Corsair just announced the Obsidian Air 540D case at COMPUTEX 2013 show. What's special about this case is that it is optimized for airflow from front to back without any restrictions and you can computer hide the cable clutter behind the motherboard tray. Only Silverstone's Raven RV03 offered such benefits before this.
The PSU and the drive cages are computers hidden behind the motherboard tray. That means, there is a lot of space behind the motherboard tray. In fact, the case is fat. It is wider than your usually case.
The Raven RV03 came with a lot f restrictions because of its design. You cannot install a tall tower air cooler, nor a dual 120mm radiator, nor a single or dual 140mm radiator. But that is not a problem with the Corsair Obsidian Air 540D. This case is not long, because the hard drive cages are no there in front of the case. So basically, all you have on the front of the left hand side is fans. Those fans directly feed cool air to the video card, the CPU and the other components. There aren't any restrictions. You don't have to run your fans at full speed either. So it is a much quieter case. The front panel and the drive cages, along with the PSU at the back are all on the right hand side of the case. That compartment is completely shielded off from the motherboard tray. Well, there are of course cable management holes.
Pics courtesy of Techpowerup. Head here for more pics and information.
But there is one issue. The case in not long, which means that of you have a large PSU with a gazillion of cables coming out of it, it would look cramped up. Not sure if the drives would have enough room for breathing. With a small (<1000w) PSU, it won't be a problem though. Plus, a modular PSU definitely would help. I am so mad that I didn't get a modular PSU when I bought mine. I was so blinded by the low price I paid for the PSU. Stupid me!
wow love the first pict
ReplyDeleteIt's hardcore. 4 way SLI XD
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