More often than not we get the pleasure of testing some of the hottest PC components. From processors to graphics cards, these can sometimes go for well over the $500 mark. And while these very expensive parts are usually targeted at gamers and the enthusiast crowd, you will find it rare to have this same group spending as much on other parts like a case, for example.

I have admittedly been guilty of spending $200 on a case myself, though at first instance walking away from such purchase left me with a rather funny feeling, like I had just been conned or something. But thankfully the purchase turned out to be well worthwhile, and I have never had to look back. Now imagine spending even more, and it’s the same scary thought all over again.

This crossed our mind when presented with the Corsair Obsidian 800D which is currently selling for almost $300 US. However believe it or not, there are quite a few cases selling in this price range and well above it. Some of the better examples include the Silverstone TJ09, Lian-Li PC-B71, Antec Twelve Hundred and Cooler Master Cosmos, all of which are full tower cases.

So what does the Obsidian 800D offer for this kind of money? This quickly turned out to be our primary focus as the case was removed from its enormous box. Having finally removed the packaging, we proceeded to lift the 15.8kg slab of case and dumped it on the nearest desk.

Already a few things were apparent other than the fact that the Obsidian 800D is one seriously heavy case. Although aimed at gamers Corsair has not gone silly with the Obsidian 800D in an effort to try and make it look too aggressive. Rather they have taken a similar approach to that of Lian-Li and Silverstone giving the Obsidian 800D a more stylish and sleek design.

Based on a steel structure the Obsidian 800D has a matte black coating both inside out and is finished with a brushed aluminum faceplate for that professional look. Making this a true enthusiast case is the windowed side panel so users can show off all their hard work. There are many more impressive design features that we are going to now show you...

Unfortunately, due to its massive size and the fact that Corsair manufactured the Obsidian 800D largely from steel, it weighs a hefty 15.8kg, making it heavier than many other full tower cases as well. Even though 15.8kg is not an outrageous weight for a full size ATX case, it still makes the Obsidian 800D a little too heavy for a gaming computer that is going to get moved around a lot.

The Obsidian 800D is available exclusively in black with a case window. Although the design does appear very simple, it is far from boring, and the matte black paint job gives it a very stealthy look that will appeal to those after a more subtle design. The front bezel looks very slick, as you will see in the various pictures provided, and there are no visible I/O connections featured on the front of the case.

There is no real defining characteristic on the front panel of the Obsidian 800D case. There is a large built-in aluminum door that measures 15cm wide x 16.5cm tall. Pressing the door opens it and doing so exposes four unusual looking trays. Each tray has its own release mechanism that allows the tray to slide out.

These four trays are for hot-swappable SATA hard drives that provide users with a very quick and easy way to install hard drives. Our only gripe here is that there are just four of them, at least six would have been ideal.

Above the hot-swappable SATA hard drives are five 5.25” external drive bays. The front bezel itself is not easily removed though removal is required to access the last two 3.5” drive bays. The bezel is removed using physical force by pulling it off and this was a little difficult at first. The only other noticeable detail on the front of the case is a power button in the top left hand corner, which is accompanied by a small white activity light.

However there is one last hidden door on the front of the Obsidian 800D which hides the I/O panel. Behind this door we have a total of four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port and two audio jacks, along with the reset button. The only thing missing from the lineup is an eSATA port, which is both surprising and disappointing.

At the top of the Obsidian 800D we have three 120mm fan grills which do not come loaded with fans. Rather, as standard the honeycomb grills simply act as ventilation, while providing the user with the ability to install more fans if they choose. The right hand side door is completely featureless and measuring 59cm x 57cm it is just a huge matte black panel.

The bottom of the Obsidian 800D is a little different, as it features a huge dust filter that measures 38cm long x 18cm wide. This filter is designed to stop the power supply from collecting dust from the floor, while also preventing any dust from working its way into the case. Again there is a great deal of honeycomb ventilation in the bottom of the case.

Around the back the Obsidian 800D looks much like any other full tower case, though we should point out that the matte black paint job is also continued around to the rear. At the very top we have another large honeycomb grill which has two large buttons either side of it. Pressing these buttons will allow the user to quickly and easily remove the case doors, which is quite an impressive design element.

Below the honeycomb grill is a pair of circular 20mm rubber grommets designed to allow users to externally mount water cooling radiators. Further down we have the standard I/O panel slot, along with a 14cm grill which is paired with a fan. There are seven motherboard expansion brackets and at the very bottom of the case a power supply bracket.

The Obsidian 800D provides plenty of room for cable management, a means for installing any CPU cooler without having to remove the motherboard, as well as quick access to the drive bays.

Using an intelligent tool-less design, the 5.25” drive bays offer an ultra quick and reliable way to install and remove devices. Unlike many other tool-less designs that are clumsy and impractical, this design actually works very well. Of course the majority of the hard drive bays are accessible externally, though there is room for two more 3.5” drives to be installed internally.

There is a massive rectangular hole in the motherboard tray which is located behind where the CPU would be positioned on the motherboard measuring 20cm by 15cm. This hole is designed to give users access to the rear of the CPU socket, allowing for the installation or removal of heatsinks that would normally require the entire motherboard to be removed first. This is a simple yet amazingly useful design feature that should be part of all computer cases.

Surrounding the motherboard tray is a large number of rectangular holes featuring rubber grommets that are meant to improve cable management by allowing all the excess cables to be tucked away safely behind the motherboard tray. There is quite a lot of room back here and we found it possible to stash a large amount of power cables along with SATA and USB cables.

