Got a New Case!

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've been lusting after the Corsair Obsidian 650D case for some time now. I just hated to spend the time and money to mod it and move the innards of my present ring into it plus I really didn't have room although I recently worked out how to make room for it without knocking out any walls. I noticed late last week that Fry's had the 650D for the same price Amazon was selling it and for much less than NewEgg. I've learned that when Fry's is cheaper than Amazon or NewEgg, they are probably getting ready to discontinue it so, last Friday, I hauled my ample asset down to Fry's and got the last one they had other than the display model (which was in rather tough condition). I wanted to get the case locally instead of ordering it so, if there was any shipping damage (not to mention there is a lower likelihood of damage on a case bought locally), I went have to ship it back. That evening, I got online and order a right side panel (the one without the window since I don't like windows and I'm going to put a couple of fans in the left panel), a couple of HDD cages, three HDD trays, a 350D front panel connector assembly (so I can steal the USB 3.0 connector, cable, and header to replace the outmoded pass-through arrangement on the 650D), and some rubber feet to replace the original plastic ones.

I'm going to install a third HDD cage in the case but I also want to move the original two cages to the right of the case so both the floor mounted cages are the same distance from the side of the case (yes, I'm that anal). I also want to lower the two original HDD cages so the bottom two HHDs in the bottom cage are on the same level as the top two HDDs in the third cage. While part of my reason for that is appearance, the main reason is to allow air to pass through the front cage to the HHDs in the third cage. I don't need much to keep the HDDs cool but I will need some getting through from the front fan (I'm not worried about getting air to the bottom tray in the third cage since I will put my SSD there). Since I don't want six HDDs secured into the case with only four tiny screws in a plastic base, I also need to secure the top of the two front cages to the 5.25" cage. I also want to be able to remove the cages to get at the front fan in case I need to change back to a 20-25mm thick fan (more on that in a moment). I figured the easiest way to do that would be to cut the bottom off another HDD cage (the reason I ordered two) and mount it under the 5.25" cage using spacers to compensate for lowering the two front cages.

I had originally planned on replacing the front fan with a couple of 120mm fans but it was starting to look like a lot of work so I now plan on removing the front grill and replacing the stock 200mm fan with a modified CM Megaflow; it moves more air anyway. By mounting the front flange on the outside of the case front instead of on the inside, it will clear the HDD cages. I want to keep the cages removable so, if something goes wrong with the Megaflow or it just doesn't work out, I can go back to the original fan or another 20-25mm fan.

I'm wanting to put a total of six Xigmatek XAF-F1452 140mm Case Fans in the case—two on top, two on the left case side panel, and one on the rear of the case— and, possibly, a seventh one on the CPU cooler (I'm going to move the innards of the present rig to the new case). The Xigmateks have great air flow but only fair static pressure so they may not work well with my Gemini II S524 cooler, in which case I'll have to put the Gelid that is there now back on it. One reason I chose this fan (other than I like the appearance) is it can be mounted on either 120mm or 140mm fan mounting holes. That will allow me to mount one on the rear fan position. Being 140mm in diameter, it will cover the top and bottom rows of holes in the grill that is not covered by the stock 120mm fan (I need to seal as many air dust leaks as possible since dust is a huge problem where I live). I want 140mm fans since they are quieter than 120mm fans at the same CFM since they can run slower but can still get cranked up should I need more cooling during high usage periods. I also wanted all the fans to be the same (other than the front one; I'm staying with 200mm since it will require less surgery) and I wanted a 140mm at the back.

I need to put filters on the side fans but it's impossible to get the kind of filters I wanted in 140mm. However, there are some so called 140mm fan filters being sold that have mounting holes that are only 111mm apart instead of the normal 125mm for a 140mm fan. 111mm is too large for 120mm fan mounting holes—those are 105mm apart—but the Xigmatek fans have little ears that can be added to allow them to fit on 140mm fan mounting holes. Those ears have enough room on them to, hopefully, allow slotting the holes enough to let them fit on the 111mm spacing. They were cheap enough that I went ahead and ordered three of them (one for a spare) to see if they will work. If not, I can always use the readily available 120mm fan filters. I won't cut any holes in the side panel until I know which filter is going to work for me.

