Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The new Obsidian is a pretty awesome chassis. The side-panel door concept that can open up at the front side and fitted with tempered glass really is the icing on top of the cake. Design and looks, however, are personal. I totally dig the dark looks, but then again some might disagree with me. When I focus on build quality, I can't complain there either. The brushed aluminum can smudge a bit with fingerprints, but it's easy to clean and, well, the nature of that material and finish of course. With just two SP120 fans I was a bit worried about airflow, but it just isn't an issue as there is plenty of extra space to vent air at most edges and corners. The all-dark inside and ability to hide cables will complement your components and LED style/coloring. The 500D is a mid-tower case, it'll fit pretty much all components just fine including three SSDs and two HDDs.

 It's a little tight down there, and we miss an extra grommet hole for the HD audio cable.

You do need to be aware of the fact that the case houses up-to ATX motherboards, anything larger in form factor would become an issue. Our standard ATX sized MSI Z270 Gaming M7 did fit, yet precisely. I would have liked to have seen a bit more clearance on the bottom side. Since it was so tight to the HD-AUDIO motherboard connector, the cable also became visible, as I could not route it towards any other place other than the grommet hole to the right side of the PSU cover. Minor stuff, but hey... relevant. 

You'd expect that airflow would be a conundrum, yet it works out really well by having a huge air outlet on all sides. And all that combined with dark tempered glass on both sides makes this chassis mysterious to look at, it really has terrific looks.

The Corsair Obsidian 500D does pretty much everything you need or require. The airflow is done right, the space (albeit limited to regular ATX motherboards) offers plenty of options, features like the SSD/HDD space, ease of use and USB 3.0 ports and even a 3.1 Gen 2 connector port are all available as well. Lacking, however, is an integrated fan controller, then again these days you can control it all on your motherboard. 

Aesthetics

We've addressed this topic many times now, but sure, I really like the 500D with its intense dark feel and see-through finish with the side doors, you can't argue taste as it is the most subjective thing and does not make the job of a reviewer any easier. Some will dislike it, and others will love this chassis for its looks. Each and every little aspect of the chassis has been thought through really well. The design of the chassis has been made to make your life a little easier while combining the best features an enthusiast crowd seeks in a chassis. The tempered glass will make you look inside at the belly of that beast you've created, normally dangerous but there are many spots and tricks to hide cables. Although at the bottom side, I would have liked to have seen one more grommet hole on the PSU cover to route the audio connector cable. Also great is that everything is black, from the dust filters to USB 3.0/3.1 integration and rubberized grommet holes. The glass panels obviously give it finished looks, the doors, however, are a brilliant feature to have. 

Features

The internals are pretty good as well, normal ATX form factor motherboards will fit, the more lengthy graphics card will fit as well. There's also nice space for liquid cooling on the front side and top side, the drive bay has sufficient space for two HDDs and, behind the motherboard, the back-plate can hold three SSDs. The chassis has a nice motherboard cutout. At the back side, I would have liked to have seen a bit more clearance for cable routing. Right now it's roughly 2cm, whereas 3cm would likely have been the yellow brick road to follow. I say this because if you have a lot of wires to deal with, you'll put pressure on the side panel door, that door would remain open as it is secured by, overall, strong enough magnets, but you really need to think through the rear side cable management alright. Nice to see are the all-dark cables and connectors as well as the rubberized grommet holes, in that all-black interior. A nice touch is the ability to hide cables behind the cover at the backside and of course the shielded power supply compartment. 

The Verdict

The new Obsidian 500D is an awesome looking and properly built quality product. A nice dark black design will be greeting you each and every day. The two doors that can be opened up at the front side are brilliant, and being fitted with coated tempered glass gives it just the right looks and functionality to easily access your components without the use of thumbscrews and what not. As mentioned, I would have liked a bit more clearance at that bottom side for the motherboard as well as a nicer option to route stuff like the audio motherboard front IO cable (see uppermost photo). I know this is nagging a bit, but as intricate as that is, it bothered me. Also, the right, or motherboard back side if you like to call it that, could have used an extra centimeter of clearance for a bit more spacing for cable routing. If you have a lot of wires, you could quickly run out of clearance/spacing with the risk that you cannot close that right side panel. Right now, you really have to think through that routing. Make no mistake, it can be done, really. My negative comments have to end there though, as I feel the Corsair Obsidian 500D is a thing of beauty. It is silent, has nice airflow, fits pretty much any LCS kit or radiator and simply looks stunning. Throw in some RGB LED lights or the Corsair ML RGB fans and wow, just wow. The dark design and flexibility with the tempered glass doors is something that is going to please many. Overall the chassis is easy to use and fairly maintenance free with the easy to clean magnet based dust-filters. You have enough storage options alongside. The airflow honestly is plenty enough for any decent build, the air intakes and exhausts are to be found throughout the body and edges. Being a mid-tower, you cannot mount a 360 mm rad at the top, but then again there is space for that at the front-side. In the end, this chassis is unique, the two SP120 fans, when configured with a normal or silent fan profile in your System BIOS, will be totally silent as well. 

Would we recommend the Corsair Obsidian 500D? Well yes, very much so. The 500D is a daunting dark looking beast that oozes build quality. It comes with a nice feature-set and, aside from some minor points, overall it is just a great chassis. The tinted dark tempered glass doors and aluminum finishes are the icing on top of the proverbial cake, of course. We give it a top pick award, but do issue cautionary advice about the back side cable routing clearance, you need to think that process through well and, as such, we hope to see a bit more clearance with future models.

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