Product Listing

Corsair Obsidian Series 550D - The Quiet One

By Kenny Yeo - 4 Jul 2012
Launch SRP: S$219

Internal Design

Internal Design

The first thing you’ll notice as you attempt to peel open the Corsair Obsidian Series 550D is its unique one-button side panel removal system. On most casings, side panels are secured by way of thumbscrews, but with the Corsair 550D, a single push of a button is all it takes to remove the side panels - very convenient for those who are constantly upgrading their components or love tinkering with their setup. 

With the side panels out of the way, we were greeted by a spacious motherboard tray area. Corsair says the 550D will be able to accommodate graphics cards of up to 452mm in length (is there even a graphics card this long?) and judging from first impressions, we have no reason to disbelieve them.

Installation is a mostly tool-free affair since optical drives are installed simply by sliding them into the respective drive bay and then locking them in place using the clips, while hard drives can be installed by fitting them into the brackets and then sliding them into the hard drive cage itself. Unfortunately, there’s no specialized brackets for smaller 2.5-inch SSDs, so you’ll have to use screws to secure them to the hard drive racks yourself first before installing them into the cage.

Possibly the only time you’ll need to bring the screwdriver out is when installing the motherboard, since that requires your trusty standoffs and screws. Speaking of installing the motherboard, we found that there’s sufficient cutouts in the motherboard tray for cable routing. There’s also a fair amount of space behind the motherboard tray too, so it shouldn’t be too much of a squeeze as long as you make sure you are tidy in your routing.

In closing, installing components in the Corsair 550D was a fuss-free experience. For a mid-tower casing, the 550D is pretty spacious and should please enthusiasts with even the most extreme setups.

The internals of the Corsair 550D is spacious and has a neat and logical layout. 

The motherboard tray has numerous cutoffs for cable management.

There's enough space near the top of the casing for a 240mm liquid-cooling radiator. Corsair designed the 550D such that it can accommodate Corsair's own Hydro series <a href="http://www.corsair.com/en/cpu-cooling-kits/hydro-series-water-cooling-cpu-cooler/hydro-series-h100-extreme-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler.html">liquid-cooling setups</a>.

Optical drives can be easily installed simply by sliding them into the drive bays and securing them with the clips. Hard drives are installed using the provided brackets.

Slip these brackets onto your hard drive and slide them into the hard drive cage and you're good to go. There's no special brackets for smaller SSDs, so you'll have to screw them to the brackets.

The PSU bay is pretty spacious and features rubber standoffs to insulate vibrations. There's also mounting points for another bottom intake fan. Corsair has also provided a dust filter that extends throughout the entire base of the casing, good for both the PSU and bottom intake fan.

A look at the Corsair 550D with all the major components installed. There's tons of space even after installing an 11-inch long Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card.

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8.5
  • Aesthetics 9
  • Functionality 9
  • Usability 8.5
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Excellent build quality
Spacious, neat internals
One button side panel removal
Quiet operation
The Bad
Not hot swappable dock
Only two USB ports on the front I/O panel
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