I haven't decided what to do about the top fans. That stupid mesh has got to go. It looks ok but I might as well dump dirt through it. The Koolance fan shroud would be the quick and dirty way to deal with it—just cutaway the grill and the side of the well it's in—but I don't really want or need that extra height (I won't be going underwater). The wells the screws go into are also little dust traps. I've though about putting a plate on top of the grill and riveting it in—that would look best—but getting an exact fit would be a bit...ah...challenging. I don't want to any filling there with Bondo or body solder since I want to avoid repainting the top (other than the plate); getting an exact color and texture match to the rest of the case would be pretty much impossible and I don't to repaint the entire case if at all possible (I'm not worried about the back and bottom since no one will see them so getting a close match to the existing paint is close enough). Another option would be to put a 1/4" aluminum plate on top of the case after cutting away the grill area. I could fasten that with screws coming up from below into tapped holes in the bottom of the plate. Again, I'm open to suggestions

I'm also going to cut off the center tab at the bottom of the case that helps to align the case side fore and aft since it's in the way of removing the bottom HDD tray (again, what was Corsair thinking when they designed that!?) I may also have to trim a bit off the remaining tab closest to the front of the case; time will tell. I don't think I will have to trim the case flange itself; again, time will tell.

Right now, I'm mostly at the planning stage, trying to work out what I want to do and how to do it. The back and bottom of the case is lousy with air dust leaks (what were the designers thinking?) so I need to work out how to seal those up without looking dorky (I'm open to suggestions). I'm thinking about soldering plates on the inside of the holes on the back, then filling the hole with Bondo or body solder (solder is less likely to crack or fall off but is harder to work). The bottom I'm less worried about. The worst of the leaks are around the third cage so I may just mount it permanently and use some kind of caulk to seal the holes (please don't suggest silicone); the sound deadening foam I'm going to put in will hide that. I can cut off the tab on the side of the bottom of cage and bend over the two on the front of the bottom of the cage so they won't protrude from the bottom.

Well, I've rattled on long enough for now. Due to my age and health, it is going to take me a few months to get this case modded, working on it a little at a time. I really love this case but Corsair could have made it so much better with a little attention to little details, such as the position and height of the HDD cages, the unnecessary holes, keeping the outmoded pass-through USB 3.0 front panel cables (especially since they have the part to fix it), etc.

 

[fireberd]

I have several Corsair Carbide 500R cases. They have lots of room and are relatively quiet. However, I've had trouble with the front panel USB ports on these cases. Corsair sends out front panel replacements under warranty without problems, but I've had 3 cases that the front panel USB ports have died. Two that I built for clients (that lasted about 6 months each) and now the USB port on my own (recording studio) 500R that is only a little over 3 months old.

The one that failed (one of two) on my recording studio PC has only been used, at the most, 4 or 5 times.

 

[Dude]

Congrats Lady Fitz, that is a nice case.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thanks, guys. So far, the only three major complaints I've seem about this case are the fan speed switch (the earlier ones frequently went up in smoke, literally, but that has been somewhat fixed on the later cases), the stupid and long outdated front panel USB 3.0 pass through setup (the fix for that is to buy a front panel assembly from a 350D, which I've done—it's on its way to me—and swap out the USB 3.0 parts), and the paint chipping out (that has also been fixed on later cases). According to the part number, I have one of the later cases so that pretty much took care of two of the problems. I'm probably not going to use the fan switch, preferring to use the PWM headers on my MOBO as long as they can handle up to two fans each (I'm waiting to hear from the manufacturers of the fans I plan on using about how much juice their fans slurp), otherwise, I will have to use one or more powered PWM hubs.

 

[fireberd]

The front panels on the 500R's are USB 3.0 and one of the two dies in each case. What is the issue with the 3.0 ports on 650D case?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The front panels on the 500R's are USB 3.0 and one of the two dies in each case. What is the issue with the 3.0 ports on 650D case?

Instead of the ports having cables connecting to a USB 3.0 header on the MOBO, they have cables that pass through the back of the case and plug into the back USB 3.0 ports.

