to mount drives internally, so long as there's a means to mount 2.5" drives (even if it's brackets).
this_is_gav
Oh God no. Tarinder, I thought you were a man out to save Hexus! Don't succumb to the shiny light lovers. :(

QFT

Nuts to flashy lights and naff moulded plastic bits, that's exactly what a high end case should be like.
One of Hexus' higher scores? Didn't expect that reading the text!
kalniel
One of Hexus' higher scores? Didn't expect that reading the text!

It's Corsair.