Corsair Obsidian 550D: Starting to Specialize
by Dustin Sklavos on March 29, 2012 3:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and full ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| Accessories | Corsair Link |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 750W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Corsair for providing us with the Corsair Link kit.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
59 Comments
View All Comments
cbgoding - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
Why do reviewers throw a ton of voltage at a chip for a weak overclock? 1.38v is what I use to hit 4.9GHz. Just strikes me as weird.Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
1. Stability.2. Ease of testing. For the case, whether or not the overclock itself is fast is irrelevant, we're just looking to see how it dissipates the heat.
compudaze - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
Not all chips are created equal. I have had one 2600K that hit 4.8GHz on 1.32V while another took a whopping 1.48v to hit the same 4.8GHz. They call it the "silicon lottery" for a reason.pdjblum - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
There are still some of us who prefer aluminum to steel. What I am saying is that the material is as important to some of us as are the dimensions and other specs, so it would be great if it was also listed in an easy to find location.Rasterman - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
If you use quality fans at low speeds, there is no reason you need an isolation, dampening design to block noise, there simply is no noise. I went with a Lian Li AL case, short ATX, 2 unused 5.25 bays, it is absolutely silent at idle, plus it weighs less than 20# which makes moving it around a hell of a lot easier. Overclocked to 4.9GHz I don't need to ramp the fans for the CPU, I have a similar video card that does ramp though and it is by far the loudest thing at load, probably similar to this review.Iketh - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
You've never had a computer running on hard floors then...jabber - Friday, March 30, 2012 - link
So some form of dampening material under the PC is required?Cork tiles or suchlike.
I used to use a Mission Isoplat.
ssddaydream - Saturday, March 31, 2012 - link
I respectfully ask that you don't preach cases being "absolutely silent" when indeed they are not. I have worked with many components that advertise extremely quiet when they actually have very irritating noise characteristics.Your computer may be silent to your ears, but other people may have more acute hearing.
I have a "silent" computer- it uses absolutely no fans and it only uses an SSD (no conventional HDD). It, for all practical purposes, is silent. If you put your ear up to the power supply, you can barely hear the faint switching and other noise, which is measurable by my mic with RTA. In any case, I can't hear it when my ear is 5" or more from the PSU.
A case with conventional HDDs and fans is never silent- only quiet. How quiet is a matter of the listener unless measurements are taken.
I don't expect a detailed RTA analysis for case reviews, so I try to find the quietest gear available based on many people's reviews as well as professional reviews. Many sites that review case fans, etc, will post actual recorded noise so you can get an idea of the noise signature.
Unfortunately, the more powerful the computer, the more noise. I relocated some of my machines into a different building where I use Remote Desktop / VNC to access them.
Thanks Anandtech for bringing to light cases like this. I am all for acoustic and thermal comparisons and recommendations between any cases you guys have experience in.
haelio - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
"In terms of thermal performance, it's tough to make a direct comparison to Corsair's other cases."No it's not, you get other cases, put the same hardware in it and then take measurements again.
I've seen better case reviews by random purchasers on enthusiast forums. This was just a series of subjective opinions on the aesthetics and then a few graphs without any context, mention of the ambient temperatures or fan layout (presumably stock?).
I expect more from a site like Anandtech. If this review popped up on CNET I wouldn't be complaining.
For a better comparison of:
CPU temps: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/chassis/36473-corsai...
Noise: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/chassis/36473-corsai...
SilthDraeth - Thursday, March 29, 2012 - link
I have to agree with the above poster. Though, I am guessing you guys do not keep review hardware around forever. However, it would make sense to have a pretty standard case review test suite with a standardized hardware setup. Presumebly something you know will get quite hot in a poorly designed case.Then just keep that stuff in house and when new cases come for review, you pop the stuff in and run the tests, then you can easily pull up your numbers for other cases and compare and contrast.