That was fine when USB 3.0 first came out and most MOBOs that had USB 3.0 didn't have a header. However, now that all MOBOs have headers, keeping such Michael Mouse, outmoded techlessnology is just stupid. Even more stupid is Corsair's refusal to update the newer 650Ds even though Corsair has the needed part. Fortunately, the correct USB 3.0 cable and header is used in the 350D front panel connector assembly and it's just a matter of swapping it out.

 

[fireberd]

Wow! that is dumb. The 500R case comes with the USB 3.0 front panel port motherboard connector and a USB 2.0 motherboard adapter cable.

Jack

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

It was a practical solution for when USB 3.0 headers weren't readily available on MOBOs. The extra length also allowed connecting to USB 3.0 add on cards on older MOBOs that didn't have USB 3.0 but those days are now past. At least there is an easy fix.

 

[Layback Bear]

Nice case Lady.

You have certainly done your homework and planning.
I have a 600t and the fan controller is basically useless. I hope yours is better.
When you locate your case will you still have access to the power supply filter? Just a thought.

If by chance you need some fan filters you can take a look at some magnetic fan filters. They might meet your needs is some places.

Because of your concern with dust this might be helpful.
Covering your rear pci slots not use and any other holes with black packaging that comes with things like motherboards or video cards.
My reasoning is air should only come into and out of the case where you want it to and filters on all incoming air. I have a cat; you have Arizona.
Maybe this will give you a idea of what I'm speaking of. Look at the back panel of the case. The extra pci slots are covered on the back outside of the case with the same material.
The top of your new case looks ready made for a H100; just a thought.

 

[Mellon Head]

Nice, Lady Fitz.

I hope you'll share a pic or two when the build gets all done up. It sounds like it's going to be awesome.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Nice case Lady...

Thanks!

...You have certainly done your homework and planning...

I've only just begun. I spent this afternoon stripping unneeded parts (three fans, the tool-free clips on the 5.25" cage, etc.) and parts that are in the way for now (such as the HDD cages) and trying to figure out what kind of surgery is needed, etc.

...I have a 600t and the fan controller is basically useless. I hope yours is better...

Supposedly it is; it's the newer version plus I would have used it only on the front fan but I've just about decided to put the front fan on a MOBO header, based on recent research. I would clip the leads off of the fan switch and leave it in place to fill in the hole. I'm waiting to hear back from Cooler Master on how much current the Megaflow draws since, according the ASUS forums, the MOBO fan headers are rated at only 1A and I just can't afford to burn up MOBOs.

...If by chance you need some fan filters you can take a look at some magnetic fan filters. They might meet your needs is some places...

I'm not especially crazy about magnetic fan filters; to me, they look a little Mickey Mouse. I am using one on the PSU in my current rig, however, mostly to keep dropped screws out of the PSU since it's mounted fan up. The PSU fan in the new case will face down so I won't need the filter for that. I am going to get some of them to get the finer filter mesh they have to put on the bottom and front filters of the 650D (the original mesh is coarser than I care for) and on the filters I'm going to put on the two side fans I'm going to add.

...Because of your concern with dust this might be helpful.
Covering your rear pci slots not use and any other holes with black packaging that comes with things like motherboards or video cards.
My reasoning is air should only come into and out of the case where you want it to and filters on all incoming air. I have a cat; you have Arizona.
Maybe this will give you a idea of what I'm speaking of. Look at the back panel of the case. The extra pci slots are covered on the back outside of the case with the same material...

I totally agree about the only place air should come in should be through filters. I have plenty of blank covers to replace the ventilated covers, although only one or two will remain uncovered when I migrate my computer into the case. I put in one of the blank covers yesterday to make sure it would do the job.

...The top of your new case looks ready made for a H100; just a thought...

LOL! Not gona happen. I don't totally trust water cooling and don't really need it. That part of the case is giving me the most grief on how to deal with that huge air dust leak without making it look Mickey Mouse.

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Nice, Lady Fitz.

I hope you'll share a pic or two when the build gets all done up. It sounds like it's going to be awesome.

Well, since you asked, OK.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...When you locate your case will you still have access to the power supply filter? Just a thought...

Totally missed this one. Sorry!

