Corsair 800d First Impressions

[masterkaj]

First off, I'd like to say I am coming from an Antec 1200. It was a great case but I was looking for a more organised look that was easier to move around during upgrades and troubleshooting. This is where the 800d shines, it has a massive amount of room (I thought the Antec 1200 was big!) and the cable management is amazing.

Antec 1200 Pros:
-Good airflow
-Cheap (in comparison)
-Fan controls

Antec 1200 Cons:
-Annoying lights
-Not easily able to plug and play different fans
-Not great cable management
-Seemed very cramped
-Lots of screws and harder install (still easy compared to mid towers)


800d Pros:
-Good airflow (more on this later)
-Able to upgrade to any fans I wanted
-Lots of space
-Separation of different chambers
-Cable management (specifically the SATA cable management)
-No lights
-Less screws, easier install.

800d Cons:
-The side where all the cables are routed can bulge out, takes some trial and error
-Expensive

List of things added to my 800d so far:
-Front intake fan http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...Bay_120mm_Fan_Module_-_Black_CCFANMODULE.html
-5x Scythe GT 1850's (4 exhaust, 1 intake)
-3x Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition's (2 intake, 1 HDD fan)
-1x DemciFlex top fan filter (have this because my cat likes to hop on top of my cpu and don't want unwanted dust and hair getting in while it is off)

As of right now, this is almost the perfect case for me besides the bulging side issue that was a pain. When I first researched buying this case I was a little hesitant cause I heard it was terrible for air cooling. I have found that to be absolutely false. Every temp compared to my Antec 1200 was a few degrees cooler on my STOCK 800d (only 3 fans). Yes, even the video card had cooler temps running EVGA OC Scanner X for 15 minutes. My Antec 1200 peaked at 75*C, while my STOCK 800d peaked at 71*C and my current 800d peaks at 68*C.

If you are on air and want a good cooling case, this one competes with some of the best and has the most room to work with. I was legitimately concerned about the air cooling, but honestly even a simple 800d with no fans added will do quite well and beat my Antec 1200.

If you are interested in my current setup, here it is below:
Corsair 800d
ASUS P8P67-Pro
Intel 2600k @ 4.6
8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600
EVGA 680GTX Signature 2 @ 1200/3400
Intel 520
Crucial M4
3xSamsung F3
ASUS Xonar Essence STX

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I'd like pics of that bay mounted intake fan on the 800D. I have an 800D and I'm looking to get more air flow in the upper chamber. This seems like a good option.

 

[masterkaj]

I will make sure to post some up when I get a chance. To be honest, it may have been overkill since the stock setup seemed to be getting more than enough air to my video card and CPU.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yes, please do, and if I can find a place to host my photos i'll share mine also

 

[OVerLoRDI]

imgur.com?

 

[Aikouka]

-The side where all the cables are routed can bulge out, takes some trial and error

I own an 800D as well, and that's one of my two biggest qualms with it. I've tried routing cables around the ATX power connector's cable, but no matter how tricky I try to be, I cannot get rid of the bulge.

Another complaint that I have are the finicky plastic shrouds near the 3.5" removable drive bays. They just don't seem to latch well, and they will pop off at the slightest touch.

List of things added to my 800d so far:
-Front intake fan http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...Bay_120mm_Fan_Module_-_Black_CCFANMODULE.html
-5x Scythe GT 1850's (4 exhaust, 1 intake)
-3x Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition's (2 intake, 1 HDD fan)
-1x DemciFlex top fan filter (have this because my cat likes to hop on top of my cpu and don't want unwanted dust and hair getting in while it is off)

Hmm my case is already pretty quiet, and I am still using the stock fans. Did you really notice much of a difference when swapping to the quieter fans? I ordered a few low-volume Scythe fans, but I "earmarked" them for my older PC (one of its 230mm fans died). I could just use those in my 800D as they're ~10db.

Although, I don't know if I missed it, but there seems to be a detail missing in your post, and that is...

Corsair 800d
ASUS P8P67-Pro
Intel 2600k @ 4.6

What CPU cooler?

 

[masterkaj]

I own an 800D as well, and that's one of my two biggest qualms with it. I've tried routing cables around the ATX power connector's cable, but no matter how tricky I try to be, I cannot get rid of the bulge.

Another complaint that I have are the finicky plastic shrouds near the 3.5" removable drive bays. They just don't seem to latch well, and they will pop off at the slightest touch.

I've noticed that too, especially the fan cover.

Hmm my case is already pretty quiet, and I am still using the stock fans. Did you really notice much of a difference when swapping to the quieter fans? I ordered a few low-volume Scythe fans, but I "earmarked" them for my older PC (one of its 230mm fans died). I could just use those in my 800D as they're ~10db.

The fans I added actually made it louder (but quieter than the Antec 1200). However, they move A LOT more air.

Although, I don't know if I missed it, but there seems to be a detail missing in your post, and that is...



What CPU cooler?

I am using the Thermalright MUX-120, two Scythe GT 1850's in push/pull configuration and, Artic MX-3 thermal compound.