Inside The 450D
Like previous Obsidian cases we've reviewed, the 450D's internal workings are masterful. In our opinion, this is about as close to perfection as you are going to get out of a mid-sized tower case. The fan cables are black, the I/O cables are black, the fans are black and the internal paint job is – go figure – matte black. Corsair didn't cut many corners as nearly every component has been customized for this case.
Using an intelligent tool-less design, the dual 5.25" drive bays offer an ultra-quick and reliable way to install and remove devices. While the majority of the tool-less designs we've used are clumsy and impractical, this design actually works very well.
The 3.5" drive cage supports three drives and features quick release cradles that support both 3.5" and 2.5" drives. Given the price tag, we hoped these bays were hot-swappable, but this isn't the case, sadly.
Furthermore, we were surprised to find that the 450D supports just three 3.5" drives out of the box given its price tag and the fact that this is a mid-tower. We say out of the box because you can purchase another identical 3.5" drive cage to the one that comes with the case and install that above it. For the $10 that this extra drive cage costs we would have really liked to have seen this included. Supporting six 3.5" drives should be a standard feature for a mid-tower.
Moving on there is a massive 7.6" by 6" rectangular hole in the motherboard tray located where the CPU would be positioned, offering easy heatsink installations and removals. As we've said in previous reviews, this is becoming somewhat of a mainstay for all enthusiast-grade chassis, so it's no shock to see it here.
Perhaps the Obsidian 450D's biggest advantage is its first class cable management. Folks with a meticulous penchant for cleanliness will love Corsair's Obsidian series as it's virtually unrivalled in this department.
Surrounding the motherboard tray is four large rectangular holes with rubber grommets that improve cable management by allowing all the excess cables to be tucked away safely behind the motherboard tray.
Behind the motherboard you will also find two tool-less 2.5" drive cages designed to house a pair of SSDs.
Corsair has also made sure there is plenty of room for users wanting to install Crossfire or SLI graphics cards, with a maximum GPU length of 430mm on offer. The maximum CPU cooler height is also quite generous allowing for 165mm of headroom, which is enough to accommodate massive high-end air-coolers such as the Prolimatech Megahalems.
There is also plenty of cooling on offer for a relatively small mid-tower case, with a 120mm rear exhaust fan and two 140mm front-mounted intake fans.
The 450D has been designed with the intention of installing the power supply at the bottom of the case and Corsair has provided more than enough room to install PSUs upwards of 1000W with 200mm of headroom.