Corsair Carbide 300R and Obsidian 550D Review

Name: Corsair Obsidian 550D
Brand: Corsair

by Seth Colaner — Thursday, April 05, 2012, 12:08 PM EDT

Corsair Obsidian 550D: Specs and Features

Page 3: Corsair Obsidian 550D: Specs and Features

When you first behold the Corsair Obsidian 550D, you quickly see that, in contrast to the decidedly mesh-tastic 300R, the 550D is built with solid panes of steel (and brushed aluminum, on the front) with little room for daylight to peek through to the case’s interior. That’s because the 550D is designed primarily for sweet silence, with plenty of noise-reducing material padding the sides and front of the case, with dampers keeping vibration noise to a minimum at most mounting points.

Corsair Obsidian 550D

Specifications & Features

Warranty:
Dimensions:
MB Support:
Expansion Slots:
Form Factor:
Material:
Drive Bays:
Cooling:

Front I/O:
Power Supply:

Two years
20.9” x 8.7” x 19.5”
ATX, mATX
8
Mid-tower
Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate
(x4) 5.25”, (x6) 3.5”/2.5” Drive Caddies
(x6) 120/140mm Fans, (x2) 120mm Fans,
Includes (x2) front-mounted 120mm fans and (x1) rear 120mm fan
(x2) USB 3.0, (x1) Headphone, (x1) Mic
ATX (not included)

Corsair pitches this chassis as not only an option for a silent system, but also one that has plenty of expandability and can accommodate a liquid cooling system. Indeed, there are four 5.25-inch drive bays with tool-less locking mechanisms and a total of six 3.5-inch bays--two cages containing three bays each--for all the drives you could reasonably want in a single system. Like the 300R, the 550D’s HDD trays can handle 2.5-inch drives with a couple of screws and no adapters, so there are no issues with popping in an SSD or two.

There are eight expansions slots, as well as plenty of room up top for a 240mm Hydra radiator if you want to go the liquid cooling route. If instead you prefer to stick with air cooling, the 550D has mounts for a total of eight fans--six 120mm/140mm and two 120mm. Two intake fans on the front of the case and one exhaust fan in the rear are included with the chassis.

The front I/O panel sports power and reset buttons, mic and headphone jacks, and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. There’s nothing too fancy there, but it has all the essentials--in particular, the USB 3.0 ports over USB 2.0 are most welcome. The I/O panel is gray in color with a metallic finish, which is a striking look against the dark brushed-metal front panel.

In terms of accessories, there are no surprises--just several bags of screws, zip ties, a USB 3.0 adapter, and some cable mounts. Let's go inside for a look around...