Corsair States Its Cases at CES 2012: Obsidian Series 550D and Carbide Series 300R

Corsair today announced on the second day of CES a couple of additions to its PC case lineup, including the builder-friendly Obsidian Series 550D ultra-quiet premium case, and the compact Carbide Series 300R gaming chassis, both of which sport an all-black interior and exterior theme. So other than size, what sets these enclosures apart?


The Obsidian Series 550D is for librarian types looking for a combination of noise reduction and a wide array of customizable cooling solutions. It's made of rugged steel and brushed aluminum, and features two 120mm intake fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan. There are additional mounting points for a total of up to ten fans, including a spot for dual side-mounted fans to keep those toasty GPUs from getting too hot under the collar. Speaking of which, there are eight expansion slots with room for GPUs of up to 450mm in length.

Other features include a CPU cutout to make it easier to install heastinks, tool-free HDD bays with removable caddies and integrated 2.5-inch SSD support, four tool-free ODD bays, magnetically mounted dust filters, side panels that flip open with the press of a button, and a diamond cut aluminum front control panel with USB 3.0 connectors.


Moving on, the Carbide Series 300R boasts three tool-free optical and four hard drive bays (also with 2.5-inch SSD compatibility), and it too supports graphics cards up to 450mm in length. It has a cable routing system to keep the interior from becoming a cluster-fudge of wires.

"Inexpensive, compact cases often fall short in builder-friendly features, airflow, or the cosmetic features that make great gaming PCs really stand out," continued Mr. Mookerjee. "The Carbide Series 300R hits the mark for an affordable, enthusiast-quality compact PC case. Its innovative features will be appreciated by both seasoned system builders and PC gamers who are taking the leap and building their first system from scratch."

The Obsidian Series 550D ($159) and Carbide Series 300R ($89) will both be available in February.