Yes, I will. I'll have to do it the same way I get to the rear cables on my present machine—I pull the case forward and let it hang over the edge of the night stand. I don't see why I wouldn't be able to do the same with the PSU filter. I can easily remove and put it back in without having to see what I'm doing.

 

[Layback Bear]

I really don't know why Corsair doesn't have the filter come out from the side instead of the back.
I'm lucky I can just slide my 600t forward and remove the filter. Many might not have that ability without removing all the harness/cables.
By the time you are ready for your build Corsair might have a new side panel that will allow installing fans on the panel.
They did for the 600t when they discovered their was a market for it. I don't remember what it cost. I got it and put two 140mm fans on it.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I really don't know why Corsair doesn't have the filter come out from the side instead of the back.
I'm lucky I can just slide my 600t forward and remove the filter. Many might not have that ability without removing all the harness/cables.
By the time you are ready for your build Corsair might have a new side panel that will allow installing fans on the panel.
They did for the 600t when they discovered their was a market for it. I don't remember what it cost. I got it and put two 140mm fans on it.

One can get a mesh insert for the 650D left side panel to go in place of the acrylic window. It has holes for up to four 120mm fans. My problem with that is a lot of unfiltered air can get in past the fans.

A hole saw will make short work of making the two big holes for the fans on the side panel. If I can't rent one, I'll just buy one. One advantage of doing it myself is I can put the fans exactly where they need to be with enough space between them to allow the use of filters.

There is enough slack in my rear cables to allow pulling them to one side so the PSU filter can clear. I also keep the cables bundled together so that makes moving them a bit easier.

 

[Layback Bear]

You seem to have it all worked out. It will be nice to see when your doing this project and when you are done.
My side case fans is where I use the magnetic filters.

Did you understand what I meant about blocking all the holes in the back of the case that are not used?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You seem to have it all worked out. It will be nice to see when your doing this project and when you are done.
My side case fans is where I use the magnetic filters.

Did you understand what I meant about blocking all the holes in the back of the case that are not used?

I thought I did (but, then again, I'm old and going senile). This is what I said earlier:

I have plenty of blank covers to replace the ventilated covers, although only one or two will remain uncovered when I migrate my computer into the case. I put in one of the blank covers yesterday to make sure it would do the job.

I'm still mulling over how to seal up the other (stupid) holes on the back of the case. Six of them have a flange bent in so they will have to be cut off (thank God for Mr. Dremel and his little tool). After that, I haven't decided yet how to fill the holes in or cover them. Options I've been mulling over include:

1. Soldering a thin, steel backing plate (mayhap shim stock) behind the hole and filling the remaining depression with Bondo (auto body filler) or body solder (the backing plate would get covered by acoustic foam so no one would ever see it).

2. Gluing a backing plate of thin steel behind the hole with epoxy and filling the remaining depression with Bondo.

3. Screw or rivet a trim strip on each side to cover the holes (actually, this one just now occurred to me). If I prepainted the strip, it might spare me having to repaint the entire back. Curiously enough, I have a length of 1/8" x 3/4" aluminum left over from when I was building my present machine. I needed a 1/8" x 1/4" x 6" piece to cover some holes at the ends of the PCI covers. The closest I could find was a 4' length of 1/8" by 3/4" aluminum so I had to cut what I needed from it. I would have to cut recesses in the back to clear the rivets that would otherwise be in the way. Unfortunately, I would still need to fill or cover the two large round coolant hose openings on the back and the big square hole at the top of the back for the USB pass-through cables.



Right now, option number 2 is in first place.

I've pretty much worked out how to deal with the bottom holes. Since I can't ever see needing to remove the third HDD cage, I can just put it in permanently, using two regular screws with Loctite instead of thumbscrews, bend over the two front tabs that will stick through the bottom (there is a third one but I can cut it off since it isn't needed), use a bit of epoxy putty to fill the larger holes that can be backed up from above, use aluminum tape on the bottom to cover those holes and the small holes, then repaint the bottom. Since it is the bottom, I'm not as concerned with how it looks.

 

[Layback Bear]

A idea.

acoustic foam about 1/8 to 1/4 in. thick.

