Final thoughts and rating
Corsair's Obsidian 700D full-tower chassis is a slightly trimmed-down version of the 800D that was launched in mid-2009. Sharing the same construction and differentiated by the newer model being specified without hot-swap drive-bays and a windowed side panel, the 700D's lineage means that it has very solid underpinnings.The good is bountiful, including cavernous interior; the best cable-management system we've seen; well-thought-out cooling zones; cutout for through-the-motherboard heatsinks and decent airflow. Perhaps most importantly of all, it's an absolute doddle to build into, and it's practically impossible to have an ugly-looking installation.
Being based almost wholly on the 800D's design means that the newest Obsidian still isn't perfect. There's no front-mounted eSATA port, if that matters to you, and squashing all the cables on to one side can cause the panel to bulge.
But our overall thoughts are still very much positive. The removal of a couple of features - hot-swap bays and window - drops price by around £40, to £190, bringing it within the range of a few more customers.
Corsair's appreciated that the 800D has worked well and so the Obsidian 700D's arrival is no real surprise. Prefering clean lines to superfluous features, we think it's a better chassis for the changes, but what we really want to see is a mid-sized Obsidian offering priced at below £150. Care to oblige, Corsair?
The Good
Awesome cable-management system
Extremely easy to build into
Cut-out for through-the-motherboard cooler mounting
Cooling zones work well
The not so good
No front-mounted eSATA port...still
£200 for a mostly-steel chassis is expensive
HEXUS Rating
Corsair Obsidian 700D chassis
HEXUS Awards
Corsair Obsidian 700D chassis
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Corsair Obsidian 700D can be purchased from the following reputable etailers:
|
|
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. |
| £189.91 | |
| £186.83 (pre-order) | |
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.