The Obsidian 800D offers a decent number of expansion slots, though it is fair to say that we did expect more from such a large full tower ATX case. In total the case can support six 3.5” drives, five 5.25” devices, and seven PCI expansion slots.

In terms of cooling the Obsidian 800D is also a little underwhelming, with just three 140mm fans included in the package. There is little air-flow being directed into the Obsidian 800D, while there is just a single exhaust fan. The ability to install three more 140mm exhaust fans does exist, while it is not possible to install anymore in-take fans.

The Obsidian 800D has been designed with the intention of installing the power supply at the bottom of the case. Corsair has provided more than enough room to install large 1000w plus power supplies if need be.

Perhaps the biggest advantage to the Obsidian 800D is its cable management design, which is quite simply first class. Those that enjoy creating a clean system build will love the Obsidian 800D, as no other case caters for the clean freak quite like this.

In total there are 14 holes in the motherboard tray for cable management, 13 of which feature rubber grommets. Some are even under the motherboard, meaning it is possible to run certain thinner cables from under the motherboard making them almost unseen.

The easily accessible hot-swappable hard drive bays sped the process up, as did the power supply bracket and the tool-less 5.25” device expansion slots. The motherboard slotted into place easy enough and with the memory and CPU/cooler already installed, half the job was already done. Next was the power supply, which was locked into position in seconds. Being a modular power supply we only needed to connect the power cables that were going to be used.

In total four SATA hard drives were installed for RAID0, and again this was done quickly and effortlessly without even having to remove the case door. The drives each screw into their own mounting bracket which then slides into the bay, locking into place.

That said, the SATA data and power cables are connected from within the case, meaning that the left case door must be removed for installation. Corsair has supplied custom black power and data cables for these drives.

The three case fans must be connected to the motherboard, as Corsair has not supplied 4-pin adapters so that they can be connected directly to the power supply. Still, any and all excess connectors and cables do fit perfectly behind the motherboard tray. In fact, I found tons of room behind the motherboard tray, which helped to create a very clean install.

Installing the massive Radeon HD 5970 graphics card was done easily and with room to spare. Length-wise there was loads of room to fit this high-end graphics card, with about 70mm still left behind it. Fitting SLI/Crossfire cards in the Obsidian 800D is feasible and due to the layout of this case even 3-way SLI will be a possibility.

Although we did pre-install the CPU cooler to the motherboard before installation, it was later removed once the board was installed into the case and then re-installed to check just how well the rear motherboard door worked. As we expected this worked like a charm, allowing us easy access to the rear of the motherboard. Regardless of what motherboard you are using, we believe this door is big enough to accommodate for all.

Whenever we review a new high-end ultra expensive case that looks more striking than the last, there are always a few minor design issues that annoy us. Granted many of them are aesthetic issues, we simply do not care because when spending over $200 US on a case, you want it to look good, as that is the point when spending so much on a box to house all the expensive bits.

Of course cooling performance and features are also important, but if you do not agree with the case's looks, then it’s hard to justify buying it in the first place. The Cooler Master ATCS 840 that we reviewed earlier this year did feature a design that should appeal to most. However with its raw steel hind and internals, this $200 case did not feel complete.

Around the same time we checked out the Thermaltake Spedo with the Advance Package for $200 US, which was given a nice paint job inside and out. Still, it was the little things that kept nagging away at us, like the standard I/O cables that were beige and stood out like a sore thumb. Still, at $200 US both the ATCS 840 and Spedo are considerably cheaper than the Obsidian 800D, which is currently retailing for $280 US.

So what do you get for that extra $80 US or so? For one, the Obsidian 800D provides significantly better cable management, though that means a few extra holes with grommets so that’s not really going to add much to the design cost. What will are the hot-swappable bays and we really love this design aspect of the Obsidian 800D. Sadly with just 4-bays the design is not nearly as effective as it could have been with at least six.

The only other real difference is the impressive matte black paint job, which covers every inch of the case along with the custom cabling, which is also featured throughout the case. In terms of size the Obsidian 800D also wins, featuring the biggest dimensions of any full tower we have reviewed before. Perhaps the only aspect of the Obsidian 800D that has us a little concerned is in fact the cooling department.

With just three 140mm fans, the Obsidian 800D is quite underwhelming when compared to other full tower cases. The Cooler Master ATCS 840 for example features four fans, three of which are 230mm in size! The Thermaltake Spedo does not mess around either, with a grand total of five fans with two of them as large as 230mm.

So really, the Obsidian 800D is lacking here and we are particularly concerned with the lack of in-take fans. While it is possible to add four more 140mm fans, they are all exhaust fans. The other problem is four more decent 140mm fans will cost you around $60 - $80 US, taking the total cost of the case up to around $350 US, so this is certainly something worth keeping in mind.

Cooling aside, the Obsidian 800D is a very well thought out case and from a case modders perspective we feel there could be no better option. Working with the Obsidian 800D was a joy and we actually had fun building our gaming system with this case, a task that has not been all that enjoyable for sometime given how often we do it. The Obsidian 800D actually makes building a messy system very difficult and this certainly is a very rare ability for a case.

Overall, if you are looking for a sleek case that is well built with all the features you could possibly need, the Corsair Obsidian 800D is certainly worth checking out. Of course, like all high-end products the Obsidian 800D is not exactly affordable, with a retail price tag of $280 US, making it more likely to only be featured in most users 'dream PC' rather than the one they are forced to use on a daily basis.

Reviewed By Steven Walton