Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini-ITX Chassis Review

Peter Donnell / 11 years ago

Final Thoughts

Price

For around £71.99 from Overclockers UK the 250D is great value for money, of course it isn’t particularly cheap either but the build quality and style alone easily justify the cost. It’s competitively priced too, given that the nearest rivals, the Prodigy and the DeadSilence cost about the same. This is great, because it means that personal taste will help you pick the brand you want rather than budget differences.

Overview

Corsair have really pulled out all the stop on the 250D, it’s really well designed, has the solid build quality we’ve come to love and expect from the Obsidian range, the price isn’t too high, and it offers a few extra touches that make it unique in a busy part of the chassis market.

The design really is the big selling point here, keeping the style of the big Obsidian cases is something that will please the Corsair enthusiasts. I personally have the 750D for my gaming rig, having this at the other side of the room for a HTPC / SteamBox would make them feel like a perfect set, Corsair have ditched the now ageing USB 2.0 ports for USB 3.0, and have kept the whole front panel neat and tidy with very few inputs and outputs, again something that makes it more presentable to stick next to your home entertainment system rather than next to a desk.

There is a lot of free space within the chassis that could have been better utilised, such as behind the front panel there is a huge blank area that could easily seat two extra 2.5″ hard drives should Corsair have provided a couple of screw holes. The open area does allow for great airflow though and while the gap could have been make shorter, this would have limited GPU length, so that’s hardly a waste of space, but the option for more than four hard drives would have been great for those building a HTPC / NAS.

Ventilation is brilliant, a huge front fan intake, long intakes on the left and right side and the PSU air intake are all ventilated with easily removable covers that either clip into place, slide into place or are held in place with magnetic strips. Maintaining the chassis should be a breeze and keeping the airflow high shouldn’t be an issue for those that need to. There is plenty of room for a good size CPU cooler, or a slim radiator if you’re feeling adventurous, not sure the twin 80mm fan mounts at the back will really be needed given the already competent ventilation options, but it’s better to have them and not need them either way.

The top panel window is a big focal point of the design, it’s something a little different from what we usually see, I don’t think I’ve ever had a chassis that was fitted with a top window, it’s just a shame it doesn’t slide open like a sunroof, now that would have been cool!

Pros

Exceptional build quality
Versatile fan mounting options
Washable air filters on every major intake
Cool top panel window
Sleek aluminium front panel
USB 3.0 support
Removable 5.25″ bay

Cons

Four hard drive bays, only two of which are 3.5″, may be limiting for some users

“Those looking for a style and compact gaming build will love the 250D, it has room for a powerful graphics card and enough airflow to ensure things don’t get too hot when your in the heat of battle. It’s scaled down design and sleek looks making idea for anything from a LAN gaming rig to a HTPC.”