You could cut to fit from the inside of the case on the back panel with just a cut out for the fan and video card. You could also use the acoustic to cover the bottom of the case from the inside where possible.
This would not only cover up places where unfiltered air would come in but also make things a little quieter.
I use this foam to do lots of things like I have 2 front bays that I don't use. I put the foam behind them to block the air even though they have filters.
Trying to keep as much as I can a positive pressure case and as much exhaust going up through the radiator.
With your location in the would trying to make as much as you can a positive pressure case is necessary.

Every case is different and will direct air differently through the case but you can control where it comes in and out and to some degree it's path through the case.
If by chance you need any suggestions just ask.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

A idea.

acoustic foam about 1/8 to 1/4 in. thick.

You could cut to fit from the inside of the case on the back panel with just a cut out for the fan and video card. You could also use the acoustic to cover the bottom of the case from the inside where possible.
This would not only cover up places where unfiltered air would come in but also make things a little quieter.
I use this foam to do lots of things like I have 2 front bays that I don't use. I put the foam behind them to block the air even though they have filters.
Trying to keep as much as I can a positive pressure case and as much exhaust going up through the radiator.
With your location in the would trying to make as much as you can a positive pressure case is necessary.

Every case is different and will direct air differently through the case but you can control where it comes in and out and to some degree it's path through the case.
If by chance you need any suggestions just ask.

I'm way ahead of you on this. My present case has 7mm acoustic foam, which does a surprisingly good job of keeping the case quieter, not to mention sealing tiny leaks, and I will be using it for my new case. It looks kinda crappy for sealing larger holes but it does a good job of hiding patches on larger holes on the inside of a case. I even fitted it close to fan holes so it would serve as a fan gasket.

I found a way to seal the two large round holes on the back of the case that currently have the rubber grommets in them. I just found and ordered some flat polyethylene plugs at McMaster-Carr online that are a perfect fit for those plugs. Had to order a hundred of them (mutter, mutter) but they aren't all that expensive and they are a sanitary way to deal with those holes. And I will never run out of plugs!

I've been agonizing over what to do about the rear fan grill. Options included:

Ignoring it and the half dozen or so holes that wouldn't be covered by the 140mm fan I'm putting in. While that is the easiest option, it would be the noisiest and would move the least air.

Somewhat better would cutting a 120mm hole in the grill and put a 120mm wire grill over it. It would look a bit dorky but it would cut noise down a bit and move some more air.

The next option, cutting a 140mm hole in the grill and putting a 140mm wire grill over it would look even dorkier and would be a bit more work. So far, all options still have some leaks because the top and bottom rows in the stock grill fall outside of even a 140mm fan and the raised portion of the grill makes it harder to get a good seal.

The option I just settled on tonight involves cutting out the entire raised portion of the grill plus any remaining part of the case that would fall inside of the perimeter of a 140mm fan, then cover everything up with a milled aluminum grill.

I'm going to cut out the "gun sight" in the center and replace it with a wire grill. The center looks really nice but leaves too much room for fingers to get in. I'm on an aspirin regimen and I bleed pretty profusely from cuts. I once half cut, half tore off most of a thumbnail and had to go to the emergency room to get the bleeding stopped. Even they had one heck of a time stopping it, finally resorting to what is basically superglue. A wire grill is safer plus I'm going to be using wire grills on the top so all three will look the same. I'll have to cut a couple of millimeters off the left and right sides. One bonus is two of my problems holes will also get covered up. This option is the most sanitary one I could come up with and gives the best airflow and lowest noise with the least amount of work.

I also found out I can run the 200mm CM Mega flow fan off one of my MOBO fan headers with no problems. I'm still trying to find out from Xigamatek how much current the fan of theirs I want to use will draw. If push comes to shove, I may have to use a powered PWM fan splitter on the two side fans and another one on the two top fans. One thing I may try is to run a fan off my spare PSU through various size fuses to see which size blows. Theoretically, I can run up to 1A on a fan header but I would rather not push the limits. A powered PWM hub supplies power to the fans from its own PSU cable and only gets the speed and PWM signals from the MOBO hub. The only one I know of is Swiftech's 8 port PWM hub. It's overkill since I would run only two fans off each one of two hubs bit I may not have a choice.

Well, Folks, it's long past my bedtime so nighty-night.

 

[madcratebuilder]

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